Voices of Chicago
The articles in this series were originally published in Voices of Chicago, the online journal of the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, which has been a Discover Nikkei Participating Organization since December 2004.
Voices of Chicago is a collection of first-person narratives about the experiences of people of Japanese descent living in Chicago. The community is composed of three waves of immigration, and their descendants: The first, about 300 people, came to Chicago around the time of the Columbian Exposition in 1899. The second, and largest, group is descended from 30,000 who came to Chicago directly from the internment camps after World War II. Called the “ReSettlers,” they created a community built around social service organizations, Buddhist and Christian churches and small businesses. The third, more recent, group are Japanese nationals who came to Chicago, beginning in the 1980s, as artists and students and remained. A fourth, non-immigrant, group are Japanese business executives and their families who live in Chicago for extended periods, sometimes permanently.
Chicago has always been a place where people can re-create themselves, and where diverse ethnic communities live and work together. Voices of Chicago tells the stories of members of each of these four groups, and how they fit into the mosaic of a great city.
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Stories from this series
Will
May 7, 2010 • Ayako Kato
You never know your fate or your path in life, yet somehow I feel we cannot avoid reflecting upon our own lives and making some decisions that are influenced by our ancestors’ bitter memories in their lives, trying not to repeat their mistakes, or else following their will, even unconsciously. My grandmother, Asano, was born in California in 1914. According to my mother, Masumi, it was in Gurendora (グレンドラ), presumably Glendale, near Los Angeles. Her parents were Yoshinosuke and Yoshie …
A Conversation with Tatsu Aoki
April 13, 2010 • Chicago Japanese American Historical Society
Tatsu Aoki remains a prolific artist, composer, musician, filmmaker and educator, contributing to and enriching Chicago’s cultural scene. He works in a wide range of musical genres, ranging from traditional Japanese music to jazz to experimental music. His primary instruments are the bass and the shamisen lute. He is also an accomplished experimental filmmaker. His biological father, Wahei Hoshino, was a movie producer at Shin Toho Movie Studio in the 1960s and was the reason that Tatsu got into small …
Guiding Force
March 1, 2010 • Masaru Kato
Looking back into my life, I have noticed that a certain invisible hand has always supported me. I am not talking about the economics term of Adam Smith, the “invisible hand,” that describes the self-regulating nature of the marketplace. The invisible hand that I am mentioning here is a guiding force that opens doors for me. Help is offered to me when I am in trouble. Something leads me to the right direction, when I am lost. Opportunities are coming …
Catching Lightning in a Jar
Jan. 6, 2010 • Dwight Okita
When you’re a writer, everything that happens to you is a potential story you will one day write. The more awkward, wacky, horrible or wonderful the moments comprising the experience—the better. The writer’s job is to catch lightning in a jar. To honor the experience by rendering it as vividly on the page as it was lived in life. Sometimes a writer can even write about an experience he’s never had. For example, in one of my novels, I write …
Masaru Funai Chicago Lawyer
Dec. 16, 2009 • Masaru Funai
I am a transplant in Chicago, having arrived from Hawaii with my wife, Carolyn, in 1954 to attend Northwestern University Law School. Our children, Bryan and Shari, were both born in Chicago and we have made this city our home for the past 55 years. I have been asked a countless number of times what made me leave the Hawaiian Islands and relocate in Chicago. My short answer has always been, “You can’t eat sand and sunshine.” My real reason …
Baburu, Apology and My New Life
July 8, 2009 • Masahiro Sugano
Once upon a time, there was such a thing as the Bubble Economy. No one was aware of it while it was around. Then everyone started calling it “Baburu” only after it had supposedly popped and disappeared without a trace. It was in reference to the economic growth of the 80's in Japan. In the later part of that decade, Japanese corporations got so lush with dollars they were able to buy the pride of America: the Hollywood studios. There …