Recently in July I visited the Amache (formally known as Granada) internment camp in Granada, Colo., along with 12 other family members. We represented three generations (Sansei, Yonsei and Gosei) coming from multiple cities (Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco). Three people in our group were former internees — including both my parents and my […]
Opinion: The firing of Don Wakamatsu
August 12, 2010 by Leave a Comment
In the end, I’m just sad the Mariners felt they had to fire manager Don Wakamatsu. I wanted to believe the front office saddled him with a roster of players who just couldn’t hit, and who especially couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position, but I’m told by those close to the team that the manager concurred in those […]
For a more queer-friendly Japanese America
July 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment
This past May, a friend who volunteers for a Japanese-language bilingual program at a San Francisco public school faced harassment by another Japanese language teacher in the faculty lounge for being a lesbian. My friend Keiko had a rainbow pin on her backpack signifying lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride and a Japanese co-worker of […]
COMMENTARY: Spam Musubi and the Gift of Service
April 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment
In last week’s issue (April 15, 2010, “Cherry Blossom Festival Gets Under Way,â€) we reported that when the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival’s outdoor events were canceled on April 11, due to a thunderstorm, the sensei of Church of Perfect Liberty asked the group’s booth volunteers to give away the Spam musubi they were selling […]
My Life as a Crusader
December 24, 2009 by 2 Comments
I am Ruth Shigeko Ishizaki (formerly Hirose) and I was born and raised on our family’s 80 acres of orange groves in Richgrove, California in the southern San Joaquin Valley, northeast of Delano, at the base of the Sierra Mountains. Since our orange grove was east of the California Highway 99 dividing line, called the […]
Nisei Commencement Honors Our Parents and Grandparents, and UC
December 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The following is an excerpt of Patrick Hayashi’s prepared remarks made Dec. 4 at the Nisei honorary degree ceremony at the Robertson Auditorium at the UC San Francisco Mission Bay campus: During our darkest days, UC stood by us. When others treated us harshly, you treated us with kindness. When others persecuted us, you protected […]
The Nakazawa Redwood
October 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
There is a redwood. Rather inconspicuous in the backyard of an ordinary residence in south Berkeley. It is an inconspicuous as the man who planted it some 70 years ago. Mr. Nakazawa was Japanese by birth and the Japanese were denied naturalization no matter how long they lived and worked in this country. They were […]
Race Relations in the Neighborhood
October 22, 2009 by Leave a Comment
When I first came to California I was warned to be careful about certain neighborhoods. I didn’t know what it meant until I heard about a tourist being robbed on a quiet street in San Francisco. He was surrounded by a group of little boys between eight to ten years of age each wielding weapons […]
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LETTERS: San Francisco’s Japantown and Boy Scouts Troop 58
Many experiences of the past are stored in our minds. Being able to “recall and relive the past†is a precious and emotional experience when it comes our way. An example is meeting an old friend and finding moments of joy in talking about the “old days.†These experiences are usually personal and passers-by usually […]