J-League Basketball and Its Impact on Japanese American Identity A
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Identity Ballin: J-League Basketball and Its Impact on Japanese American Identity A thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University 3^, In partial fulfillment of . the requirements for the Degree Aft-s •H+H Master of Arts In Asian American Studies by Dustin Tokuji Hedani San Francisco, California May 2015 Copyright by Dustin Tokuji Hedani 2015 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read Identity Ballin: J-League Basketball and Its Impact on Japanese American Identity by Dustin Tokuji Hedani, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree: Master of Arts in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. Mai Nh,ungte;"Ph.'Dr Professor of Asian American Studies Grace Yoo, Ph.D. Professor of Asian American Studies Wesleyueunten, Ph.D. Professor of Asian American Studies Identity Ballin: J-League Basketball and Its impact on Japanese American Identity Dustin Tokuji Hedani San Francisco, California 2015 According to the U.S. census of 2010, there are 1,304,286 Japanese Americans, about half of which are the Yonsei generation, the fourth generation. However, there are limited studies on this generation of Japanese Americans. The major questions of this thesis include how does J-league basketball impact Japanese American identity formation for its youth participants? How does participating in J-league impact one’s personal identity? Eleven qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with fourth generation, Yonsei, Japanese Americans. The key findings are that J-league allows its participants to self-determine their identity, and that J-league plays a role in the process of identity formation for the Yonsei. Continued research is needed to understand how Yonsei ethnic identity is formed and how ethnic organizations such as J-league inform their ethnic identity. I certify that the Abstract is a correct representation of the content of this thesis. PREFACE AND/OR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would have not been possible without the patience and support of many people. Many thanks go to my academic advisors Mai Nhung Le, Grace Yoo, and Wesley Ueunten. To Mai Nhung Le, thank you for believing in me, and pushing me to get to where I am today. I would not have been in this Masters program without your love and support, and I appreciate your guidance and care with me through this journey. You inspire me to be excellent in everything that I do, and to always give the best of my abilities to the task at hand. To Grace, thank you for being that motherly, and caring person through this program. You passion, and love for students inspires me to be a good person, and to do good things. You are a great motivator and your positive energy is contagious. To Wes, thank you for being a friend, mentor, and a teacher. Your patience and kindheartedness is immeasurable, and you inspire me to be a community scholar. You are the most humble person I know, but you deserve praise because you are an amazing human being. Thank you Gonzo for being there for me, you’ve been a second father to me through Asian American Studies. Your love and support is appreciated. Thank you Ben Kobashigawa for being so understandable and helpful my first semester. Also thank you for changing my final so that I could graduate on time. Thank you Dr. Pido, for helping me with my struggles. You have been a great mentor for me, and a positive light in my life. Thank you to my J-league community, family, and friends. You guys have inspired and impacted who I am today, and I thank you for giving me a foundation to grow from, and evolve into a positive loving person. Thank you to my cohort. I love you guys. Special thanks goes to the most important people in my life, my parents, Dean and Melainie Hedani. Thank you for your unconditional love and support. To my Mom, I constantly try for you everyday, and I love you with all my heart. Please keep watching over me. And to my father, I love you, and I hope to someday be the great person that you are. You both inspire and motivate me to just do good in this life, and through love you have taught me to live every moment memorably. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Background.........................................................................................................7 The History of Basketball and Youth Leagues........................................................7 Racial Formation: The History of Japanese American............................................9 The History of the Japanese American Community..............................................14 History of J-League................................................................................................21 J-League Formation as a Counter Racist Racial Project........................................23 Literature Review...............................................................................................................28 Japanese American Identity/Ethnicity...................................................................28 Methodology ............................................................................................................42 Analysis.............................................................................................................................. 52 Identity................................................................................................................... 52 J-League.................................................................................................................68 Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 92 Summary of Findings.............................................................................................92 Implications to Practice..........................................................................................94 Implications to Theory...........................................................................................97 Implications to Future Research.......................................................................... 105 Parting Words.......................................................... 107 References.................................................................... 109 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Japanese American basketball was truly a Japanese American phenomenon. While baseball was a sport introduced to Japan by the United States in 1873 and widely played by the immigrant Issei (first) generation (Nomura, 1993), Japanese American basketball, or what will be referred to as J-league from this point forward, is truly a Japanese American wonder that took root in the Nisei (second generation). According to sport historian, Peter Murray (2007), basketball became popular in the 1920’s, which is referred to by sports writers/analyses as the “Golden Age” of sports because sports, in general, became the cornerstone of American culture as a primary source of entertainment and an event for community bonding. During this ‘Golden Age” many recreational teams formed throughout California, where there happened to be significant numbers of young Japanese Americans. Areas such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley, and the Los Angeles Area were communities where teams were sponsored by associations, such as the Y.M.C.A.’s (Young Men’s Christian Associations), Y.M.B.A.’s (Young Men’s Buddhist Associations), and/or private Japanese social clubs. These associations that sponsored J- league teams have provided opportunities for Japanese American youth to play basketball during their history in which they have constantly faced the challenge of redefining what it is to be Japanese American. It is in the context of such a history that I assert that J- league has had a crucial role as a “racial project,” which Omi and Winant define as an attempt both to shape the ways in which both social structures and everyday experiences 2 are racially organized (1994). As a racial project, J-league counters the cultural, social, ideological, and economic influence exerted from the dominant group, which creates or reproduces structures of domination based on essentialist categories or race or what can be termed “racial hegemony” in the context of the U.S. My thesis, therefore, shows how J-league has played and continues to play an integral and impactful role on its youth participant’s identity formation in the racist hegemony in which they exist. Significance The main significance of this study is its analysis of J-league on a discursive level. In doing so, it provides a rare perspective of J-league’s current state and a valuable prognosis of its future status in the contexts of the ever-changing Japanese American community and identity. Another significance of this study is that it highlights the potential of social programs such as J-league to make positive contributions to a broader community and its members. Key in assessing J-league’s positive contribution is this study’s focus on its role in providing a sense of purpose as a space for its participants to actively cultivate their self-identity. It is also noteworthy to point out how J-league has historically carried this role for Japanese American youth through different time periods. Purpose and Research Question 3 The overarching purpose of this thesis is