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The program concluded with
the Tomo No Kai officers conveying their thanks to all their peeps,
sponsors, senseis, parents, supporters, and audience.
And now it is my turn to
thank them and all who made this event a rip-roarin'
success:
The dances -- traditional and
modern -- were beautifully choreographed, costumed and
executed. They were joys to watch! The hours of
practice were rewarded with hearty, well-deserved applause.
A day later, the skit that
traced the lives of two families of Americans of Japanese
Ancestry (AJA) from their internment during World War
II to present-day has remained with me. It made a
positive impression on me.
With lightheartedness, it communicated the indomitable human spirit
that persevered through a period of adversity and
injustice. We must remember the hardships, alienation and
hardships that the AJAs experienced in that stark, lonely
Manzanar desert.
Coming from Hawai`i, we were
totally unaware of the wartime experiences of the AJAs on
the Mainland until we were 22, when we went on a West Coast
tour sponsored by the University of Hawai'i's American
Studies Department under the leadership of Professor
Dennis Ogawa, who was born in Manzanar. We visited
the place of his birth and learned about the circumstances
of that birth. We were shocked to learn that the
United States government rounded up and imprisoned 120,000
Americans of Japanese Ancestry.
I was particularly affected
because my
father was an AJA who had fought in the bloodiest
battles in Europe.
>>
A
Veteran
Thus, it was a
positive and satisfying experience to watch the UCI mago
(grandchildren) of these veterans remembering their
grandparents and parents with their skit. Their grandparents
and parents could not deal with those memories so
openly. Back then, the pain was searingly deep, too acute.
Now their grandchildren speak for them, not letting America
forget, thereby keeping Americans more sensitive, aware and
just.
May it serve as a constant reminder of our past so that
Americans in the future will never again be denied their constitutional rights and may the remembrance of that
experience serve to advance the evolution of the human spirit...
~ Plaque at the
Poston Relocation Center
>>
Remembering
Manzanar
>>
Farewell
to Manzanar
:
The taiko with its
raw, primal force elicited powerful visceral reactions that
will remain with me for a long time. The drums and their drummers had a chance to shine,
and shine they did in beautifully performed pieces. The investment of the
club members' time and energy was clearly
audible.
Kudos to all the members of Tomo No Kai who contributed to the
success of The 15th Annual Cultural Night, UCI, 2002's
success, especially Lance Koizumi who pulled the
whole program together as program director.
Ogoto.
A big job.
Domo arigato
gozai masu.
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