Milagros Tsukayama Shinzato

I spent almost all of my childhood with my grandmother. Her customs, which were of course very Japanese, were reflected in her daily life. She didn't celebrate Christmas, but she did celebrate Oshogatsu (New Year in Japanese).

In those days, I remember that preparations for Oshogatsu began on December 31. Starting at dawn, we cleaned the house, while my mother cooked. She spent the entire morning cooking tofu, a pork dish with turnips and carrots, kombu knots, plenty of sushi and even sweet potato and vegetable tempura. All of this food was prepared as an offering for the butsudan ...

Chieko Kamisato is a Peruvian-American Nisei who spent time at the Crystal City concentration camp in the United States between 1944 and 1946. Recently, she visited Peru to reconnect with some friends as well as with the past. Her memories, reflecting a lifetime of difficulties and overcoming obstacles, deserve to be shared.

The story begins with her father Junken. Originally from Okinawa, he arrived in Peru in 1915. Awaiting him were his older brothers, with whom he worked in various trades. Seven years later, he brought over his wife, Kami—Chieko’s mother.

Junken and his brothers walked the streets ...

“Don’t sweep the house at night or you’ll become poor” or “if you cut your nails at night, the devil will come for you.” Even more prophetic, “you are going to cry…” which my oba always said when she saw the cat washing herself. I heard these and other sayings while growing up. When my oba left us, we didn’t hear such things as often, but there are a few (in addition to many other traditions and beliefs) that are part of our memory; if nothing else, they are reminders of my oba. As they say ...

“Come todo, mottainai para botar”. Aunque han pasado 2 años, aún extraño a mi mamá. “Si se te acaba el Ajinomoto, echa shoyu (sillao) con azúcar”. ¡Cuántos de sus consejos aún quedan en mi memoria! “Si cocinas haciendo tanchi, la comida sale mal”.Mi mamá siempre tenía la razón. La comida se prepara con cariño, sin hacer tanchi (molestarse).

Mi mamá no demostraba abiertamente su cariño, al igual que mi abuela (oba). Ambas enviudaron con hijos pequeños y en épocas difíciles: mi oba en la guerra (1944) y ...

Una asidua concurrencia nikkei llenaba los salones de baile todas las semanas. Testigo de ello son el Salón Majestic, el Kaseijo Gakko de Sáenz Peña en La Victoria o la Beneficencia China. Todas las semanas había fiestas en la colonia japonesa en Lima. Para dar mayor emoción, se decoraba el lugar según la ocasión. Si la fiesta se llamaba “La Gruta”, se decoraba todo como si fuera una gruta. Si era “Acuario”, se decoraba como tal, hasta con agua y peces. Así es como Nori Yonashiro, fundador de la orquesta Seventy Seven, recuerda ...