シカゴの声
このシリーズに掲載されているストーリーは、もともとシカゴ日系人歴史協会のオンラインジャーナル、「シカゴの声」に掲載されたものです。シカゴ日系人歴史協会は、2004年12月からディスカバー・ニッケイに参加しています。
シカゴの声は、シカゴに住む日系人の体験を綴った私語りのコレクションです。シカゴの日系コミュニティは、第3波までの移民およびその子孫で構成されています。最初の波は、1899年のシカゴ万国博覧会の頃に到着した約300人でした。第2波のグループは最多の3万人から成り、第二次大戦後、強制収容所から直接シカゴに移住して来ました。彼らは「最定住者」と呼ばれ、社会奉仕団体や仏教またはキリスト教会、中小企業周辺でコミュニティを形成していきました。第3波はさらに近年となり、1980年代前半に到着した日本人のグループです。彼らは芸術家や学生で、その後、シカゴに留まりました。4番目のグループは移民ではありませんが、企業幹部の日本人とその家族で、シカゴに長期滞在し、場合により永住しています。
シカゴは、いつの時代も人々が安らぎを得られる場所であり、民族的に多様な人々が共に住み、働く町でした。「シカゴの声」は、先述の4グループそれぞれのメンバーのストーリーと、彼らがどのようにこのモザイク(寄せ集め)都市に適応していったかを伝えています。
このシリーズのストーリー
Baburu, Apology and My New Life
2009年7月8日 • スガノ・マサヒロ
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 …
I Was Born in 1962 in Tokyo.....
2009年6月5日 • フジタ・ユタカ
I was born in 1962 in Tokyo. I grew up just like an average Japanese. I went to junior high, high school, and to University. Unfortunately, I goofed off and did not study, dropping out at the end of the fourth year. I got a job at a children's clothing company doing accounting, sales, and production management. I learned a lot about business and it was fun, but after four years, I decided to change my job. My Dad asked …
The Clear Sounds of Tetsuo Matsuda
2009年4月30日 • 豊永 志保
The first time I heard of Tetsuo Matsuda was in 1992 in Tokyo. I was a violin student at a music conservatory in Tokyo and had just discovered and become infatuated by the dark rich sound of the viola. This is an often overlooked instrument of the string family. The viola is larger than a violin with a different set of strings but still played on the shoulder. A Japanese professor from the Julliard Conservatory in New York City was …
Kibei
2008年7月3日 • アイリーン・スエオカ
Kibei (from the Japanese ki = return, bei = America) refers to an American of Japanese ancestry, who is raised in Japan, but returns to America. She is a perpetual outsider, an American while in Japan, and Japanese when she returns. My Japanese American story began with my grandmother, who left Japan, one of only two women on a ship bound for America. She landed in Hawaii, where my father, Shinishi Nishimoto, was born, and eventually settled in Fresno, California, …
Growing Up Sansei in Chicago
2007年12月8日 • キース・ウチマ
Normally, I am a fearless writer, but this commission from the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (CJAHS) has created endless procrastination, writer’s block and even fear for this author. For months, I could not figure out why- but today, it hit me. My generation is hard to define. We’re not supposed to be “too open,” show our emotions or attract attention- all cultural remnants from being racially profiled in America during WWII. We Sansei (Third Generation Japanese American) are furthering …
December 7, 1941
2007年6月29日 • ジョージ・スエオカ
December 7, 1941 Kakaako, Honolulu, Hawaii. Sunday It is very early in the morning. I look out and it is still night. 4 a.m. I usually don’t get up until 6:30 or 7 a.m. I’m still sleepy, but I quickly snap to and brush my teeth. There is always a not unpleasant rush of tightness or adrenaline just under my breastbone when I anticipate doing or going to an event. I have this feeling of excitement this morning as I …