Nikkei Chronicles #3
Nikkei Names: Taro, John, Juan, João?

English:

• Re-Discovering My Name Between Two Cultures
  By Jayme Tsutsuse

  Comment from Susan Ito
  I enjoyed this piece for its humor, for its unique take on names, for her unique name “Tsutsuse” and how her perception of her “Japaneseness” changed she was living in Hawaii, northern California, and finally, Japan. The piece was full of surprises, as the author herself was surprised by the origin and true meaning of her name when the kanji was scrutinized in Japan. Her identity as a Japanese person shifts depending on her environment and on the expectations of the people around her. Ultimately, she learns to be comfortable with herself, regardless of the perceptions of others.

  Comment from Andrew Leong
  Jayme Tsutsuse’s tale of rediscovering her name, as genealogical mystery, playground riddle, and test of kanji literacy, takes us from Hawaii to California and Japan. I greatly appreciated Tsususe’s honest take on the processes of picking a name apart if only to find peace not in the saying or writing, but in the being.

  Comment from Tamiko Nimura
  Jayme has given us an essay about her individual name, but one that resonates across Nikkei name experiences: difficulty with pronunciation, ability to write the name in kanji (or not), and connections to cultural origin and identity. However, Jayme’s essay stands out for combining all of these factors into a cohesive journey that offers us a different insight into the flexibility of a name’s meaning. I especially appreciate her ability to depict this journey across time, cultures, nations, and spaces.

   

  There were so many wonderful stories submitted in English that the editorial committee wanted to acknowledge a second story.

  

  The Child of a Thousand Generations
  By Chanda Ishisaka

  Comment from Susan Ito
  This piece reflects the bond between a granddaughter and her Japanese grandfather. Although they do not share a common language, I was moved by the scene in which she listens to him singing karaoke in Japanese, and can hear the longing in his voice. When she questions him about the origin of her middle name, Chiyoko, he responds by writing it out in Kanji. She later learns of the strength and tenacity of her grandmother and draws upon that as inspiration to persevere during challenging times. She finds that being a “child of a thousand generations” means drawing inspiration from her ancestors and family as she grows into the future.

  Comment from Andrew Leong
  Chanda Ishisaka reflects upon mortality and living on, the burdens and the strengths of a name that means “child of a thousand generations.” Brave in its description of difficult emotions of grief and hard-earned realizations, Ishisaka’s story celebrates what is given by a name, without falling into sentimentalism.

  Comment from Tamiko Nimura
  Chanda’s essay explores the question of Nikkei names, taking the question beyond simply “how did I get my name?” but deeper, into the question, “how will I carry the legacy of my name with me?” It is notable for the transformation of its speaker and its ability to convey scenes with just the right amount of detail (for example, the grandfather singing enka while the grandkids watching Wheel of Fortune is a great scene). I also appreciated how this essay speaks across generations.

Japanese:

• What It Means to Have a Nikkei Name in Brazil
  By Satomi Takano Kitahara

  Comment from Yukikazu Nagashima
  Most people live with their names for life. In that sense, our names must have some effect on how we become who we are—they’ve got the expectation from our parents.

  I read the article of Satomi Takano Kitahara from such perspective. As someone who lives in a different country and who knows next to nothing about the hardship of Nikkei people in Brazil, I got drawn into it. First and foremost, I can’t help sympathizing for people whose precious names become an easy target of piada (jokes). Kumiko perhaps is written as 久美子. It’s a name that implies her parents’ hope that their daughter will forever stay beautiful. Who could ever imagine that such hope can turn into a target of jokes about anus? As Satomi says, it’s nothing but a misery.

  As for the fact that immigrants give both Japanese and Brazilian names to their children, I was deeply touched by her description: (When a name-caller has many options,) they make their own choice of what to call their loved ones—either by their Brazilian or Japanese names—on a case-by-case basis, and they switch such name-calling based on their relationship, identity and feelings.  What kind of name-calling takes place in what kind of relationship? What do people call each other in what kind of emotional state? I agree with her statement that we could write an academic paper on linguistics based on this theme alone.

  Nikkei people in America also call each other by both their Japanese and American names. In what kind of situation do they call Japanese names and vice versa? They must also be affected by the emotional state, and I can easily imagine that such emotional state is established by historical and/or social factors. For the nikkei people in America, there is a history of wartime concentration camps. Calling one’s child by his American name might encourage him to develop his American identity. On the other hand, if parents keep calling their child by his Japanese name, he might become more conscious about his identity as someone rooted in Japanese culture.

  I should also mention that such name-calling is affected by generations and ages. In America, most Sansei or Yonsei (third or fourth generation immigrants) have American names only. It’s interesting to think about the reason behind it. If they don’t have Japanese names, why didn’t their parents give them one?

  Thinking about names gives us different points of view. We could probably write multiple papers, not just one.

Spanish:

• A Discordant Name Match
  By Jimmy Seiji Amemiya Siu

  Comment from Javier Garcia
  When it comes to the first text, “My experience as a Dekasegi” by Santos Ikeda Yoshikawa, the author has depicted the experience of identification (which is not the same as identity) as leading to conflicts within the Nikkei, especially the emotional and social hardships they must face. Yet, I feel more inclined toward the text by Jimmy Seiji because I think it better fits the purpose of this project, as it presents the choice of a name as a cultural factor, in addition to the reasons and chance happenings that can define an identity, including the family background. And especially, for its evocation of the author’s ancestors and roots, while highlighting a custom that remains relevant despite the passage of time and the habits of generations.

  Comment from Alberto Matsumoto
  When our parents choose a Japanese name, they always look in the kanji for ideograms that have specific meanings, with much hope for the future while inspired by their ancestors, some event, or important character in history. Unquestionably, the name “Seiji” contains certain kanji characters that reflect the wishes of the grandparents. There were countries like Argentina and others, where by law one could not choose foreign first names, only family names. For that reason, even though some have felt a little embarrassment since childhood, it’s very important to have a Japanese name chosen by our grandparents or parents, and that has been registered in official birth certificates.

  In the article, the author remembers that story and although he still doesn’t know for sure his name’s kanji characters, this mystery is what has encouraged him to recall his ancestors and his roots. Even if he is never elected president, as long as he honors the good name of his family, that’s more than enough. For they will be proud of the author.

Portuguese:

• Who Am I Speaking With?
  By Claudio Sampei

  Comment from Laura Hasegawa
  It’s an incredibly difficult task, having to choose only one among the fascinating stories that moved us and made us think about our roots and the heritage that has been passed on to us.

  Congratulations to Cláudio Sampei, who enchanted us by narrating his family’s journey through various Japanese names, culminating in the remarkable research work that led to the choice of a name for their heir.

  We would also like to mention Jorge Nagao’s narrative “About Japanese Names,” which features an ending with a unique touch of humor, as it presents a wordplay that only works in Portuguese.