Nikkei Chronicles #5—Nikkei-go: The Language of Family, Community, and Culture
Arigato, baka, sushi, benjo, and shoyu—how often have you used these words? In an informal survey conducted in 2010, we found that these were the most frequently used Japanese words among Japanese Americans living in Southern California.
In Nikkei communities around the world, the Japanese language symbolizes the culture of one’s ancestors, or the culture that was left behind. Japanese words often get mixed in with the language of the adopted country, creating a fluid, hybrid way of communicating.
For this series, we asked our Nima-kai community to vote for their favorite stories and an editorial committee to pick their favorites. In total, five favorite stories were selected.
Here are the selected favorite stories.
Editorial Committee’s Selections:
- ENGLISH:
Yokoso Y’all
By Linda Cooper
- JAPANESE:
Brazil is My Second Home — Japan is My Spiritual Home
By Marina Tsustui
- SPANISH:
The Chuo Gakuen School: The Seeds of Prestige for the Japanese Community in Mexico
By Sergio Hernández Galindo
- PORTUGUESE:
Gaijin
By Heriete Setsuko Shimabukuro Takeda
Nima-kai selection:
- 56 stars:
The Japanese language in the daily lives of the members of the Hikari Group of Londrina
By Alba Shioco Hino, Nilza Matiko Iwakura Okano, Kiyomi Nakanishi Yamada
Stories from this series
Hayaku! Hayaku!
June 17, 2016 • Willian Takashi Oki
With this word Hayaku spoken in a firm voice and repeatedly, my mother woke me up every morning so as not to be late for school. Hayaku was also speaking! Hayaku! that she rushed us to do things, because slowness is not her thing. In fact, to this day my mother is known as “Amélia Hayaku Hayaku”. I am a third-generation Nikkei, my father and mother were born in Brazil, my maternal grandmother was born in Brazil and my paternal …
Cindy Mochizuki's PAPER: a meal within a story; a story within a meal.
June 15, 2016 • Carolyn Nakagawa
It’s a misty Sunday afternoon, and I am walking down to the ferry dock at the Yaletown Marina. I barely make the recommended 3:15 p.m. arrival time, and a small group of about twelve people is already waiting. Among the group I’m happy to see Momoko and Maki, who both used to work with me until recently at the museum, local writer Lydia Kwa, and of course Cindy Mochizuki, the artist who has brought us all out here. Cindy’s assistant …
You-mo? Me mo!: Nisei Language and Dialect
June 7, 2016 • Chuck Tasaka
I don’t have a PhD in linguistics but I hope that a budding linguist major will get interested in this topic. In Hawaii, the first boat load of about 150 Japanese immigrants came to this island as sugar cane laborers in 1868. It was called Gannen-mono, first-year people. However, it proved to be an unsuccessful venture. They were city dwellers, not really farm workers. Nearly one third of gannen-mono immediately returned to Japan because of their work conditions. In 1882, …
The Chuo Gakuen School: The Seeds of Prestige for the Japanese Community in Mexico
June 3, 2016 • Sergio Hernández Galindo
For 72 years, the Chuo Gakuen school has provided Japanese language and cultural education to Nikkei and Mexican children. The school, located in a modest neighborhood in the center of Mexico City, is celebrating this anniversary thanks to the hard work and tenacity of many people who have made sure this educational project stays alive. Japanese pioneers, since the school’s establishment in 1944, always considered education to be their primary responsibility, in order to create a better future for their …
Minato Gakuen Now
June 1, 2016 • Rio Imamura
The Class of 2016 graduating from Minato Gakuen was congratulated once in San Diego in mid-March and again in Kyoto in early April. Here’s chapter and verse of the life spanning story and the fruits of the concerted service and dedication of all those parties involved. Minato Gakuen was established in 1978 as a Nihongo Hoshuko (Saturday Japanese Supplementary Language School) in San Diego primarily for the Japanese expatriate children. Most expatriate’s term of assignment range from 3–4 years and …