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From the Nichi Bei Weekly
Supervising ministers feel burden from shortage
Nationwide, more than 60 churches and temples affiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America serve thousands of adherents to the Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism, but with many of its clergy members at retirement age, the network of churches is encountering a shortage of ministers further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. “Even before the pandemic, […]
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Prewar attitudes toward queer sexuality in Japanese-language press
This is the 16th year that I have had the pleasure of presenting my annual queer history column. I want to start today’s installment by acknowledging the 2020 online J-Sei exhibit “Seen & Unseen: Queering Japanese American History Before 1945,” co-curated by Nichi Bei Weekly columnist Amy Sueyoshi and Stan Yogi. It was a landmark […]
Court says ban on same-sex marriage constitutional
TOKYO — A Japanese court ruled June 20 that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the constitution, and rejected demands for compensation by three couples who said their right to free union and equality has been violated. The Osaka District Court ruling is the second decision on the issue, and disagrees with […]
FINDING YOUR NIKKEI ROOTS: Where was your family in 1950?
The 1950 U.S. Census was publicly released on April 1, 2022, 72 years after it was enumerated. The U.S. government began to count the population in 1790 and continued to do so every 10 years. Each decennial census asked slightly different questions and the data is invaluable for family historians. Enumerators were given specific instructions […]
THE HEART OF KANJI: Love is like rain from a cloud in the sky
愛 (Ai) means “love.” The top of this character is a person rowing a boat, the middle portion is a heart and the bottom portion is a footstep. All together, this symbolizes the feeling that a boat cannot go fast enough when someone is looking forward to meeting with their loved one. 空 (Sora) means […]
In Travel
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series. Last September, Rev. Ken Yamada, the former minister of Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple, and Rev. Jerry Hirano, minister of Salt Lake City Buddhist Temple, spent 36 days driving through the 48 contiguous states in an RV, racking up more than 13,000 miles. To view […]
In Books
Musings from a San Francisco native
JOURNEY By Peter Kenichi Yamamoto (San Francisco: self published, 2012, 71 pp., $8.95, paperback) Peter Yamamoto, a longtime member of San Francisco’s Japantown community, is often seen volunteering at the National Japanese American Historical Society. His artistic background from his parents and his roots in social activism including being a resident of the I-Hotel during […]
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