Colorado's Japanese Americans: From 1886 to the Present

27: Why?

W H Y ? P A G E 245 This book opened with questions from a visitor from Japan. “What,” he asked, “have the Japanese—people from my country and their descendents—what have they done in the century they have been in Colorado to make it a better state, a better place? What have they done for themselves, and for America?” The one-word answer was “much,” and the chapters that followed have tried to provide the details, the “what” of their history. But two important questions remain unanswered: How? and Why? How and why were these people able to rise from an impoverished background in the face of virulent race prejudice and the bitterness of war into positions not only of security and acceptance, but of respect and leadership in this state and in this nation within a century of time? c h a p t e r t w e n t y - s e v e n W H Y ? You will also witness the tremendous contributions Japanese Americans have made to our society and the growing influence of the Japanese cultural heritage in America. The list is long. It includes distinguished artists and musicians. It includes business leaders and eminent leaders of our political system. —President Bill Clinton in his speech welcoming Emperor Akihito to the United States on June 13, 1994 W H Y ? P A G E 246 The answers to these questions are critical in understanding the story of a people. There probably are many explanations, and only a few of them follow. But most of the individuals questioned on this matter agreed on one point: credit the Japanese culture. Rev. Minoru Mochizuki, a San Francisco–born Presbyterian minister retired in Denver, who has spent most of his adult life outside the Japanese American community, says, “Although we have been quite thoroughly Americanized with Western thought and philosophy , and even though many of us have become Christians, our characters and outlook have been deeply impressed by important cultural underpinnings that we have inherited and internalized from our Issei parents.” But what is the Japanese culture? In large part it is made up of many elements—philosophical concepts or words to live by. Dr. James Taguchi, a Colorado-born physician , suggests these: Gaman—To endure. Gambaru—To hang tough. To persist. Giri—Duty. Haji—Shame, which is to be avoided at all costs. Don’t shame yourselves or your families. Oya-koko—Filial piety. Gomen—I beg your forgiveness, a gesture of humility. Shimbo—To persevere. Shikata ga nai—Can’t be helped. Acceptance of misfortune. Shinsetsu—Kindness. Dojyo—Tolerance. Issho-kenmei—To do one’s best. Gisei—Sacrifice. W H Y ? P A G E 247 Of course many of these are moral concepts and cultural practices shared by many other civilizations. Some observers theorize that in Japan life over the centuries in a crowded land of limited resources helped to shape and sharpen traits and values that enabled the people to cope with hardship. Oddly enough, it may be said that underlying these concepts is passivity and acceptance of fate; there is little sense of triumph or aggression or glory in success. It is more important that one has done one’s best—issho-kenmei. Eric Saul, former curator of the U.S. Army’s Presidio Museum and military historian, recognized some of these characteristics in a speech extolling the record of Japanese American soldiers in World War II. He asked why Japanese Americans had joined the Army and, in the face of discrimination and mistreatment, become “the most decorated Army unit that this country has ever produced.” Then Saul provided answers: “There were words like giri and ohn which your parents taught you, which mean ‘duty’ and ‘honor’ and ‘responsibility.’ Oya-koko, love for family. You loved your families and you had to prove your loyalty at any cost. . . . Kodomo no tame ni—for the sake of the children. You knew you didn’t want your children to have to suffer as you did. . . . Haji. Don’t bring shame to your family. When you go off to war, fight for your country, return if you can, but die if you must.” Eiichi Imada, the newspaper publisher, recalls that Father Luis Flores, a Portuguese missionary, reached Japan in 1563 and wrote that he was impressed by the Japanese work ethic and their passion for perfection. In the United States, Imada...