A Landmark Vanishes
May 16, 2010
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Back on April 20, workmen hired by American Commercial Equities of Malibu, the real estate firm that owns Little Tokyo’s Japanese Village Plaza, erected scaffolding around the open-air center’s signature yagura, Japanese fire tower, and a couple of days later the landmark five-story tower was no more.
Frank Chin: Don’t Fuck With No-No Boy
April 11, 2010
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YOSH AND NO-NO BOY
A release selling Greg Watanabe as the Clark Gable of 21st Century. Watanabe is playing Kenji in John Okada’s No-No Boy a new play written, set to go places, by Ken Narasaki, and directed by Alberto Isaac. March 27th was the premiere performance. Has it attracted your attention yet?
In the 1957 novel, John Okada took a grim dry subject, made a title of it No-No Boy and wrote the most depressing downbeat plot in a realistic yet entertaining “American” way that settled the nerves of jittery Japanese American readers, that the author was a vet of the war in the Pacific who has “reasons” for writing about a traitorous pariah that refused to fight.
How often do JA theatergoers have to compare the work of (a) JA novel to a new play that has taken on the burden of duplicating the literary effect in theatre? What better test for life in a community, than knowledge about itself? If there’s a community, it will rouse if not rise.
Fools’ Dance: OBON in America 2009
June 17, 2009
Japanese Americans all across the land from Vermont to Hawaii will celebrate the ancient Buddhist Obon festival in the coming weeks with joyous folk dancing, religious observances and traditional Japanese foods in what is the most authentic cultural event remaining in Japanese America.
Obon Festival season continues through August and marks the zenith of the Buddhist year. But more than just a chance to take colorful photos and eat Japanese comfort foods, Obon is a Buddhist teaching come alive.
Obon [ お盆 ] originates from the story of Mokuren, a disciple of the Buddha, who during a meditative trance saw his deceased mother suffering in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts (the Buddhist equivalent of purgatory). Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this suffering. Buddha instructed him to make offerings and to meditate on the life of his mother. Mokuren followed the Buddha’s instructions and he began to see the true nature of her past unselfishness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy because of his mother’s release and grateful for his mother’s kindness, danced with joy. From this dance of joy came Obon, which has been celebrated for thousands of years as a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated.
2009 OBON FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Aug. 1-2—Gardena Buddhist Temple Obon Odori, 1517 W. 166th St., Gardena, CA 90247; (310) 327-9400; 3-10 p.m. Sat./2-9 p.m. Sun.
Aug. 1—Buddhist Temple of San Diego Obon Odori, 2929 Market St., San Diego, CA 92102; (619) 239-0896: 5-9 p.m.
Aug. 1—Oregon Buddhist Temple “Obonfest 2009,” 3720 SE 34th Ave., Portland, OR 97202; (503) 234-9456: 4-9 p.m.
Aug. 1—San Luis Obispo Buddhist Temple Obon Odori, 6996 Ontario Rd., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405; (805)-595-2625: 1-9 p.m.
Aug. 1—Waialua Hongwanji Temple Obon, 67-313 Kealohanui St., Waialua, HI 96791; (808) 637-4395: from 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 1-2—Palo Alto Buddhist Temple Obon Odori, 2751 Louis Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303; (650)856-0123: 5-11 p.m. Sat./noon-10 p.m. Sun.
Rumors had been spreading through the Japanese American community for the past six months that Little Tokyo’s Mitsuwa Market would be closing in 2009, and now it has been confirmed that the L.A. Nihonmachi’s landmark supermarket will close its doors for the last time on Jan. 25.
African-American Sings Enka on NHK’s Kouhaku Utagassen; Named Japan Music’s ‘Best New Artist’
December 31, 2008
TOKYO—Jerrold Jerome White, a 27-year-old African-American from Pittsburgh who learned to sing in the traditional Japanese enka style by listening to his grandmother’s records, was named 2008 Best New Artist at the 50th Annual Japan Record Awards Dec. 31.
And it was a fitting end to a storybook year which saw White, known as “Jero” in Japan, rise from an English language teacher in Wakayama to a household name in Japanese entertainment. Later, that same evening, Jero, a 2003 information science graduate from the Univ. of Pittsburgh, fulfilled a promise he made to his dying grandmother to sing enka on NHK’s fabled Kouhaku Utagassen New Year’s Eve broadcast.
White who traveled to Japan during his high school days to compete in a speech contest, learned the language from his grandmother, in high school and at Pitt. He returned to Japan in 2003 as an exchange student. He later found work as a computer engineer and English teacher.
Jero’s mother flew from Pittsburgh and was in the Kouhaku audience to hear her son keep his promise to her mother who passed in 1998.
- What’s enka? Wikipedia
- Jero Breathes New Life Into Enka, Japan Today
- Jero’s Blog (Japanese)
- “Our Man in Japan: Jero,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Jero, Wikipedia
- More About Jero, Mahalo
The Sleeping Giant in American Politics
September 30, 2008
Major Study Examines Why Asian America Is Virtually Unheard
By DEANNA LEE
EDITOR’S NOTE—A duPont-Columbia Award winner with eight Emmys, Deanna Lee is a veteran international journalist. A former Nightline and ABC World News producer, Ms. Lee is the Asia Society’s communications veep.
Look at Asian Americans today, says Paul Ong, “and what you’re seeing is the awakening of the new sleeping giant in politics. The question is, how fast are we going to become a meaningful force?”
Ong is the principal investigator of “The State of Asian America: Trajectory of Civic and Political Engagement,” just released by the LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute. Ten investigations and analyses by a multidisciplinary team of Asian American scholars and community leaders delve into what, for many Asian Americans, is a central question and frustration: why our voices “are virtually unheard in the ongoing civic and political discussions.”
The State of Asian America: Trajectory of Civic and Political Engagement is available as a free download courtesy of the LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Institute here. Offical release events will be held from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8 in Washington, D.C., New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. For detailed info: leap@leap.org / 213-485-1422.
The Olympic Decathlon, the two-day, ten-event test of all-around athletic skill and human endurance, has produced some of the greatest icons of the American sports pantheon. Decathlon gold medalists Jim Thorpe, Bob Mathias, Rafer Johnson and Bruce Jenner were easily the biggest names to emerge from their respective Olympics. But comes along 28-year-old, Kaneohe, Hawaii-born Bryan Clay and the mainstream media seems a bit skeptical.
Beijing is Clay’s second Olympics. He won a silver in Athens as the event’s rising star. Following Athens, Bryan captured a World Track Championship gold in 2005 and was ranked as the No. 1 decathlete in the world by 2006. Last year, he forced out of the World Championships in Osaka with a foot injury. Earlier this year, 12 pounds lighter and injury-free, he stunned the track and field world with a remarkable 8,832-point performance in winning the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.
Ten years ago, Clay was a troubled kid. The product of a broken home, Bryan is the son of Japanese American mother Michelle Ishimoto and an African American father, Greg Clay, who divorced when their son was in the fifth grade.
At the Athens Olympics, Bryan’s mother, stepfather and wife, Sarah, stayed away not wanting to be distractions. In Beijing, however, the Ishimoto clan will be in full force. Sharing the two-day event with Bryan at the “Bird’s Nest” will be his maternal grandparents—84-year-old Tsumoru and 82-year-old Kay Ishimoto—along with “a bunch more family and many friends” to root Bryan over the top.
About his Japanese heritage, Clay reveals, “Japanese culture and food were a huge part of my life growing up. My mother made sure I knew who I was and where I came from. Our house was always full of grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. We ate ozoni [a traditional Japanese rice soup] on New Year’s Eve. My life was very Japanese.”
Earlier this month, Clay told NBC, “I think that if I am healthy, and if I am competing well and in shape, I don’t think there’s anybody out there that can beat me. I really don’t think so.
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UPDATE—As I key this in real time, it’s already Thursday, Aug. 21, 2:45 p.m. in Beijing, and Bryan Clay has won the 100 meters and long jump and placed second in the shot put. He leads Oleksiy Kasyanov of the Ukraine and American teammate Trey Hardee of Birmingham, Ala. Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, who edged out Clay for the gold in Athens is in 10th place in the early going. I plan to update here as results become available.
UPDATE 2—(Thursday, Aug. 21, 7:20 a.m. PST) With the first five events of the men’s decathlon completed, Hawaii-born Japanese American Bryan Clay held an 88-point lead over his closest rival, Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus. Clay, who attends Azusa-Pacific Univ. in Southern California, won a rain-drenched 100 meters in 10.44 seconds and followed with the top mark in the long jump with a leap of 25-6¼. Clay then recorded a lifetime best heave of 53-4½ in the shot put. He high jumped 6-6¼ (11th best), and finished day one of the grueling event after 10 p.m. Beijing time with a 48.92 in the 400 meters. Trey Hardee (USA) is holding on to third place 93 points behind Clay who is favored to the the gold. Day 2 of the decathlon begins at 9 a.m. Beijing time (today at 6:00 p.m. PST) and will include 110 meter hurdles. discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters.
UPDATE 3—(Thursday, Aug. 21, 5:00 p.m. PST) Bryan Clay left the following comments on his blog a little after midnight after completing Day 1 of the decathlon in Beijing: “I had three very, very good events. Then I had one not so good event, a poor event, which was high jump. Then just an OK event in the 400, nothing special in the 400, but it was OK. I don’t know about scores. I really don’t pay attention to scores until we get to about the javelin, then I look to see what I need to do to stay in the position that I’m in. I’m coming out tomorrow just trying to compete against the conditions and the competitors. Hopefully, I’ll be the best one there and be at the top of the podium at the end of the day. I think every event in the decathlon is important. You can’t win the decathlon without having all ten events. Anytime you have a poor event, that’s going to set you back a bit, and every time you have a good event, that’s pull you ahead. I don’t think it was the rain. I think that I was a little fatigued. We started in the rain and mentally and physically, it takes a lot to get through that and I think I did it very well. That made me a little fatigued going into the high jum and the 400.”
UPDATE 4—(Thursday, Aug. 21, 7:00 p.m. PST) We’re live blogging the Olympic decathlon results as they come out of Beijing. U.S. decathlete Bryan Clay recorded the second fastest time of all four heats of the 110 meter hurdles Friday morning in Beijing to start day two of the decathlon. Yordani Garcia of Cuba had the fastest time with a 13.90 to Clay’s 13.93. Andres Raja of Estonia had the third lowest time at 14.06. Clay netted 984 points in the event and now has a leading total of 5505 points. We’re awaiting the start of the decathlon discus throw.
UPDATE 5—(Thursday, Aug. 21, 8:00 p.m. PST) Japanese American gold medal hopeful Bryan Clay has won the decathlon discus competition with a season’s best heave of 176 feet 10 inches and added 950 points for a leading total of 6455 with the pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters to follow in Beijing, where it is Friday morning.
UPDATE 6—(Friday, Aug. 22, 2:10 p.m., Beijing, China CST) The decathlon pole vault is underway in the “Bird’s Nest,” and American Bryan Clay has cleared a qualifying height of 4.80 meters on his first attempt and shares the lead with four other decathletes—Andrei Krauchanka, Belarus; Andre Niklaus, Germany; Alexander Pogorelov, Russia; Andres Raja, Estonia.
(Aug. 22, 2:24 p.m., Beijing) Belarus’ Krauchanka has cleared 4.90 meters. We’re blogging real time from Silver Lake 90026!
(Aug. 22, 2:27 p.m., Beijing) Bryan Clay regains the pole vault lead clearing 4.90 meters on his first attempt. Roman Barras is also over 4.90, a season’s best for the Frenchman.
(Aug. 22, 2:50 p.m., Beijing) Glendora, Calif.’s Bryan Clay has cleared a season’s best 5.0 meters in the decathlon pole vault and leads the event on the basis of fewer misses. Krauchanka, Pogorelov, Niklaus and Barras are also over the height.
(Aug. 22, 3:15 p.m., Beijing) Andre Niklaus of Germany has cleared 5.20 meters, a season’s best for him, to take the lead in the decathlon pole vault. Bryan Clay, US; Krauchanka, Estonia Belarus; Pogorelov tied for second in the event. Clay leads overall with 6455 points after seven events.
(Aug. 22, 3:35 p.m., Beijing) After missing 3x @ 5.10 meters Clay is out of the vault in 2nd place. He leads the decathlon with 7365 points and leads Krauchanka by 316. The final two events—javelin and 1500 meters—are scheduled for 7:00 and 10:20 p.m. Beijing time.
Rep. Mike Honda Confident Full House Will Endorse Resolution Next Month; 149 Colleagues Cosponsor; Japanese American Leaders Do Damage Control
