2 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 LETTERS/WHAT'S INSIDE PACIFIC II! CITlZEN

: ...... •.....••..•..•.•..••...... ~ · . ~ · LETTERS TO THE EDITOR : HOWTO REACH US E-mail: [email protected] Online: \YWW.pacfficcitizen.org for the Japanese people, and the JACL." Nisei Ve~s Fought to Tel:(800) 966·6157 After the final vote was passed by th~ Fax: (213) 620-1768 Prove Our.Loyalty JACL delegates to approve the resolution, Mail: 250E.FirstStreet.Suite 301 in protest all the Nisei JACL veterans Los Angeles, CA 90012 walked out of the room. I had the opportunity to read the inter• STAFF esting cornmentary, "Remembering the Executive Editor DONALD WAKIDA Caroline Y. Aoyagi-Stom Legacy of the 'No-Nos'" by Barbara CWO - 3, U.S. Navy, Takei.. In the article the writer acknowl• Assistant Editor Retired Vietnam veteran Lynda Lin edges that it was the Nisei who answered Confidence in Sotomayor "Yes-Yes," who did not protest and shed Reporter blood to prove their loyalty and reverse NaleaJ. Ko I just finished reading the article, which I found very the anti-Japanese propaganda that led to *** Office Manager interestirig, regarding Sonia Sotomayor in the Aug. 7- the wwn internment. NAACP, Urban Kristin Iwata 20 issue. Sotomayor said: "It is inconceivable today It was these Nisei who formed the Circulation that a decision permitting the detention and arrest of famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team League at EDCl Eva Lau-ling an individual based solely on the basis of their race and the Military Intelligence Service. would be considered appropriate by our government." Many were wounded or killed in action to MDC Bi-District The Pacific Citizen newspaper (ISSN: fight for their country, the United States • 0030-8579) is published semi-monthly The key word in her statement is "today." Sure, it's Just a few words regarding the Pacific of America. These Nisei soldiers fought : \ (except. once· in December and inconceivable today but was not even. considered in Citizen. I enjoy reading it very much. • January) by the Japanese American to prove our loyalty, not the No-No boys. 1942. Then, it was considered a national emergency Sometimes ' I do get a little uptight after Citizens League. In 2000, the JACL held its national and the "Bill of Rights" written specifically just for reading an article. Today, in the Aug. 7-20 convention iil Monterey and our VFW these types of occasions, was set aside. edition I had such a feeling. JACL Sierra Nisei Post 8499, who are com• 1765 Sutter St. Under the guise of ''National Emergency," the In the article regarding the EDC/MDC posed of the Nisei veterans of San Francisco, CA 94115 United States did everything to detain and arrest an wwn, Bi-district meeting I would have hoped attended. When the JACL placed before JACL President Larry Oda individual solely on the basis of race without regard to that there was an inclusion of the NAACP · , National Director: Floyd Mori its delegates a resolution to "apologize to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which as we all and the Urban League as coalition organ• · " the Resistors" I had the opportunity to · know, was added specifically to protect the individual izations at the meeting. " p.o, .; a'OARD OF DIRECTOR.S speak: against it. I am a lifetime member of both organi• Margie Yamamcito, chairpel'SOll; Paul' from big government. My final words were: ''If the JACL Niwa, EOC; Usa Hanasqno, MOC; zations as well as other civil and human My opinion of Sotomayor has become more posi• does approve this resolution . . . an Kalily Ishimoto, eeDC; Judith MnO, rights groups. I look forward to seeing an NCWNPDC; Justine Koodo, PNWOC; , tive since reading your article and realizing that she amendment should be placed within this emphasis on such coalitions in the very .· Jeff ltami, IDC; Ted Namba, PSWDC; may truly be a Constitutional Law Supreme Court resolution. The JACL must also apolo• near future. ';!'NaomOten,"Youih ", .i ;" """ "i Justice. gize to every Nisei family whose sons were Killed in Action, for, it was these ALLEN CURTIS JOHNSON SUBSCRIBE JON I. TAKATA Nisei soldiers who fought for our country, GElt a one-year su~tion to the Charlotte, TN · Thornton, CO · Pacific Citizennewspaperat · · · 'N'NW.paclficcitizen.O(g or caW ·tI. 1f;. · •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••• w •••••••••••••••••••••• • (800) 9fl6.6157 . .. . ADVERTISE To advertise in fle Pacific Citizen, call Immigration Reform (800) 966-6157 or e-man: JACL joins forces with other APA organizations to call [email protected] for the first ever National Week of Action. INSIDE »Page 7 LEGAL ------.... THIS ISSUE No part of this publication may be repro• 30 Years of Jazz-Fusion duced without the express permission j)f the Pacific Citizen. Editorials, news and the opinions expressed by columnists other than fle national JACL president or national director do not necessarily r&fiect JACL policy. Event and products advertised in the Pacific Citizen do not carry the .implicit endorsement of the JACL or. this Hiroshima defied odds, created its own sound and has publication. We reserve the right to edit articles. . endured for three decades. PHOTO:OENSHO »Page 9 Reunion of the Heroes the Last Hi-District During WWII, the 442nd rescued the 'Lost Battalion' in France. Over 60 years later, they will meet again. PNW & IDC JACLers gathered in Ontario, Oregon for yoo've moved, please the event. new infonnation to: »Page 10 National JACL 'liacing Roots Creating a Legacy 1765 Sutter SI. Some JAs who are interested in their family history look The college where Mine Okubo once attended is working Building a 1bpaz Museum San Francisco, CA to the Japanese consulates to fill in the blanks. to preserve her donated personal items. Backers have laid plans for a 27,OOO-square-foot 94115 »Page 3 »Page 5 historical complex in Delta, Utah that would tell the Allow 6 weeks for Topaz story. address changes. Walking For a Cause Preservation plans Move Forward »Page 11 avoid interruptions Vietnam veteran Sinh Tho Nguyen is trekking across the A Califomia lawmaker has introduced legislation to save delivery, please U.S. - in Crocs sandals - to honor veterans. the Wakamatsu Colony. »Page 4 your postmas• »Page 6 include periodi• ALSQON ~, ~ :.:> ~" ...,(d?· ." · '>,,~ _ """C, ". in your change -How Do I Look? .of address (USPS .;:-: Form 3575) Jeannie Mai (righQ. th~ new fjoStof Style Network's PacificQitizen.org. fashion makeover show, has some·tipsfor you. PACIFlC e CrnzEN TOP STORIES AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 5 JAs Encounter Both Barriers, Hope in Family Genealogy Search One woman fmds 'long lost' relatives in Hiroshima.

By NALEA J. KO Reporter

Brenda Nakamoto, 50, always thought her relatives ill Hiroshiina died after the 1945 atomic bomb. But in the back of her mind there was a possibility her family was alive in Japan. About ten years ago her mother-in-law, Virginia Smallwood, made a concerted effort to track down Nakamoto's Japanese roots. That research would eventually lead to an emotional family reunion on Japanese soil. "It was a narrow, windy road to their neighborhood, but one of the most exciting moments was seeing a petite woman with short, curly hair standing in the carport waiting for us," wrote 'Shunjiro Sakaoka, l1ZY grandjathel; my Nakamoto in an e-mail to the Pacific Citizen. The woman standing in the driveway was Nakamoto's sec• oj iisan, I /lever kne'rv you ..' ond cousin. Nakamoto made the journey to Japan in 2008 with her husband, two children and her husband's colleague. - Brenda Nakamoto (right) in her 2008 award-winning essay Although the 50-year-old's search for her roots ended joyfully, about searching for her grandfather (top, far right). The quest many do not have as much success. took her to Hiroshima in 2008, where she found her roots. To help the other JAs reunite with their ancestors, the Japanese Consulate of Boston, Mass. started offering a free pro• the library was sparse." business trip to Japan. A day before leaving overseas, a business gram about a year ~go to residents in their district. The area Knowing where to begin genealogy research is the first bar• associate said he found Nakamoto's relatives in Hiroshima. served by the Consulate of Boston includes Maine, New rier. Nakamoto's mother die4 about 17 years ago. Her father, 'The actual meeting in Hiroshima was when the reality sunk Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. 91, is alive but lost his sight from glaucoma and can be" in," Nakamoto said. "It started from this area because the first person that asked "touchy" when asked about the family history, she said. Soon Nakamoto and her family' were navigating through for help was from New England," said Vice Consul Mika Iga, "My dad said that his parents were too busy working, trying Hiroshima in a taxi, headed toward her family's house in with the Consulate General of Japan in Boston. to get food on the table to have time to talk about things like Okada. Nakamoto was asked to pray at the obutsudan, the That ''first person" is the only one who has inquired about the that," Nakamoto said. So, she relied on the researching skills of Japanese home alter, and family shrine at the neighborhood program to date. It is not clear if the other 15 Japanese con• her mother-in-law to learn more about her ancestors. cemetery. sulates in the U.S. will offer similar programs, although an offi• Marriage licenses, birth and death certificates, photographs, Before the family left Hiroshima in 2008, Nakamoto's rela• cial with the consulate in Hawaii said they assist people on a military records, diaries and other historical documents are tives said she resembled her grandfather - the inspiration for case-by-case basis. essential for genealogical research, explained Smallwood. her award-winning essay. Some JAs said searching for their ancestral heritage without "Sometimes it helps to make a timeline for an individual, or "'This brought out a chuckle and I felt a bit teary eyed because the consulate's assistance could be as rewarding as it is frustrat• to study "the entire family as they had families of their own," since I was born after my grandfather Sakaoka had died, I had ing. People like Nakamoto, who do not speak or read Japanese, Smallwood said. ''Who lived near whom? What did each do for never seen him nor known what a Sakaoka would look like," said they face further obstacles digging up their roots and kose• a living? Did they work at the same place? Did someone marry Nakamoto said. lei, or Japanese family registry. the boss' daughter? Or did they attend the same place of wor• Since she has returned to her home in Northern Califomia, For Smallwood, finding her daughter-in-law's "long lost" rel• ship and meet there? I follow the clues where they lead me." Nakamoto sent and received letters from her family in atives was cumbersome, but ultimately gratifying. Most of the consulates the P.e. spoke with said it is difficult Hiroshima, which her Japanese instructor translated. Despite 'To our utter amazement, this friend [a business colleague of to offer a genealogy program because the process is often the language barrier, Nakamoto hopes to continue communicat• Smallwood's son] found actual relatives of my daughter-in-law tedious and costly. Smallwood's research began because she ing with them.• still living in Hiroshima in the house where they had lived dur• wanted to create a solid family tree for her grandchildren. ing the war!" said Smallwood, who is a genealogist. The genealogist soon discovered bits and p'ieces about ''It so happened that the house was situated behind a hill, and Nakamoto's extended relatives. A ship passenger records it was that hill that had protected the house and its occupants showed Nakamoto's grandfather, Shunjiro Sakaoka, who trav• National Archives from the blast. The two families met. The visit was short, but eled to the U.S. in 1909 with $50 in his pocket and his mother's www.archiv:es.gov/genealogy emotionally powerful." blessing. At 17 Sakaoka departed Japan headed toward Seattle, This Web site allows users to search national archival data• Washington. In 2008 Nakamoto won the Southem California bases by subject at no cost. There are also links to genealo• Digging Up Familial Roots Genealogical Society's writing contest for her essay, gy workshops nati~nwide. Other JAs like Washington state-resident Aiko Lawson con• "Searching for Grandfather." Roots Web tinue to search for their genealogy. Lawson recovered a ship "Shunjiro Sakaoka, my grandfather, my ojiisan, I never knew www.rootsweb.ancestry.com manifest online, documenting her mother's journey from Japan you. How a self-inflicted bullet to the head separated you from A free genealogy search engine witl\.more than 575 million to Ohio in 1952. me before I was even conceived, before mommy and daddy nl;lmes on file. Her mother Katsue "Kathy" Lawson died in May of this year, were even married," Nakamoto wrote in her award-winning seven years after her husband. Lawson said she laments not story, "And I would never be able to rock in your arms or drool Interment.net asking about her ancestry when her greatest genealogical on your shirt or make gurgly sounds in your ears or see your lips www.interment.net resources were still alive. crease into a smile or hear your hearty laugh." Sakaoka com• Allows users to search cemetery records worldwide, but "When I was young I was too interested in distancing myself mitted suicide in 1949, a few years after being interned. records in Japan are limited to the International Cemetery. from the East side and being as Westemized as possible," said Lawson. "As I got older, my culture became more important, Traveling to Hiroshima Footnote.com "but family and life always seemed to get in the way." After gathering numerous historical documents about www.footnote.com Lawson is not alone. Many others who are searching for their Nakamoto's family, Smallwood enlisted all of her resources, Allows users to search Social Security D~ath Index. extended family, or traces of their ancestors' lives, find the task having her son reach out to his colleagues living in Japan. Census information, among other databases. daunting. "It is hard to explain," Smallwood said, "One of the big "I first became interested around high school age, listening to things in genealogy is that people help each other. ... I find Ancestry.com my grandmother's stories about my great grandfather, Takezo," immense satisfaction in helping others find their families in www.ancestry.com said 52-year-old Sharon Gayle Wermuth. ''I started going to the their records. To have helped Brenda to find living relatives - A free 14-day membership is available. A credit card is main branch of the city library in Dallas [fe~as] and searching and in a place like Hiroshima - is just wonderful for me." required to register for the trial membership. The Web site primarily through census records to start. But the information in In the fall of 2008, Nakamoto and her family packed up for a has more than 4 billion historical records on file. 4 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 TOP srORIES PACIFIC iii CITIZEN Vietnamese American Treks Across America in Crocs

PHOTO: BRAD CRITTENDEN When Nguyen is on the road, his travel provisions are simple: an American flag on his shoulders and an ever-present smile. Along his journey, he relies on the kindness of strangers for meals and drinks.

Sinh Tho Nguyen's 2,600 mile journey is in People familiar with Nguyen's journey from local news cov• across America. In 2007 Matt Gregory completed his walk honor of America and her troops. erage have tracked him down as he passes through their cities across America, raising money for cancer research. Steve and towns. They come bearing gifts from their kitchens and Vaught ganiered worldwide media coverage in 2006 for setting By NALEAJ. KO gardens. out across America to lose weight and regain his life. Reporter "I received unfinished meals from people who see how Nguyen's supporters said his journey differs from others exhausted I am, half of a Snickers bar, fresh homemade lemon• because the Vietnamese American is not asking for any mone• Sinh Tho Nguyen's feet were bloody and infected from ade." Nguyen added, "PeOple also insist on us to stay at their tary donations - he simply wants to give back to the country trudging across the United States in Crocs sandals, but patriot• homes for hot meals and warm showers. Some insist on us to that welcomed him. ism fueled his jouiney. stay in hotels at their cost." "It is so emotional," Jackie Nguyen added, "I mean initially Walking about 23 miles a day, the pain in Nguyen's feet start• Folks in Louisiana are still talking about Nguyen and his he did it as a personal project, but a week into the project peo• ed to mount. The 40-year-old soon learned that Crocs were not amazing trek and unwavering patriotism. ple stopped and encouraged him. He became very emotional the ideal walking shoes, especially for someone who plans to "He was walking down the street and I saw the American and now he thinks it's more of a commUnity project." travel about 2,600 miles before the year's end. flag. It was really, reilly hot outside," said David Mayfield over Bloggers have compared Nguyen to Forrest Gump. Those The Vietnamese American has made a commitment to walk the phone from Louisiana. ''We saw him walking down the that have personally met Nguyen said the comparisons to the across the U.S. and nothing, he said, will impede his journey. road and I knew he was probably going to be hot. I thought I'd fictional movie character played by Tom Hanks are under• "I have no regrets but pride to carry the American flag and get this guy something to drink." Mayfield gave Nguyen $20, standable, but limiting. walk across America to give her thanks," wrote Nguyen in an a cool drink, supper and paid for a motel room. Others offer "Well, Forrest Gurnp wasn't walking for a cause." Perkins e-mail to the Pacific Citizen. anything they can to show their appreciation. added, "Our soldiers are dying every day. When he [Nguyen] The blisters, blood, calluses and sweat are "It was hot. He was as happy as can be, like hit Calhoun, Louisiana he had so many supporters. He really all to show appreciation to the U.S. ·and sol• he just started," said Finley Perkins of believes in America." diers in the military. Nguyen's unpaid expe• ~This wall< is also Louisiana. "I rode up there and talked to him The pain in Nguyen's feet are just one of the speed bumps he dition called "Shore-to-Shore" started June and looked at his feet. I let him soak his feet. has incurred along the voyage. The summer heat has also made 10 in Atlantic Beach, Fla. San Diego, Calif. to. honor those He was in Crocs. I said, 'I ain't got no money, it difficult to keep on schedule. marks the finish line for Nguyen's patriotic 'who bravely but I can help iIi other ways.'" "The heat during summer is unavoidable, so our strategy is walkathon. For now, he's resting at home in Perkins let Nguyen stay in his home, take a to avoid walking in the prime heat of the day," Nguyen Texas, under doctor's orders to stay off his serve America, shower and rest his swollen feet. The explained. feet for at least two weeks .. Louisiana resident took a scalpel to Nguyen's Nguyen credits good Samaritans for giving him motivation. "I saw pictures and it's very graphic. The to keep her feet, cutting off the layers of dead skin. The But equal recognition is also due to Nguyen's compadre - blood is just pouring out," said Jackie next morning Nguyen was back on the hot Dominguez - along the journey, said Nguyen's supporters. Nguyen, who is a friend and volunteer safe, and to highway again, in what Louisiana residents 'They are both good guys," Mayfield said adding that he is spokeswoman for the Shore-to-Shore proj• fight for her said was 90- to l00-degree weather. worried about them as they near the Arizona desert. "He's got ect. "He took pictures of the blood coming With no sponsors, Nguyen is using the my number." up. He doesn't feel any pain at all, I think his freedom spirit. ' money he saved as a water meter reader to Mayfield has volunteered to scrapbook Nguyen's press cov• heart is so big." fund his travels. Preparations for the Shore• erage as he walks from shore to shore. In 1992, Sinh Tho Nguyen moved to the to-Shore project began a year ago. Nguyen By Thanksgiving Nguyen hopes to set foot in his final desti• U.S. and later joined the Army. Born in resigned his job and recruited a driver - nation: San Diego, Calif. Despite the hurdles he has' already Vietnam, Nguyen never met his father who was an American David Dominquez :- to tail him across the contirtental U.S. faced along his joumey, Nguyen said he never loses sight of his soldier in the Vietnam War. Chances are his father died in First aid supplies, food, water and sleeping gear equipment are goal. Vietnam, he said. If he could meet his dad along his journey stored in the car driven by Dominguez. "'This walk is to give thanks to America - a nation that all Nguyen would say, "Dad, this walk is to honor you and all your The small budget allows fo~ a hotel stay once a week. On Vietnamese Americans and I are deeply thankful to call our fellow soldiers who served in Vietnam." other nights Nguyen sleeps in Dominquez's vehicle, in ceme• second home," Nguyen said. "TIns walk is .al:so to honor those When Nguyen is on the road, his travel provisions are sim• teries, a tent or a friendly American's home. who bravely serve America, to keep her safe, and to fight for ple. The type of American flag and pole that usually adorns a Curious onlookers and TV reporters stop to talk with her freedom spirit." • home re.sts on his shoulder. Photographs of his journey show Nguyen, forcing him to alter his travel itinerary to factor in the Nguyen wearing a smile just as iarge as the sign on his back delays. But Nguyen always greets well-wishers with a wide For more information about the Shore-to-Shore project, visit that reads, "Shore to Shore: A Walk Across America to Honor smile, handing out his business cards. http://www.bacaytruc.com. Or to contact Nguyen directly, Those Who Serve." The 40-year-old is not the first person to attempt a walk e-mail [email protected]. PACIFIC i\'.l CITIZEN NATIONAL NEWS AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 5 College Works to Preserve Mine Okubo's Personal Material·, Artwork The late artist donated boxes of never before seen material to Riverside Community College. Among the items are letters to the Pacific Citizen and the JACL.

By LYNDA LIN Assistant Editor

Much of Mine Okubo's last worldly possessions are packed in boxes at the same Riverside Community College campus she once attended. The contents - which include personal writ• ings, sketches and paintings - are more than an accumulation of the artist's life, but a rare glimpse into Japanese American history. . Scholars say the collection may be the largest and most com• plete body of materials on the JA experience during the mid- 20th century, a turbulent time period marked by war and forced relocation. Now officials at Okubo's former college are working to cat• alog, archive and curate the collection. It's not a small project - about 27 document boxes, 1 photography box, 9 flat storage boxes, and 47 banker boxes filled with Okubo's personal items were donated to Riverside Community College (RCC) after her passing in 2001 at the age of 88.

"We believe the scope of the collection, the fact that it con• PHOTOS COURTESY OF RIVERSIOE COMMUNITY COLLEGE tains both works of art that span the artist's career, as well as personal writings, documents and other belongings, make this 'She had one purpose in life one of the most unique collections yet discovered that covers the Japanese American World War II and post-World War II and that was art. ' experience," said Jim Parsons, an RCC spokesperson. It's the largest repository of Okubo's papers and artwork in a - - Seik~ Buckingham, about her late aunt Mine Okubo single location, RCC officials say. (top), whose donated items include photos (left) and The collection includes photographs, paintings and sketches never seen before artwork. that have never been exhibited and correspondences dating back to the 1930s. The Nisei artist and community activist is perhaps best collection_ about 15 minutes." known for writing and illustrating the groundbreaking 1946 RCC also has applied for a $6,000 "seed grant" from the From then on, Okubo would visit Azuma for Oshogatsu - book, "Citizen 13660," the first account of the WWII intern• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to begin their Japanese New Year celebration - and small community ment told from the perspective of a former internee. It is still assessment of the Okubo collection. parties. The renowned artist always brought a gift along with a being used in many college curricula today. If the grant request is successful, RCC officials plan to apply drawing. Okubo was a "fiercely independent" native of Riverside, for a larger NEH grant to more fully catalog, archive and curate "Mine was gifted in so many ways," said Azuma. Calif., who never forgot her roots, said Seiko Buckingham, her the collection, according to Richard Keeler, RCC director of Many call her a trailblazer. niece. grants. . Okubo was born June 27, 1912, in Riverside, Calif. to immi• Almost a decade after her death, RCC officials hope preserv• It's just the start, said Dr. Bernard Fradkin, RCC dean of tech• grant parents. After graduating from UC Berkeley, she was ing and showcasing Okubo's collection at future events - nology and learning resources. awarded a fellowship to study art in Europe for 18 months. including a 2012 celebration of what would have been her '''There is an extensive artwork collection that will take a year "She did an extraordinary thing by obtaining her college edu• 100th birthday - will shed light on this little known part of of planning and preparation before it is ready for exhibit," he cation as a Japanese American woman in the 1930s," said Okubo's le~acy. . said. <. Takano, a Riverside JACL member. "She had one purpose in life and that was art," said This Okubo collection includes· copies of Okubo returned to the U.S. as World War II Buckingham. outgoing mail and responses, over· 1,800 small SUPPORT broke out. Like many other JAs during this sketches, said Joyce Davis, an adjunct librarian Donations to the cataloging time, she was incarcerated at Topaz and Creating the Okubo Collection and part-time archivist. Among the correspon• ..and future curation of the assigned the number 13660. Her experiences "Mine Okubo is a great artist, one of the Japanese American dences are letters to the Pacific Citizen and the Mine Okubo archives can be poured into her artwork. The black and white community's finest," said Mark Takano, a member of the RCC JACL. sent to: dutwings in "Citizen 13660" showed a wide board of trustees and Okubo's family friend. RCC hopes to raise enough funds to show• RCCD Foundation range of emotions including the profound sad• The longtime New York resident, said Takano, often spoke case the collection nationally and international• at 4800 Magnolia Ave., ness of a JA family surrounded by suitcases. nostalgically of Riverside's orange groves. ly. Riverside. CA 92506. Okubo went on to illustrate for Fortune, Okubo attended Riverside Junior College from 1930-33. She "We are seeking private funding support to Checks should be made out Time, the New York Times and other major went on to the University of California, Berkeley to eam her endow the collection for continued research to the foundation. with a publications. bachelor's and master's degree in fine arts in 1935 and 1936, and development that·will'allow these materials reference to the Okubo In 1981, she testified about her wartime respectively. to be valued by the community and others inter- Archives on the memo line. experiences before the Congressional "She had an affinity for RCC," said Buckingham. ''The edu• ested in the internment period and the resulting Donations are tax deductible. Commission on Wartime Relocation. cators there gave this shy child the encouragement to fulfill her contributions of this artist," said Fradkin. ''This Okubo lived in New York for over 50 years dreams and she never forgot where she came from." collection is unique in that it portrays the artist's in the same Greenwich VIllage apartment The affinity seems to ,be mutual. In 2005, RCC named a street life shaped by her early experiences in a very important period where she hosted many admiring scholars, writers and artists. after Okubo. of American history." Nearly a decade after her death, interest in her work continues RCC officially took possession of Okubo's collection in to grow. February. Her life's work on the intemment camps, women's No Other Like Mine "She had a ton of work and it's iIp.portant to save everything rights and modernism are "a commentary on the American "She was so wildly different from anyone I had ever met ... - early work and late work," said Azuma. "She had an excep• experience in the post-war decades," said Parsons. she was just amazing," said Julie Azuma, about Okubo, whom tional history from her early days on and she made a huge Two grants from the California Civil Liberties Public she met at an art show in the mid 1980s. impact in every component of the community. I can't think of Education Program (CCLPEP) have been awarded to help They chatted briefly after the show at a bus stop where anyone who had her spirit and resolve to continue her artistry." library archivists with the inventorying and cataloguing of the Okuqa gave "her philosophy on art and on relationships in • 6 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3; 2009 NATIONAL NEWS PACIFIC E CmZEN Plans to Preserve Wakamatsu Colony Gain Momentum National Newsbytes JACL and other community 'It's an underapp~iated story. ' By Pacific Citizen Staff and Associated Press groups have been longtime Phil Veerkamp, about the Wakamastu colony advocates of saving the site APA Groups Want Apology For Racial Slur in 'The where JA history began. Goods' CHICAGO-APA By Pacific Citizen Staff groups are criticizing a new Hollywood fIlm A California lawmaker has intro• about an over-the-top car duced legislation authorizing the salesmen for its use of a Bureau of Land Management to racial slur and its "shock• acquire and manage the site of the ing lack of judgment." former Wakamatsu Tea ·and. Silk Both the JACL and the Colony, the first Japanese settlement Media Action Network Actor Ken Jeong (center) with Jeremy Piven in the United States. for Asian Americans (righQ in "The Goods." Calling the Wakamatsu Colony (MANAA) have issued .:....=-.:...------site near Coloma, Calif. as signifi• statements demanding an apology from Paramount Vantage for the fIlm, cant as Plymouth Rock, Sen. '''The Good: Live Hard, Sell Hard." Barbara Boxer introduced the "Gold In the fIlm, star Jeremy Piven reportedly says, "Don't get me started on . The Wakamatsu house with the 140 year old Keaki tree still stands today. Hill-Wakamatsu Act" on Aug. 6 to Pearl Harbor - the Japs flying in low and fast. We are Americans and they "preserve the story of the are the enemy! Never again!" Wakamatsu colonists for future gen• Farm and Ranchland Protection problems forced the group to dis• Critics say the scene is a "sad reminder of. a time during the. 1980s and erations." Program grant. These grant funds perse and settle throughout 1990s when 'Jap'an-bashing based on perceived economic threats reached a In a statement, the Democrat will be matched by approximately California The property was pur• dangerouslevet." called the site a "testament to $500,000 in private donations that · chased by the Veerkamp family in Hawaii Plans Quiet. Sobering 50th Anniversary Japanese history, California's agri• have previously been received by the 1875. HONOLULU-Hawaii turns 50 years old as the 50th state on Aug. 21, but cultural economy and the American ARC. Many of the original structures on there will be no grand parades, no dazzling fIreworks, no lavish displays of tradition of bringing together people Last year at the JACL national the site remain intact. The 272-acre native culture. of diverse cultures in the common convention in Salt Lake City, the ranch encompassing the original Organizers of the observation are not even willing to call it a party. It is pursuit of freedom and prosperity." national council passed a Horin colony site has been passed down simply a "commemoration," one that is sensitive to a painful history of the Preservationists and community chapter-sponsored resolution to have for generations through the Hawaiian monarchy's overthrow and unresolved claims of Native groups say it's a major victory in the history of tlie Wakamatsu Veerkamp family. Hawaiians. . their efforts to save this little known colonists incorporated into JACL The Gold Hill Ranch is also the When statehood came calling in 1959, it ushered in an era of econornic part of American history. events. gravesite of Okei Ito or Okei-san, a prosperity through tourism and the side effects that came with it: resort high 'This legislation is important to This site, which was the location 19-year-old girl believed to be the rises, more than 500,000 monthly tourists and an emphasis on hokey luaus America because it serves to memo• of the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk fIrst Japanese to be buried on rather than the authentic host culture. rialize the beginning of the Japanese Colony from 1869 to 1871, is recog• American soil in 1871. Sovereignty groups advocating independence from the U.S. make up a American experience and, by exten• nized by the state of California and In 1969, on the centennial of the minority, but many residents recognize the long-standing issues associated sion, the experience of all the the JACL as the first Japanese settle• arrival of the first Japanese colonists with the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy, the islands' annexation and past immigrants who sought a better life ment in the United States. ' in the U.S., a commemorative harms to the Native Hawaiian people. in the land of opportunity," said In 1869, seven Japanese citizens marker was dedicated at the site. Larry Oda, JACL national president. and a European expatriate fled tur• ''We were aware of the historical New Mural Honors WWII JA Internees Several JACL chapters - includ-· moil in Japan and sailed across the context of the land," P4il Veerkamp SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -A mural of two men working has been ing Sacramento, Placer and Horin Pacific to San Francisco to purchase told the 'Pacific Citizen in 2007. painted into a neighborhood brick retaining wall to depict the World War IT - have been working with preser-. land in Gold Hill. Within two years, Veerkamp is a descendent of internment of Japanese Americans. vation groups like the· American the colony grew to 22 Japanese set• Francis and Louisa Veerkamp, Homeowner Carrie Lange commissioned the mural in memory of the over River Conservancy (ARC) to protect tlers and began producing traditional friends of the original Japanese 120,000 JAs sent to internment camps during the war, according to the Inland and restore the site. Japanese crops such as tea, silk, rice, colonists. Valley Daily Bulletin. The Wakamatsu Colony project and bamboo. "It's an underappreciated story," She told the newspaper that former internees assembled the rock walls that also recently received a $488,000 Eventually, drought and financial said Veerkamp .• hold the hillside together.

For Sale: Historic Japantown Building Filipino Vets Still Waiting lor P,romised Payments SAN JOSE, Calif.-The Ken Ymg Low building near the comer of 6th and Jackson in Japantown is up for sale. By Pacific Citizen Staff in an interview with the Star Reinvestment Act which authorized The building is now on the market after its tenant - the owner of the Bulletin. a one-time payment to Filipino vet• building's Cuban International Restaurant - died last year. It's been six months now since As of June approximately 550 erans who fought alongside Built in 1887, the two-story wooden building is the last remnant of the President Barack Obarna signed a Filipino veterans in Hawaii have American troops during WWII. Of Chinatown known as Heinlenville, which existed adjacent to Japantown bill to provide a one-time, lump-sum fIled claims. Of those fIlings, only 15 these veterans, those who are U.S. from 1887 until the 1930s, according to the San Jose Mercury News. payment' to Filipino veterans who veterans who suffered battle injuries citizens will receive $15,000 while It's been home to restaurants since 1915 and in turbulent times, it was a served alongside American troops have received their payments. The non-citizens will receive $9,000. haven for all of the area's APA residents. during World War II. But so far others are still waiting. Today, about 6,000 of these Filipino many of these vets are still waiting Caleda says he was told that the vets live in the U.S. while another Prime Minister Voices Deep Regret over WWII Suf• for their long-sought payments. payments could still take another 12,000 live in the Philippines. fering Hundreds of Filipino veterans in seven months. '''The long process is ridiculous," TOKYO-Japan's prime minister expressed deep regret over the suffering Hawaii have yet to receive their The reason for the delay in pay• said Caleda in the Star Bulletin arti• his country inflicted on Asian countries during World War IT in a solemn cer• checks and have been told that a staff ments seems to be a staff shortage at cle. '''The veterans cannot wait. emony Aug. 15 that marked the 64th anniversary of Tokyo's surrender. shortage is the cause for delay. Now the National Personnel Records' Since February about 30 veterans Prime Minister Taro Aso joined some 4,800 families to pay respect to mil• many of these vets are urging the Center in Missouri where staff veri• in Hawaii have passed away. lions of Japan's war dead at the Nihon Budokan hall in Tokyo. Emperor U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs fy whether a U.S. citizen fIling a Currently all claims for Filipino Akihito and Empress Michiko also attended the ceremony, leading a one• to help speed up the process. claim is a veteran. Officials are veterans, U.S. citizens and non-citi• minute silence at noon. ''We are losing hope," said Art working to increase personnel. zens, are being processed at the The prime minister vowed that Japan would never repeat the tragedy. Caleda, WWII Filipino-American Earlier this year President Obama Veteran Affairs' Manila regional Emperor Akihito - whose father Hirohito issued the surrender on Aug. Veterans-Hawaii Chapter president signed the American Re€overy and office.• 15, 1945 - said he hoped Japan would never again wage a war.• PACIFIC !!iii CITIZEN NATIONAL NEWS AUG. 21-SEPT 3 2009 7 APAs Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform Asian Pacific Americans, including JACL, organize. first-ever collective National Week of Action By Pacific Citizen Staff WASHINGTON-Asian Pacific Two APAs are Nominated to Federal Judiciary _ Americans across the country are Dolly M. Gee and flexing their political muscle in a Edward M. Chen have first-ever National Week of Action in been nominated for support of comprehensive immigra• judgeships in the Central tion reform. California district and the The various APA organizations, Northern California dis• including JACL, are holding town trict, respectively. hall meetings with members of If confirmed, Gee will Congress, hosting press conferences become the first Chinese and petitioning lawmakers in sup• GEE CHEN American female district port of comprehensive immigration nities and contribute to the econo• cy to let lawmakers know that the court judge in the United reform. Attendees are sharing their my." immigration system must be States. personal stories about how outdated Events are being held during the reformed now before it is too Chen is a Northern California district federal magistrate judge. He was also immigration policies are breaking up week of Aug. 17 to 24 but the groups late." part of the legal team that overturned the conviction of Fred Korematsu in families, hurting the economy and plan to continue pressing the issue Multilingual literature - in a coram nobis case. devastating local communities. into the fall. AAPIs are being urged Chinese, Hindi, Korean, "Immigration reform is a defining to submit letters to the editor and Vietnamese and English - are Minami Takes Helm of JA Republican Group issue for the Asian American and . write · or visit their members of aimed at helping community Roger Minami has been installed as acting president of the Japanese Pacific Islander communities," said Congress. members explain the need for American Republicans (JARS). Karen K. Narasaki, president and The national effort also includes a immigration reform and are now Minami served as a political appointee in Washington, D.C. under executive director of the Asian ''text-in'' day and a postcard cam• available. The information can be President George W. Bush at the Department of Agriculture and American Justice Center. '''The right paign. Organizers are aiming to col• used to craft letters to the editor, Transportation. He is currently finishing a master's degree in public admin• legislation legalizes millions in our lect 5,000 postcards that focus on the and blog posts. istration at the University of Oklahoma. communities, reunites thousands of need to fix the family immigration In addition to the JACL, some Established in 1967, JARS strives to advance the JA community through families, and signals that the U.S. system as part of comprehensive of the other national APA groups its support of various political figures and organizations. welcomes Asian and other immi• reform. include: Asian American Institute, grants." "Asian Americans have an Asian Pacific American Legal Community Sports Leaders to Receive Awards ''For this national week of action opportunity now to influence the Center, OCA, South Asian Four community sports leaders will receive this year's AId Komai we tell our stories as immigrants, critical conversation around immi• Americans Leading Together, Memorial Awards during a Sept. 20 event at the Japanese American and as descendants of immigrants," gration policy," said Deepa Iyer, National Asian Pacific American National Museum. said Titi Liu, executive director of executive director of South Asian Women's Forum, Hmong National The awards, which are named after the Nisei Athletic Union founder and the Asian Law Caucus. "We are Americans Leading Together. Development, Kaya, and the post-war publisher of the Rafu Shim po, recognizes individuals who are workers, neighbors, and small-busi• "We must play a role through National Federation of Filipino devoted to JA community sports. ness owners who revitalize commu- . grassroots organizing and advoca- American Associations .• The 2009 recipients are: Jesse James,Al Morita, Chester Thdakawa and DaveYanai. Tets Tanimoto will also be presented with the Founder's Award. Census Aims to Better Count Native Hawaiians Graves Receives Harvard Fellowship By ASSOCIATED PRESS person who considers herself or him• counted." Donna Gr~ves, the current director of "Preserving California's self to be of that ethnic heritage, And if Hawaiians continue to be Japantowns," has been named a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University's WAIANAE, Hawaii-The regardless of their percentage of undercounted, it could result in the . Design School. She will be in residence at Harvard for the 2009-10 aca• Census Bureau is opening an office Hawaiian blood. loss of disaster service or health care demic year. in Waianae in an effort to better '''That's any drop of Native funds for their communities. Over Graves will study urban design, public art and historic preservation strate• count the state's Native Hawaiian Hawaiian blood," she said. '''There's time, Native Hawaiians could also gies. Founded in 1971, the Loeb Fellowship provides a year ofindependent population in 2010 . . no application for quantum whatso• lose more of their ethnic rights as an study to outstanding mid-career professionals in fields related to the built and Officials say Native Hawaiians ever. It's purely .self-identification. indigenous group, Hanson said. natural environment. are among the most underreported And it doesn't matter how much." '''The outcome of Census 2010 ethnic groups in the nation. Many Wanda Liloa Hanson, a regional will impact to more years of our Bharara Gets Confirmed as U.S. Attorney residents fail to return the govern• technician for the Census Bureau lifetime," she said. '''This is money q~estionnaires, said an accurate count helps assure that is due us just for living and Preet Bharara has been confirmed as U.S. attorney for the southern dis• ment and others get that Hawaii gets its fair share of fed• residing in the state of Hawaii. We trict of New York. absorbed into broader categories of eral money, dictates government need to do this to get our fair share." Bharara, 40, is the nation's third Indian American U.S. attorney. He is also "Asian" or "other Pacific Islanders." representation and more. Census officials say they chose the first APA to be appointed as U.S. attorney on the East Coast, according to The 2000 Census counted Hanson, who is Hawaiian, under• the Waianae location for an office the Natipnal Asian Pacific American Bar Association. 240,000 Native Hawaiians in stands why some residents on the because western Oahu has one of the Prior to his confirmation, Bharara was the chief counsel to Sen. Charles Hawaii, but officials believe the Waianae Coast might be reluctant to largest populations of people with Sch!ll1ler and served as the staff director of the Senate Judiciary actual number could be far greater. answer a government survey. more then 50 percent Hawaiian Subcommittee on Administrative Oversights and the Courts. '''That's because there are plenty of uninformed people that participated ''Hawaiians have a bitter taste in blood. Kapolei was also considered UCLA Professor is Named First in the census survey in 2000 that their mouth," she said. '''They have for the office. an aversion to government because ''But being visible in Waianae, we Endowed Chair in U.S.Shinto (The Way of the Gods) commentators of pre-historic and early history of rests heavily on the "Kojiki" (712 A.D.) and Three hundred and thirty strangers in she be the intellectual powerhouse driv• Japan. Then he highlights Japan's recorded histo• ''Nihon-ki'' (720 A.D.), the collection of ancient this training program were divided into ing the liberal judicial philosophy for the ry through St. Francis Xavier, Tokugawa, chronicles. Ancient traditions and nature worship 21 smaller 16-member groups that were next 40 years? Commodore Perry and how the Hinomaru arose eventually merged with Buddhism and required to spend all waking hours of the Probably not. Yet, look at the actual as a national flag, replacing the separate banners Confucianism, and since 1868 a religion of the day from 4:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. together intellectual conservative force on the of the Shogun and daimyo. state with several branches. developing team building and leadership other side of the Supreme Court: Antonin Historian Grant Goodman in "Japan: the Dutch But ~storian w.G. Beasley ('''The Japanese skills. Scalia. He was confirmed by a vote of Experience" (1986) notes, "When the sun rises Experience,"-1999) notes the earliest evidence of It was a unique environment. While 98-0 in 1986. Is Scalia that much more and sets in Japan ... pointed to the remarkable human settlement in Japan dates from 30,000 the hours were long, the activities gruel• qualified than Sotomayor? Surely, that coincidence of the Copernican system of the sun years ago or more when there was a land bridge ing, the opportunities for introspection cannot be the case. Could it be that we and the central role of Amaterasu Ornikami in the between Japan and the Asian continent. were immense. ill an environment like have not passed the post of racial poli• Shinto tradition." Starting about 10,000 B.c., one group came this with total strangers, each individual tics? 1\venty-plus years later begs the Among the pathways by which people made and produced a rope-pattern pottery, or Jomon. has the luxury to be, to behave, or to question: is the United States moving in their way to Japan, wanderers from northern Asia They used tools, made weapons of stone, and define oneself in any maimer he or she the right direction in terms of race rela• came through Kamchatka peninsula and lived by hunting, fishing and gathering shellfish. chooses at that particular moment. tions? Sakahlin; and the south from tropical illdies, Millennia later, they added plants and rice to their Naturally, sirnilars attract. I believe we are. As a 20-something Southeast Asia or along the China coast, the diet. So I found myself in a quandary. How millennial who came of age in the 1990s Philippines, Formosa and the Ryukyus. The Of the pre-Siberian migrations to the Americas, do I define myself? Do I go with ethnici• and '''The Naughts," I am untethered in Black Current (Kuro-shio) from the south also we limit focus on the northerners around the ty, undergraduate major, graduate pro• my abilities to claim whichever label I moved past the Philippines, the Ryukyus and North Pole. The polar people, the illuits, Komi, gram, religious affiliation or life experi• desire. I am not confined to excel in par• Japan. Sarni and Yakuts are relatively numerous today ence? There are so many variables to ticular courses because I look or act a Migrations from the north would appear to be (87,000). The illuits of Canada have won some align, prioritize and incorporate. I guess, certain way. I can love Thai food and voluntary for a warmer clime. They would be the powers of home rule in the Arctic territory of as I become a full-fledged adult, I will Russian literature. Caucasoid Ainu. - Nunavut. Autonomous since 1993, Greenland has have a lot in common with many types To quote one of my favorite musi• Ethnic studies scholars have determined the just elected a new prime minister, promising to of people that will allow me to form cians, Common: Japanese are Mongoloid, mainly people from act as"equal partners" with Denmark. bonds with a people from diverse back• I {can] be asfree as the spirits of those Mongolia (central Asia) and China, who came A greater story is bound to unfold with climate grounds. But I'm not there yet. who left through Korea and gradually spread throughout change and the exploitation of natural resources ill my quest to make new friends and I'm talking Malcom, Coltrane, my man the islands and were seafarers who worshipped on the agenda .• to facilitate quicker team building, I Yusef the Sun Goddess, according to Takeshi found myself putting on different hats: a Through death, through conception Matsumae in '''The Cambridge History of Japan" Harry K. Honda is the Pacific Citizen editor Mormon, a dentist, an Asian American: I For moms, new steps in her direction ... (1988). . emeritus. must admit, it helped. But, it also felt Never looking back or too far in front like these labels were simplistic and arti• , ofme ficial. For the most part, it was because I The present is a gift KEN~Y JUST LeARNED was all of the above, all the time. And I just wanna be ABOUT .THE. CASH FOR However, it did make me think of what it To my peers, oftentimes the labels we CLUNKER.S rnight look like to live in a truly post• wear adhere to ourselves. We as a society PR06r<:AM. racial world. can be limited by the artificial labels, like There has been a lot of talk since the woman or Latina. It is not as simple as rise of Obama about how America is blaming the politicians for being petty entering into this "post-racial" era. and partisan, because it is we the people Sometimes it feels good to believe the that continue to elect petty partisans. hype. Sometimes, that's all it is: hype. So, will we reach a golden era that is 'Case-in-point: the run up to the confir• truly post-racial? It depends on the labels mation of Sonia Sotomayor. What are we in society decide to arbitrarily assign. the first things the general public thinks Hopefully, we will choose not to be of when they hear her name? Hispanic. selected groups, but instead choose to be Woman. Or in other not-as-kind words: "all of the above." • Wise Latina. Hardly anyone speaks about her credentials. People will boil Peter Shigeki Frandsen is currently her entire career down to two simple cat• living in Biloxi, Mississippi. He IS a egories into which she neatly fits. Will member of the Mount Olympus JACL PACIFIC iii CmzEN ENTERTAINMENT AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 9

THE BAND: (I-f) Dan Kuramoto, Dean Cortez, Kimo Cornwell, Danny Yamamoto, June Kuramoto and Shoji Kameda. Hiroshima: Looking Back on 30 .Vears of Smooth Jazz Three decades after their debut, this jazz-fusion it is clear that much has changed since the band's inception. The to fail. band is still going strong. Kuramotos·are now divorced, which was "awkward at first." '''There were bets in the record company itself - like Clive ''Well, we see each other everyday. And she's my best friend Davis' company Arista Records - there were bets that we By NALEA J. KO - she puts up with me," Dan Kuramoto said. ''We get along, I would sell a certain amount of records and then we would be an Reporter think, pretty well." embarrassment and then be gone," Dan Kuramoto said. Dan Kuramoto said his ex-wife June Kuramoto was mostly Music executive Larkin Amold, who wanted to promote There are a lot of milestones celebrated in the confines of a responsible for forming the band. diversity in music, first signed Hiroshima. He is also credited tour bus when a band has been together for 30 years like the Born in Japan, June Kuramoto was raised in the Crenshaw with discovering and signing talents such as Natalie Cole and jazz-fusion ensemble Hiroshima District of Los Angeles, Calif. Her childhood home was a Luther Vandross, among others. "Our daughter literally learned how to walk and take her first makeshift studio for Japan's koto Sensei Kazue Kudo. Taught People criticized the band for choosing to fuse two distinctly steps on a tour bus going from New York City to Buffalo," said to play the 13-string instrument in the traditional Japanese way, different genres. And after 30 years, the band is still lambasted Dan Kuramoto, one of the founding members of the jazz band June Kuramoto was soon playing the Temptations on the koto. for blending music from the East and West. Hiroshima. ''I missed it, I was in the back lounge and they start• I~ was a constant internal struggle, she said, to stray from the "Everyone said Asians don't listen to music. Everyone was ed yelling 'come on you got to see this!'" time-honored Japanese style of playing the koto. against us. And it hasn't changed that much," Dan Kuramoto Just like the band itself, the Kuramotos' daughter, Lani, is said. '.'We've been blessed because 30 years later we still have now 30. More than just 80s hairstyles and clothing have a record deal." ' changed since the band released its debut album "Hiroshima" 'Everyone said Asians don't listen "I'd just like to add, in a world where being sort of generic in 1979. Social networking sites like MySpace and You'llibe . to music. Everyone was against and in sync with everyone else is like the norm," wrote Kimo have transformed how Hiroshima's music is disseminated, Comwell in an e-mail to the Pacific Citizen. "It's great to be a which has its pluses and minuses. us. And it hasn't changed that part of a band that isn't afraid to be unique and can create a '''There's a lot of things of ours on You'llibe. Some really much. We've been blessed music that is fun a lot of the time, but also socially conscious at . amazing - I don't know where they get this stuff," said Dan other times." Kuramoto while sipping bottled water at the Senka Cafe in Los because 30 years later we still Angeles' Little Tokyo. have a record deal. ' lliroshima: Looking Forward "Only trouble is, it could have been a bad night and then you In retrospect of the last three decades, there are a few things have to live with it," added June Kuramoto with a laugh during they would have done differently, said the Kuramotos. - Dan Kuramoto, one of the founding a recent interview with the duo. "So, there's a lot of pressure "I think there were a lot of things we would have done differ• now because anyone can do it and put it on [You'llibe]. You members of Hiroshima ently had we known," Dan Kuramoto explained with a laugh. have to live with it." ''We had to learn_by mistake and we made many of them." Thirty years have past since the ensemble debuted, but the Mistakes such as investing a "small fortune" in stage equipment heart of Hiroshima has remained consistent over the 30-year "I had the concept of wanting to integrate koto with Western that would not fIt in the venue, he said. span. Hiroshima's fIrst decade of work is recaptured on its new instrumentation in a more hipper senS'e because my friends used ''We didn't learn to trust our own instincts probably for the album, "Legacy," which was recently released Aug. 18. to make fun of me for playing in an old traditional way," she first 20 years," Dan Kuramoto explained. To commemorate their anniversary, the band - including explained. After 30 years, the band has learned to trust their intuition. koto player June Kuramoto, saxophone player Dan Kuramoto, Dan Kuramoto was born and raised in East Los Angeles. He One thing they have never regretted: combing distinct m\lsic keyboard player Kimo Comwell, drummer Danny Yamamoto, was influenced, among other things, by Latin music. Together, genres. bassist Dean Cortez and taiko drummer Shoji Kameda - re• their musical backgrounds shaped Hiroshima, said the duo. "No," June Kuramoto said. 'That's not one of the regrets." recorded songs like ''Turning Point" and the Grarnmy nominat• In the United States, Hiroshima's fusion of American jazz With over a dozen albums under their belts, the band hopes ed ''Wmds of Change." and Japanese instruments gave them a broader audience, said to partner with colleges across the country in the future to hold "Over the years we've seen the best and worst of each other the two founding members. But in Japan, June Kuramoto was educational workshops. As for the next 30 years, ti~ not expect and we still want to be together," Yamamoto wrote in an e-mail. hard-pressed to fInd fans because the koto is a revered instru• these musicians to put down their instruments any time soon. ''I think that's a real defInition of family." ment, once played mostly in the royal court. ''Whew,'' June Kuramoto said laughing. ''I don't think we can Yamamoto said the band's ''burning desire" to be unique and '''The whole point is we were a JA band that wanted to reflect ever stop doing music: I don't think I could ever stop writing try news things has allowed them to remain viable in a chang• the Asian Pacillc mentality that, at the time, did not exist at all," and even performing.". . ing music industry. Dan Kuramoto said. "So there was so much overt racism and a lot of it was done by omission." The band will perform Sept. 11 at Yoshi's Jazz Club and Hiroshima's Legacy The initial resistance to Hiroshima came directly from its Restaurant in Oakland, Calif. For more infonnation about Sitting down with the two founding members of Hiroshima, own record label. Everyone, it seemed, was expecting the band Hiroshima's tour dates, visit www.hiroshimamusic.com. 10 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3 2009 NATIONAL! COMMUNTIY PACIFIC. CITIZEN JACL Unveils Survey on State of the Organization

state of .. . cot of a Nof.IQflK A Member Needs ASSBssm < t' • t'\ Orgof'1!za Ion Japanese ~menca"., .

National board members (I-r) David Kawamoto, vice president of planning and development, Sheldon Arakaki, V.p. of general operations, and National President Larry Oda answer questions at the Dana Nakano, former JACL Masaoka Fellow, worked on the survey with JACL staff members. PNW/IDC Bi-District meeting. JACL has completed a survey titled: "State tion will also be used for collaborative work in of the Japanese American Citizens League: A policy and community preservation. PNW and IDe Members Enjoy Final Bi-District Member Needs Assessment of a National The survey was undertaken by the JACL Organization." staff and Dana Nakano, a PhD candidate at the By JEFF ITAMI Sept. 17. He also noted that the National The survey - funded by a grant from the University of California, Irvine and a former Special to the Pacific Citizen Scholarship Endowment was down $10,000 Annie E. Casey Foundation - looked at the JACL Mike M. Masaoka Fellow. from the $59,000 normally available. The current state of JACL and will be used in 'The JACL · is grateful to the Annie E. By plane or by car, members of the JACL PNW district had seven recipients this year future planning of the organization. Casey. Foundation for making this project pos• Pacific Northwest and Intermountain Districts with the Portland chapter getting five of them. 'The pace of change in the world is accel• sible and to Dana Nakano, who was the lead came to Ontario, Oregon July 30 to Aug. 2 to The !DC had zero recipients this year. erating, and this is an important tool for help• researcher for the study," said National attend what was hailed as the "Last Bi-district ing the organization to appreciate and oblige Director Floyd Mori. "We also thank every• Conference" for the two districts. Q&A with the National Board the evolution," said National President Larry one involved, especially those who took the f\ big attraction for many of the attendees District members of the PNW and !DC had Oda. "TIus study will assist us to adapt to the time to respond to the survey which provided was the dialogue with national JACL officers a number of questions for the national board. changes we experience, and to determine valuable information for our community." including National President Larry Oda, Vice• Salt Lake JACL member Paul Fisk asked for where we are now as we establish what we Copies of the survey booklet are available President of Operations Sheldon Arakaki and an update on the monies earned by the local must be in the future." at JACL headquarters and regional offices .• Vice President of Planning and Development chapters that hosted the 2008 national conven• Insight into the JA experience may be David Kawamoto. The national officers pro• tion in Salt Lake City. ada noted that those gleaned from the survey results. The informa- For more infonnation: www.jacl.org vided an update on the national organization funds should be available soon. Oda explained and the duties of their respective positions that part of the difficulty was not having a sin• gle point of contact with the local convention '.PACIFIC National business and Finances committee. That issue is now being resolved ~.'"4 CITIZEN Professional Directory Oda provided an update on the finances of for future annual conventions. Your business card in each issue lor 22 issues is $15 per line. three·line minimum. Larger type (12 pt.) counts as two lines. Logo same as line rate as required. the national JACL noting that the finance com• Members also wanted to know what nation• p.e. has made no determination that the businesses listed in this directory are licensed by proper government authority. mittee met recently to adjust the budget due to al JACL was doing in regards to membership. it i ...... Family Dentistry & Orthodontics 900 E. Katella, Suite A Conventions Workshops and Activities Orange, CA 92867 • (714) 538-2811 Arakaki presented a PowerPoint on tJ:?e The plenary session on Saturday was led by www.cambridgedentalcare.com upcoming national conventions. The 2010 con• Karl Endo of the Pocatello-Blackfoot chapter vention will be held in Chicago June 30 to July and was entitled "How to Increase HOWARD IGASAKI, D.D.S., INC. 4 at the Swiss Hotel. Discussions regarding the ALAN IGASAKI, D.D.S. Membership." Some of the workshops includ• Dental Implants I General 2011 convention are currently taking place ed: Be Counted: bnportance of 2010 Census; 22850 Crenshaw Blvd., Ste. 102 between National Director Floyd Mori and Asian Kite Making; Recording Family Torrance, CA 90505 OCA. A possible joint convention between the Histories; Learn to Play Hana; and (310) 534-8282 two non-profits may take place in Los Angeles. Introduction to Tai Chi. Phoenix, AriL For the Best of The 2012 national JACL convention will take Participants also got a tour of the Four YUKITADANO Everything Asian place at the Bellevue Hyatt Regency, down• Rivers Cultural Center followed by a banquet REALTOR®, GRI Fresh Produce, Meat, town Seattle July 4 to 7. dinner with speaker Idaho State Rep. Pat Seafood and Groceries Takasugi .• (~.1~·~m A vast selection of ~ ~{c.J Planning & Development ='1..1 I r Ic::s Gift Ware Kawamoto noted that districts are currently Jeff !tami is the Intermountain District RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE Seattle, WA· (206) 624-6248 discussing sponsorship of tables at the upcom• Representative on the Pacific Cititen editorial (602) 565-1630 Bellevue, WA • (425) 747-9012 ing JACL Gala Dinner in Washington, D.C. board. yuki. [email protected] www.azmoves.com Beaverton, OR· (503) 643-4512 PACIfiC iI CITlZEN COMMUNITY NEWS AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 200911 Plans Being Made for Topaz Museum in Delta decades to preserve. Those trinkets, she says, responsibility to protect those who are not should have a permanent home. . quite as strong as the majority." And soon, they might.. As for a build date? Beckwith chuckles. Museum backers have laid plans - and ·"We wanted it done 20 years ago." even purchased property - for a 27,000- But for now, there are only a tiny museum square-foot historical complex in Delta that and a cracked desert floor to revive those would offer expansive exhibit space not only memories for people such as Davis, who for the Topaz story, but also for the Great Basin stood with her husband and four children Museum and Daughters of Utah Pioneers. among the weathered remains of her father's Designs for the nearly $5 million building also unwanted home: Block 6. call for a community meeting hall and office "Could you live here for 3 112 years?" she space for the Delta Chamber of, asks her children, who Commerce. 'I want people to see shake their heads. It's a high-dollar endeavor She hopes her children that through inaction, By ASSOCIATED PRESS this west desert town - a reality that histori• that Delta Mayor Gayle Bunker won't forget that story of ans hope to remedy soon. Momentum is build• says is in "a very good POsi• through fear and her father - the heart• DELTA, Utah-A broken teacup handle. A ing for a stand-alone museum in downtown tion" to succeed. through prejudice, rending tale of a boy splintered garden box. A cracked concrete slab Delta to chronicle the Topaz confinement. Not only has the federal gov• horrific things can whose friends turned that, long ago, served· as a mess hall for an Until then, the story of this sprawling prison ernment recognized the Topaz against him and whose happen jf no one does imprisoned community so large that it would camp, which once housed up to 11,000 people internment camp as a National country forced his family have ranked as Utah's fifth most-populous city. and raised constitutional questions about the Historic Landmark, but the anything to say no. ' from their homes during These are among the scattered memories wartime rights of U.S. citizens, will be retold Utah Legislature also passed a World War II. that awaited Camellia Davis on a sun-scorched in a single cramped comer .of Delta's Great resolution this year supporting a She hopes the world greasewood flat - about 15 miles outside Basin Museum. museum that would preserve that heritage. The won't forget what it did to people like her Delta - where her father spent three years of While potbellied stoves, military-style metal National Park Service extended another help• grandparents who had to forsake their family his childhood behind barbed wire in the Topaz bunks and even a crib carved with the identifi• ing hand in late July with a $48,000 Japanesy dry-cleaning business, abandon a cat at the intemment camp. cation number 11880 are displayed in a Topaz• American Confinement Site Grant to hire an garbage with only a can of sardines and, ulti• It was a pilgrimage, of sorts, for this lllinois era recreation hall behind the museum, histori• exhibit designer. mately, suffer the loss of all of their belong• mother of four, who desperately wanted to ans have no place for dozens of other artifacts, Years from now, Beckwith hopes the muse• ings in a ' mysterious barn fire during their understand her father's bitterness more than 60 ranging from Japanese ink wells to watercolor um will remind visitors about a tragic chapter imprisonment. years after the United States, following the paintings to brooches decorated with shells in U.S. history that, hopefully, the nation 'We can all heal and move forward," she bombing of Pearl Harbor, ordered the impris• from the desert floor. never will repeat. says. "But we need to be educated, all of us, onment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese Jane Beckwith, president of the Topaz "I want people to see that through inaction, to avoid having this mistake happen again. It ancestry. Museum Board, retrieves several boxes of through fear and through prejudice, horrific would be an even greater tragedy if we ''! was just driven," she says. ''! had to see flower-petal pins and bird carvings from the things can happen if no one does anything to learned nothing from this - that sometime in it." bedside of her Delta home - ornate reminders say no," Beckwith says. "I want people to the next century we did it again because we But the tale of Topaz is easily overlooked in of the history she has pushed for more than two know that, in a democracy, we have the were afraid." •

YAMATOTRAVELBUREAU® Anahe.im JA Family Brings History to Life (CST No. 1019309-10) Los Angeles' 'Little Tokyo has always been considered the Japanese American ESCORTED TOURS FOR 2009 center of Southern California, but the City of Anaheim also has a rich history of the . October 2·11 Yamato East Coast Fall Foliage Tour - 10 days/9 nights visiting Niagara contributions of many Japanese and JA Falls, Cooperstown/Baseball Hall of Fame, Williamstown, Loon Mountain, Kancamagus families who called Anaheim their home. Highway, Boston, New York City Philippe Theriault & Lilly Nomura In the early days, these Japanese families October 15-29 Yamato Deluxe Autumn Tour to Japan -15 dayS/13 nights visiting worked on their farms, established busi• Tokyo, Kagoshima, Ibusuki, Kirishima, Kumamoto; Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Jiess~, worked in professional careers and Kyoto. Peggy Mikuni sent their children to Anaheim schools. One November 9-13 New Orleans Getaway with Collette Vacations - 5 dayS/4 nights family is now celebrating their Centennial New Orleans includes sightseeing and a scenic river cruise, plus a Collette Foundation year of emigration tO'the United States from feature where you spend the moming giving back to !he children of New Orleans in a PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF ANAHEIM ~al service project. Space is limited. Wakayama Prefecture in Japan to Sharon Seto Washington State in 1909. The collection is on exhibit at the Anaheim History Room's 'Museum November 9-17 Costa Rica - Nature's Museum, A Smithsonian Joumeys Tour The Hirahara Family, who arrived in Without Walls' gallery. Wi!h Collette Vacations - 9 days/8 nights vis~ing San Jose. Poas Volcano, Brauillo. Anaheim in 1955, is being honored in Carrillo and Tortuguero Nat'l Parks. Sarapiqui, San Carlos, Arenal Volcano. Cano Negro the ------Wildlife Refuge. Includes stay at a rain forest resort. City of Anaheim's "100 Years and Four Center Foundation. He was also a past lieutenant gover• Nov. 3o.Dec. 9 • Yamato European Christmas Markets of Europe Tour Generations - Bridging the Past and Present" exhibit in nor of Optimist International that covered the Orange - 10 days/8 nights vis~ing Prague, Rothenburg, Romantic Road from Dinkelsbuehl to Ulm, Neuschwanstein, Gannisch-Partenkirchen, its first ''Museum without Walls" gallery display. The County region as well as being president of the Suburban Salzburg, Vle!lna. exhibit is being shown in memory of Frank Hirahara Optimist Club. Philippe Theriault who passed away in 2006. The Hirahara family will also be fea• Yamato Travel Bureau® continues to be a full service travel agency. This means we sell all The Hirahara family is a Southern BirabaJ:a Conection tured in the "Japanese Pioneers of the phases of leisure and corporate travel: airline tickets; hotel accommodations; car rentals; California success story and offers a Yakima Valley" exhibit at the Yakima tours; cruises; rail passes, etc. We also have discounted airfares to many destinations. Please Anaheim History Room diverse introduction into the aero• Valley Museum in Yakima, Washington call on our experienced travel consultants for your travel and tour arrangements. Professional Open Mon. to Fri. until Oct. 15 space industry, broadcasting, local in 2010 and will be part of a standing Memberships: American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). Cruise Lines Intemational 12 noon to 5 p.m. Association (CLlA). Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Vacation.com (a National consor• festivals, and involvement in the JA exhibit at the Heart Mountain Admission is free tium). Please visit our website at yamatotravel.com. community as well as being a bridge Interpretive Learning Center, which is For more infomation: maker between the U.S. and Japan. being built on ' the original site of the YAMATO TRAVEL BUREAU® Anaheim's Heritage Services at In local Anaheim community activ• WWII JA internment camp at Heart 250 East First Street, Suite #1112 7141765-6453 Los Angeles, CA 90012 ities, the Hiraharas are charter mem- Mountain in Powell, Wy. (213) 680-0333 or (800) 334-4982 bers of the Anaheim YMCA's The Hirahara Family Collection rep• Email: [email protected] Heritage Club. Frank was also a past member of the resents the only four generational family the Anaheim board of directors of the Anah.eim Memorial Medical History Room has in its collected works . • 12 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2Q09 COMMUNIlY NEWS PACIFIC iil CmZEN WWII 442nd Veterans Mark 65th Anniversary JACL Announces Nat'l Gal.a Honorees of Liberation of Vosges Regjon in France The JACL has announced the slate of honorees for its third annual National JACL Gala Awards Diriner. This year, the civil rights organization will honor Japanese American veterans collectively at the Sept 17 event Among the honorees will be Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii, a World War n veteran. RUE DE 442: WWII Nisei On Dec. 7, 1941, Akaka, 17, witnessed the bombing of Pearl Harbor veterans visit the street from the roof of his ~gh school dormitory. After gr,aduating high school, named in their honor. he served in the u.s. Army Corps of Engineers, first as a civilian, then Pictured (I-r) are: Art as an enlisted soldier. Iwasaki, George Kanatani, Since he was first elected to the Senate in 1990, Akaka has served as Sam Sakamoto, Nelson chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs to ensure that veter• Akagi, Fumio 'Steve' ans receive the care and benefits they have earned through their service. Shimizu and Lawson At the event, theJACL will also present awards to JA veterans groups Sakai. that have been committed to keeping the veterans' story alive for future generations. The honorees are: Japanese American Veterans

PHOlO: ELlEN SAWAMURA, PHD Association. The Japanese American Korean War Veterans, Go For Broke National Education Center and The National Japanese American Historical Society. -The JA veterans' bravery and commitment helped to build the civil Lawson Sakai went to France to war stories with each other and fam• cranes and saluted. rights movement, said the JACL in a s1:Utement. The gala will be an retrace his own footsteps. During ily members - often for the first The six veterans and their families opportunity to thank the veterans for their service and sacrifice .• World War n, the 442nd Regimental time. also visited significant battlefields Combat Team warrior fought in the Art Iwasaki, 89, of Portland, where the lOOth1442nd valiantly National JACL Gala Awards Dinner densely wooded Vosges Mountains Oregon, was wounded in the arm fought and suffered tremendous Thurs., Sept. 17 to rescue the soldiers from the Texas and shoulder on Oct. 27, 1944, dur- ' losses. Other veterans who attended. J. W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. 36th Division, the "Lost Battalion." ing the rescue of the "Lost included: Nelson Akagi, a 522nd Info: www.jacl,org For his service and valor, he Battalion." The I Company veteran Field Artillery veteran; George received a Bronze Star and four was being transported in a jeep with Kanatani, an E Company veteran; Purple Hearts. two other wounded soldiers when and Furnio "Steve" Shimizu, an F . In July, Sakai, 85, and a handful of the vehicle hit a road mine. Although Company veteran. KOKUSAI-PACIFICA other lOOth1442nd veterans arrived seriously injured himself, Iwasaki The delegation also included fam• in France to commemorate the 65th dragged another soldier to safety and ily members of the "Lost Battalion," @ 2009-2010 TOURS anniversary of the liberation of received a Bronze Star. including Janet and Susan Bruyeres, Biffontaine and the rescue He never previously shared these Hardwick, who in 2007, left a thank of the ''Lost Battalion." stories with his family. you note to the Nisei soldiers at the Oct 12 HokkaidolTohoku - 11 Days He's been back many times since The delegation of isei veterans Natipnal Japanese American $4195 - Sapporo-Sahoro - Ainu - Lake Toya - Hakodate the end of wwn. In fact, Sakai has and their family members visited Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Aomori - Hachimantai - Matsushima - Sandai - Tokyo. traveled to the Vosges about nine several significant sites that brought behalf of their father, Sgt. Bill Oct 19 Uranihon"Otherside of Japan"-ll Days other times for previous anniver• back memories, including an emo~, Hardwick. $4095 - Tokyo-Japan SearSado lsle-Kanazawa-Amano- saries. But this trip back may be the tional visit to the Epinal American For these Nisei veterans, the les• hashidate-Kinosakl-Matsue-Izumo-Mt. Daisen-Kyoto. last Cemetery. sons of honor and pride are deeply It was ''the time to say our final There, 84-year-old Sam Saka• ingrained. . Nov 3 SPECIAL - Fall Japan - to Days ~ $2995 farewell" to those ~ho did not return moto, a veteran of I Company, Kanatani, 91, said his Issei parents N Tokyo - Fall Colors in Nikko - Tosbogu Shrine - home. placed an American flag on a Nagano - World Heritage Site Shil"aiPortugal - Mar 15 - Best of China Ma.r 29 - Japan ' Cherry Blossoms" was reinstated in 1948 following the Memorial Apr 12 -Japan "Off the Beaten Track" cominunity's return to San Day planting of flags in the S.F. or contact Nob Fukuda at 415/221- May 5 - Great Lakes "Mackinac Island" 8295; [email protected]; Francisco. Presidio. Jun 22 - Summer Japan "Family Tour- Ju120 - NiagaralDC - Aug 2 "- Black Sea Cruise Currently, the Troop and Pack The Pack and Troop 58 reunion Kathy Chu at dragonox85@ aol.com; or Nestor Tom at nestor• Oct 11 - HokkaidolTohoku - Oct 18 - Uranillon meet regularly on Friday evenings committee, co-chait:ed by Kathy Nov J 1 - OkinawaIKyushu/Shikoku [email protected].• during the school year at the Konko Inouye-Chu and Yee Tom, is net• Church of San Francisco, and partic• working with former scouts, parents HEarly bird savi.ogs - call for Brochure" ipate in camping, outdoor activities and leaders in an effort to get the What; Pack, Troop and Post 58 Includes flights, botels, sightseeing" most meals. - Fuel sun:ha.rge additi01llll. and community service in and word out about the celebration. 70th Reunion around San Francisco's Japantown. The Troop is also compiling pho• When: Nov. 7, 11a.m. - 3 p.m. The Troop was recently honored tographs and is updating its alumni Where; SJ. Hotel, Kabuki KOKUSAI INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, INC. with the Kirnochi Spirit Award for its roster. Anyone with information Information: www.pack• 4911 Warner Ave.; Suitc22i, Huntington Beach. CA 92649 longtime service during the holiday should visit www.pack-troop58.org troop58.org 7141840.005 - 11006444-101 PACIFIC 51 CmzEN NATIONAL! COMMUNITY AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 13 New Gov't for Native Hawaiians Gains Support By KEVIN FREKING 'The United States has not always acted honorably in its answered the question of whether Congress Associated Press Writer has the authority to treat Native Hawaiians in treatment ofour nation's first people. " the same manner as members of an Indian WASlllNGTON-A new administration Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii tribe. has brought a change of view about the legali• The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs ty of Native Hawaiians establishing their own held that chamber's first hearing of the year government. on legislation establishing a Native Hawaiian During the past decade, members of government, though Sen. Daniel Akaka, D• Hawaii's congressional delegation have Hawaii, noted that it's the 10th time the com• worked to pass legislation allowing for the mittee has met to consider the issue. reorganizing of a Native Hawaiian govern• The hearing was for informational purpos• ment that was overthrown in 1893. Their leg• es only and no vote occurred. . islation sets up a process for that reorganiza• The legislation is cornmonly referred to as tion and would allow Native Hawaiians to be the Akaka ~ill because of his sponsorship. treated on par with more than 560 American ''The United States has not always acted Indian tribes and Alaska Natives. honorably in its treatment of our nation's first Sam Hirsch, deputy associate attorney gen• people," Akaka said. "However, I am proud eral for the Justice Department, told the Senate that as a country we have pursued actions Committee on Indian Affairs Aug. 6 that the acknowl~ging past wrongs and building a department "strongly supports the core policy mutual path forward." goals" of a bill allowing for self-governance Stuart Benjamin, a professor at Duke Law by Native Hawaiians. School, told the committee that the bill would Once established, the new government that's a marked shift from the Bush admin• erally recognized Indian Tribes in the conti• test the minimum requirements for what con• would negotiate with the state and the federal stitutes an Indian tribe. ''No tribe has ever had government over which assets the new gov• istration's viewpoint. Two years ago, the White• nental United States." the paucity of connectionS that exist among ernment would own. Currently, the state House threatened to veto a comparable bill, Hirsch said Native Hawaiians have much in Native Hawaiians," he said in his written tes• administers 1.2 million acres of former monar• saying it would "formally divide sovereign common with Indian tribes. Congress recog': timony. chy land, and some of that land could revert to United States power along suspect lines of race nized that similarity when it set aside lands Benjamin said that limiting the organizers the new Native Hawaiian government. and ethpicity." expressly for their benefit. He noted that of the new government to Native Hawaiians Prospects for the legislation seem better than Hirsch took issue with some of the key Native Hawaiians exercised self-rule prior to who are state residents would prevent people ever now that Democratic lawmakers have issues raised by the Bush administration, the arrival of Western explorers, and have col• connected to Hawaii only through an ancestor strengthened their majority in Congress and which cited court rulings stating the "history of lectively worked to preserve traditional culture from participating in the reorganization President Barack Obama has voiced his sup- . indigenous Hawaiians .... is fundamentally dif• just as Indian tribes have. effort .• port. ferent from that of indigenous groups and fed- Hirsch also said no court has squarely Victim's Family, APA Leaders Rellect on 10th Anniversary 01 a Hate Crime By Pacific Citizen Staff

''He was killed because of his skin color," said Ismael fieto about his brother Joseph fieto, a Filipino American postal worker who was fatally shot. by a self-proclaimed white supremacist 10 years ago in a hate crime that shocked the nation. Joseph, 39, was shot nine times as he was delivering mail in Chatsworth, Calif., less than an hour after the gunman opened fire at the North Valley Jewish CommUnity Center. On Aug. 10, his family members and Asian Pacific American leaders gathered in Los PHOTO COURTESY OF APALC AND VANESSA LAP Angeles to mark the anniversary of the murder. At the time of the shooting, the audience Ten years after her son Joseph lIeto was gunned paused for a moment of silence. down by a white supremacist, Lilian lIeto (left) Since Joseph's murder, the fieto family has said she still misses him. stepped up their advocacy work by creating the Joseph fieto Hate Crimes Prevention According to recent data we've come a long Fellowship and lobbying for hate crime legis• way, said Craig Ishii, PSW JACL regional lation. director. Police reports indicate that hate ''We know that your loss will never be for• crimes in the APA community are down. gotten, but your contribution to harmony and ''Numbers are deceiving," said Ishii, citing peace will always be remembered," Stewart issues of underreporting and culturill road• Kwoh, executive director of the Asian Pacific blocks to reporting hate crimes, including lan• American Legal Center (APALC) said to guage issues. (800) 544-8828 • www.jaclcu.com members of the fieto family. APA leaders say these factors don't reflect APALC sponsored the event with PSW reality completely and more work needs to be JACL as a co-sponsor. The commemoration done. ~:!~r~~~;L also offered an opportunity for APA leaders to Other speakers at the event included (;) reflect on how far the community has come in Congresswoman Judy Chu and the last decade when it comes to hate crimes. Assemblymember Warren Furutani.• ----f=

14 AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 2009 CALENDAR PACIFIC iii! CmzEN

~ t ;it9tg[ffiI tl l;3 ,t:Z43- . Join the Watsonville-Santa Cruz Venice Japanese Community Center JACL as the celebrate their 75th 12448 Braddock Dr. Oregon Nikkei Endowment anniversary. Guest speakers: Sandy Los Angeles, CA 90066 Street Party Lydon, historian emeritus of Cabrillo The Venice JCC's History Project will PORTLAND College, Tom Ikeda, founder of be holding the 2nd "Talk Story." All Sat., Sept. 5 Densho, Megumi Kaminaga, JA9L former residents of the Venice area Noon-6 p.m. youth leader & younder of NakayoshL are invited to bring their memories, 121 NW 2nd Avenue and Davis St. in Buffet lunch is $35 per person: photos and stories of growing up in Old Town For info: Bobbi Jo Palmer, 831/840- the Venice area. Free admission, activities for all ages 5436 or Marcia Hashimoto, 831/722- For info: Sharon Kumagai 310/822- and community tables with food a 6859, [email protected] 8885, [email protected] drink from local restaurants. Featuring Minidoka Swing Band Performance: "When Dreams Screening: "Citizen Tanouye" (NOOR-2:30 p.m.), Girl Genius (Radio Are Interpreted ... " SAN DIEGO Play at 3:00 p.m.), A-Key-kyo (4-5 BERKELEY Sat., Oct. 24 p.m.), Swing Dance Contest. Oct., 9·11 12:30 p.m. For info: Mari Watanabe 503/224- 2 p.m. Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa Public 1458, Mari@oregonnikkeLorg, 1623 Stuart St. Library Community Room www.oregonnikkeLorg Berkeley, CA 94703 9005 Aero Drive, San Diego Jill Togawa and Purple The San Diego .JACL invites you to Portland Taiko Season Finale Moon Dance Project their free showing of the award-win• PORTLAND present the world premiere of "When ning documentary, in which Torrance, 12th Annual Aki Matsuri Oregon Lost & Found, Sept. 19, 8 Dreams Are Interpreted." ," an inter• CA high school students discover p.m. disciplinary work inspired by memo• why an alumni receives a posthu• BELLEVUE, WA Taiko Show & Teli, Sept. 20, 2 p.m. ries, stories and "interpreted dreams" mous Medal of Honor form President Sept. 12-13 .Children's Matinee, Sept. 19, 1 of the WWII internment experience of Clinton. Space is limited . Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun., 11 a.m.·5 p.m. p.m. the Japanese American community in For info and rese,rvations: SO JACL Bellevue College (BC), Main Campus Newmark Theatre, Portland Center south Berkeley. Free &open to the 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, Bellevue, WA 98007 for the Performing Arts public; limited seating, reservations Nevada The matsuri includes two full days of on-stage Japanese per• 1111 SW Broadway, Portland required. ' For info and reservations: 415/552- 619/230-0314 forming arts, martial art demos by local dojo members, puppet Join Portland Taiko for their 15th anniversary season finale concerts. 11 05, project@purpl~moondance.org, National Singles Convention shows based on Japanese folk tales, tea ceremony demonstra• For ticket info: www.portlandtaiko.org, www.purplemoondance.org LAS VEGAS tions in the Teahouse, 65+ exhibit booths, and Japanese food PCPA box office, 800/982-278t Southern Calif. Sept. 18·20 booths. Browse through Nomi-no-ichi, a Japanese style flea For group tickets: 503/288-2456 Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling market to make a lucky find! Hall Info and registration: Project: Community! ~ The 12th annu~1 singles convention Culmination will include "Big Bash" dinner dance Admission and parking are FREE. Fees apply 10 some work• .:.:.tI Showing: "Hidden Internment: LOS ANGELES on Sat. evening. Entertainment, din• shops. Contact: 425/861-7865 or [email protected] The Art Shibayama Story" Aug., 25th ner and a dance for an extra $75. www.enma.org , SAN JOSE 6 f).m.-9 p.m. $185/fu11 registration; hotel Sun., Sept. 13 JACCC Garden Room $89.99/night, single or double occu• 2 p.m.-4 p.m. 244 S. San Pedro St. pancy. atlona I arranging. Free parking, free enter• Yu-Ai Kai Building ', Los Angeles, CA 90012 Info: www.jaclsc.com or tainment, raffle prizes. Fun for the JACL Gala Dinner 588 North 4th st. The JACL PSW invites you to cele• . Yas Tokita, 702/897-8975 .• WHOLE family. All proceeds go WASHINGTON, D.C. San Jose, CA 95112 brate the work of 13 high school par• toward the proposed Japanese Thu., Sept. 17 Nihonmachi Outreach Committee ticipants of Project: Community!, an Cultural Center. "A Salute to Japanese American presents a free screening of "Hidden eight-week program that develops For info: Leo Gomez at: 505/291- Veterans"; J.w. Marriott Hotel. Internment," a film about the experi• and empowers the youth's voice in 1062, [email protected] or Info: www.jacl.org or 202/223-1240. ence of Japanese Latin Americans Little Tokyo. www.nmjacl.org during WWIL Mr. Art Shibayama will For info and to RSVP: Tracy East be the guest speaker and will hold a Kanamori: 5621716-9432, JACL PSW 1st Annual Asian Health Care office: 213/626-4471, Leaders Conference O&A session following, the video. 2009 APAICS Golf Classic For info: 408/374-2722, [email protected] CHICAGO Maryland [email protected], www.sjnoc.org Mon., Oct. 19 Nov. 16-17 Pre-War Talk Story, Part 2 Hyatt Regency Chicago The Courses at Andrews Air Force Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL VENICE This meeting represents the opportu• Base 75th Anniversary Sat., Sept. 19 nity to connect with healthcare exec• The Asian Pacific American Institute APTOS 11 a.m.-3 p.m. utives and key members of the For Congressional Studies (APAICS) Sun., Oct. 4 national Asian healthcare community invites you to join them for a day of 11 :30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and offers a dynamic lineup of topic golf, breakfast and awards Seascape Golf Club Banquet Room REVERSE MORTGAGE areas and speakers. luncheon/reception. 610 Clubhouse Dr For info: visit www.asianhealthcare• Call for a fuf information package For info and sponsor packages: Aptos, CA 95003 leaders.org Helen .Ruggiero, [email protected] If you are 62 or older and own your house, www.apaics.org MAYFLOWER TRANSIT LLC a Reverse Mortgage may benefit your...... I west • Turn Home Equity into Tax Free Cash .. .. A portion of each move • You keep title to your home ...... " NMJACL Annual Aki Matsuri is donated to JACL HQ. • No Monthly Mortgage Payments •...... ALBUQUERQUE Call Today for a Free • Safe FHA Program Designed for Seniors Sun., SEPT. 27 Competitive Quote. "/-pledge to provide excellent customer service 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Please mention JACL with the highest standard of ethics" National Hispanic Cultural Center 800-392-3596 25+ Years Experience as a Financial Professional 1701 4th St. SW [email protected] David C. Miyagawa Chee Matsuri theme: Kado: The way of Certified Public Accountant 1-800-967-3575 the flower ikebana: Japanese Flower PUC CAL T-182,288; USDOT #125563; TX DOT #636711 CA Dept of Real Estate - Real Estate Broker #01391106 PACIFIC III CITlZEN NATIONAL! OBITUARIES AUG. 21-SEPT. 3, 200915 IN MEMORIAM 442nd Veterans to Reunite With the 'Lost Battalion' All locations are in California except as noted. Veterans from the Texas 141st Hangai, Noboru, 78 boyfriend Van and sisters Maybel and Wantry Regiment and the Japanese American 442nd Regimental June 19, Monterey Park, CA. Army Melanie. Combat Team will be reunited after Air Force veteran. Survived by wife, more than 65 years at a Nov. 1 Barbara, son, Dana, sister Mineko Saruwatari, Beverly Jeane, 61 Houston gala hosted by the National Kimura, and numerous nieces and June 27, Spokane, WA. Elementary Japanese American Memorial nephews. school teacher until her death She is survived by sons Jerud and Travis Foundation (NJAMF). The event, to be held at the Hyatt Hyun, Carolynn, 44 Melcher, sister Diane Tokugawa, brothers Steven and Mike Regency Hotel, will recall the rescue Saruwatari, and nieces and grand• of the "Lost Battalion" on a French nephews. battlefield by the Nisei 442nd - a rescue that brought together two Suyama, Dr. Eji, 89 uniquely American communities, one of which fought in the U.S. June 8, Sebastopol, CA. Served in Anned Forces even as tens of thou• 442nd RCT and was awarded the PHOTO: DENSHO sands of its civilians were held Silver Star. Helped rescue the "Lost forcibly in U.S. govemment intern• 442ND IN BRUYERES: Nise infantrymen move into action in a hilly sector of Battalion." Became the chief of sur• mentcamps. France on Oct. 24, 1944. gery at the Maine Coast Memorial '''The Houston gala will recognize Hospital in Ellsworth, ME. He is sur• the heroism of both the 442nd and fundraising campaign to replicate a pushed on for 10 more days to com• vived by wife Virginia and six chil• the 141st. These veterans helped the part of the national JAmemorial• plete the "Lost Battalion's" original dren. July 5, Chicago, III. the former deputy U.S. to win that war, but they also the crane entangled in barbed wire objective: take the ridge. chief of staff to U.S. Transportation built a foundation of understanding - in select cities and at fonner The 442nd, the most decorated Watanabe, Hideo, 88 Secretary Rodney Slater from 1998- that decades later led to redress for intemment campsites. unit in U.S. military history for its 1999. Born in San Francisco on July Feb. 15, Spokane, WA. Interned at the injustices of the intemment. In The first replica will be placed' in size and length of service, suffered 29, 1964. Battled cancer and is sur• Manzanar. Enlisted and served with that sense, they helped win two Texas to honor the 141st and 442nd. tremendous injuries and casualties. vived by her brother Arthur, his wife MIS during WWIL Had a long career wars," said Craig Uchida, NJAMF On Oct. 24, 1944, Nazi forces in ''The brave men of the 'Lost Lisa Greenstein and their son Max. as a research chemist and held 16 chairman of the board. the Vosges Mountains of Northern Battalion' owe their lives to the patents. Survived by wife of 63 years, NJAMF, a non-profit organiza• France surrounded the 1st Battalion courageous men of the 442nd," said Maruyama, Midori Takahashi, 85 Ikuko Dorothy Amatatsu, sister tion, previously raised the private of the 141st Regiment of the 36th Patricia Barry Rumble, the daughter June 1, Richmond, CA. born in Mt. Fujiye, sons Nathan and Gordon. funds to build the Washington, D.C.• Wantry Division. In a five-day bat• of Pat CR Barry, who served in the Eden, Survived by her husband based Japanese American Memorial tle, the 442nd fought enemy infantry, 36th from 1939 to war's end. "We Masami. Memorial service was held Yada, Joe Josaku, 84 to Patriotism During World War II. artillery and tanks through forests must honor their names in history. at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. May 25; Interned at Tule Lake and Proceeds from the event will be and mountain ridges until it reached These men were true heroes." • later at Minidoka, Idaho. Served with used to develop curriculum on the the "Lost Battalion," breaking Maykin, Michelle, 27 the MIS division in Minn. and Japan. history of the 442nd and the "Lost through Nazi defenses to rescue For more infonnation: July 25, Diagnosed with Acute Worked various jobs including US Battalion" as well . as launch a about 230 men. The 442nd then www.njamf.com Myeloid Leukemia in 2007. Created Postal Service, Connor Sales, Singer' "Project Michelle,· to recruite people Sewing Company, Seasia and to register as bone marrow donors. Uwaji01aya. Survived by daughter, Robert M. Takasugi 1930-2009 She is survived by her parents, Gail; son, Jeffrey (Chris); 4 gc.; 1 ggc.; and sisters Emi Somekawa• First Japanese American Federal Judge Dies Beckwith and Kimi Yada .• WllLS, TRUSTS, PROBATE By p.c. Staff and Associated Press Law Center with the aid of the GI a*'mci!?-f: Bill. (310) 540-9266 'In Memoriam' appears on a limited, U.S. District Judge Robert M. '''The experience of being a victim . Thomas N. Shigekuni & Associates space-available basis at no cost. Takasugi, who was sent to an intern• of the tenn 'military necessity,' and Ste. 625, 21515 Hawthorne Blvd. ment camp with his family during 'national security' gave him a view Torrance, CA 90503 'Tributes, ' which appear in a timely World War II and overcame discrim• of fairness and judicial restraint that manner at reque~t of the family or ination to become the first Japanese earned him the respect of lawyers on SOUP TO SUSHI funeral director, are published at the rate of $20 per column inch. Text is American appointed to the federal both sides of the courtroom," said (a special collection of favorite recipes) reworded as necessary. .bench, died Aug. 4 at the age of 78. Larry Oda, JACL national president. For info: [email protected]. Takasugi, a much-honored jurist In 1973, Gov. Ronald Reagan New Deluxe 3-Ring who presided over the high-profile 'For many in the Asian appointed Takasugi to the East Los Binder Cookbook With trial of automaker John Z. DeLorean Angeles Municipal Court bench. He (562) 598-9523 ~ American and legal Over 750 Recipes in 1984 and authored groundbreak• moved up to Superior Court and was EstablIshed 1965 'W ing opinions on constitutional issues communities, judge named the first JA to the federal $25 (plus $5.50 handling) Imperial Jewelry Mfg. Co. bench by President Gerald Ford in Fine Jewelry • Custom Designing • Repair during his 33 years on the bench, Takasugi was an died at a Los Angeles nursing home 1976. Wesley United Methodist Women 11072 Los Alamitos Blvd. inspiration and a hero. ' 566 N. 5th Street Los Alamitos, CA 90720 after a number of illnesses, accord• "For many in the Asian American San Jose, CA 95112 ing to his son, Superior Court Judge - Stewart Kwoh, APALC and legal communities, Judge Jon Takasugi. Takasugi was an inspiration and a Takasugi's life was all about over• to be fair." hero. His death is a great loss to our OTA. coming adversity. But in later life, when Takasugi community," said Stewart Kwoh, KKEI Born in Tacoma:, Wash., on Sept. took up art, he often drew pictures of APALC president and executive MORTUARY 12, 1930, he was the son of impover• barbed-wire fences, guard towers director. . ~til:::Eii}:£f::Ug . ished Japanese immigrants. In 1942, and tarpaper barracks, his son said. U.S. District Judge Consuelo

·REUABL.E. COMPASSIQNATE. PERSONAL.IZED- 12-year-old Takasugi and his family After the war, Takasugi attended Marshall said Takasugi had been were taken to the Thle Lake intern• the University of California, Los expected to recover and return to the 707 East Temple Street Gerald Fukui 91 1 VENICE BOULEVARD Los Angeles, CA 90012 President Los ANGELES, CAUFORNIA 900 15 ment camp where his father died Angeles. He was drafted into the bench. TEL(213)7~1449 from lack of medical care. U.S. Anny during the Korean War "He could have left the court years Ph. 2131626-0441 FAX (2 13) 7490265 ft "' '(' ~Ml ~ l.ttlfU '' ni n '.i:: ~~'n' .Y . He rarely talked about the experi• and upon discharge, he attended the earlier," she said. ''But he was really Fax 2131617-2781 www.kubotanlkkelmortuaIY.com ence, except to call it "an education University of Southern California dedicated." • ADVERTISING PACIFIC ~ CrnZEN

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