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September 25, 2004

A Quick look at Books

Being Japanese American: A JA Sourcebook for Nikkei, Hapa ... & Their Friends, by Gil Asakawa. Published by Consortium, 2004.

Being Japanese American is a great read for Americans of Japanese ancestry and others who are simply interested in what it means to be Japanese American. The book is full of second-, third- and fourth-generation Japanese Americans, as well as hapa (part-Japanese ancestry), talking about what it’s like to grow up Japanese American. Prejudice and cultural experiences are, of course, part of these personal accounts.

Asakawa also provides an overview of the history of Japanese Americans — from life before World War II to the pivotal war itself to a chapter entitled “It’s Hip to Be Japanese American.” The “Hip” chapter discusses everything from anime to Godzilla, Pokemon to “geisha chic,” sushi to martial arts, Ichiro to chopsticks as hairpins. The author isn’t afraid to point out both the positives and negatives of the Japanese American experience.

Being a sansei (third-generation Japanese American) myself, I really enjoyed reading this book. It struck some emotional chords and reaffirmed the deep appreciation I have for my culture. Much of my life has been immersed in the Japanese culture; I listened to Japanese pop tunes while growing up in Seattle and took lessons on “nihon buyo,” a form of Japanese classical dance. I also learned the history of the Japanese samurai era from my father, who was born in Seattle but raised in Japan. My childhood was spent watching “chambara” (Japanese samurai movies) at the old Toyo Cinema and Kokusai Theater.

Japanese American people, culture and history are captured in some beautiful photos in this book. There’s a look at the pioneering issei (first-generation) families, life in the internment camps, taiko (Japanese drum) players, ikebana (flower arranging), Japanese American children posing for a portrait with Santa and a Japanese American beauty queen being escorted by Boy Scouts. My favorite portrait is of three hapa girls and one Japanese American girl dressed in kimonos and dancing onstage at a cherry blossom festival in Denver.

Asakawa urges Japanese Americans to research their “koseki,” or family registry, if they go to Japan. Information about relatives can be pulled from the records of local governments or the Japan Ministry of Justice. The law requires that official records be kept of all births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptions in Japan. The koseki offers all people of Japanese descent valuable information about their genealogy.

He also encourages videotaping or tape-recording the oral histories of one’s grandparents and parents, no matter how difficult it might be to get them to talk. Some nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) used to be reluctant to talk to their children about life in the internment camps because they were ashamed of it.

The author was born in Japan but has lived in the United States since age 8. He admits to not having any Asian American friends in grade school or high school. But as he learned more about his heritage, he began embracing it. He used to call himself the “Teriyaki Cosmic Cowboy” while working as a DJ at his college radio station. —CS

Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries, by Bharti Kirchner. Published by St. Martin’s Press, 2003.

Recently, while waiting for Kirchner to arrive at Barnes & Noble in Seattle’s University Village to read her latest novel, Pastries, I overheard some fans paying tribute to her.

“She’s a wonderfully descriptive writer,” said one. “It was a nice summer read,” said another about Pastries. Nice praise for a very popular local writer.

After reading Pastries, I agree with her fans. I marvel at Kirchner’s skill at weaving a story completely different from her previously published works. The idea for her latest book occurred while she was touring Japan a few years back. She remembers walking through a beautiful garden and unexpectedly coming upon a tantalizing smell that was emanating from a nearby bakery. It reminded her of French patisseries. The memory of dessert and conversation with the owner of the bakery remained with her, and eventually Pastries was born.

A delicious combination of Kirchner’s imagination and narrative skills, this book is a delight to read. The story follows a young woman of Indian parentage who shucks her well-paying but dead-end clerical job at a mortuary when she discovers a passion for baking. With her mother’s help and armed with a diploma from a French baking school, she opens her own bakery in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood — a quiet residential section of “boutiques, nightspots, museums and restaurants.”

Against the backdrop of the bakery, readers learn about Sunya Malhotra’s life in Seattle — about the immigrant father who deserts his family when Sunya is born, about a controlling Japanese boyfriend who jilts her, about a mysterious stalker, about a chain bakery one block away that poses a threat to her business, about a new film-director boyfriend who’s holding secrets and about a quirky mother who loves a man whom Sunya despises.

I was so engrossed in the tale that I could not put the book down. Praise? Indeed. —CPR

Connie Sugahara can be reached at connie@nwasianweekly.com. Carmen Palomera Rockwell can be reached at scpnwan@nwlink.com.

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