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waiting in the wings

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Kenji had the amazing opportunity to be in the Broadway version of The King and I, which starred Lou Diamond Phillips. Kenji played the bookworm student in the cast of children.  He played the role for almost 3 years before he was aged out of the part.  This is what helped him pay for college. He stated, "it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun".

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Broadway

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Google images

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Kempo began after WWII as a way for the Japanese to regain their sense of community and dignity. According to my uncle, "they were devastated as a people after the war, and it was hard to rebuild". It is a discipline that is based in Buddhist principles started by a Japanese man who traveled to China.  It stresses self-defense not offense and is used for physical and mental conditioning.  It is not like American mixed martial arts that are much more aggressive.

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Kempo in action

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Hiro on left and partner on right at demonstration of kemp at Kana's wedding

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Needless to say, my cousin Kenji had a very different experience going to school in Manhattan through 8th grade. He and his sister did attend Japanese school for the first years in Kindergarten and first grade. He does not speak the language however, and he considers himself "as a first generation American". He says he does not identify with the Japanese culture much. His father wanted to teach him kempo, but his father saw it as passing on a serious discipline and Kenji was more interested in merely spending time with his dad as a hobby.  So instead, they bond through race cars.

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surippa

スリッパ

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お 掃除

そうじ

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School in Japan is very different than the United States. When my uncle attended kindergarten they wore uniforms. Every day 4 students were chosen to help clean the class, moving all the desks and cleaning the floors, also cleaning the blackboards and desks.  He stated, ""that is why Japanese have a strong sense of public cleanliness, they are taught very early to keep things clean". "Japanese schools don't have janitors. Instead they set aside time for students to clean the building. This is called osouji." Also, when they came inside, every student had inside shoes/slippers and removed their outside shoes. This was true all through school.

He also mentioned wearing uniforms in jr. high and high school but was not sure if that was still the case today.
According to an article online, students do still wear uniforms today from jr. high through high school.
Another difference in the school system are the start times for the school year. They begin in the spring and only have a short break in summer, then continue on and finish the school year in spring. ( I know when I worked at my childrens' school, several Korean families sent their children to be immersed in school for 2 months since the summer break in Korea was in January - March. The students stayed with relatives and attended school for 2 months then returned to Korea. They started in 2nd grade and then by high school they would stay for 4 years to attend high school in the U.S.)
Unlike the United States, in Japan, public schools are considered more prestigious than private schools.  Students must take an entrance exam to attend high school. If they do not pass, their education ends at eighth grade, or they attend private high schools which are very expensive and not as good as the public school.  There are only a couple exceptional well-known private high schools.  If you do not make it into high school, and cannot afford a private high school, you go to a trade school.  Hiro stated, " I passed the test for public school, private is too expensive for my parents."
Japanese students are taught English in school as part of their education.  My uncle explained that the students are better at writing it and reading it than speaking, since the teachers do not speak fluently themselves, so they do not hear it spoken often.

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My cousin was adopted from Japan as an infant when I was a teenager. Later, my aunt and uncle adopted a girl, Kana, also from Japan. They are only 9 months apart. Both times my aunt and uncle flew to Japan they had to stay for a month to get paperwork on my cousins. The only reason they were allowed to adopt children and have them leave Japan was because my uncle is Japanese. The Japanese were concerned about loss of culture with foreign adoptions.

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Hiro's Parents

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My aunt and uncle usually go to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles almost every weekend.  They both enjoy Japanese cuisine and it is easy to find authentic traditional grocery items. My uncle is a great cook and makes sushi and curry  for Christmas dinner when we all get together. When he first came to San Francisco in in his 20's, he also shopped in Little Tokyo. When he and my aunt lived in Manhattan, they took me to a traditional Japanese restaurant and we ate on the floor on rice mats in a special room with sliding doors. It was very fun to try all the variety of foods and the sake, rice wine, which is served warm.

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Dr. Valenciana's sources from Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Behen, Scott M. "Little Tokyo and Japantown." Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West, edited by Gordon Morris Bakken and Alexandra Kindell, vol. 1, SAGE Reference, 2006, pp. 413-415. Gale Virtual Reference Library,

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According to a 1991 Japanese American Community League census, approximately 18.8 percent of the 847,562 Japanese Americans in the United States live in Los Angeles County and neighboring Orange County, but Little Tokyo's area proper has dwindled to a scant four square blocks, with only about a thousand residents.

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Hiro described his father as a very quiet man.  He did not speak much, and even less after his wife became deaf.  He was a carpenter by trade and very skilled at his craft. Hiro, said, " My dad did not talk much and never about WWII, only that he was in China then".

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Hiro described his mother as a very kind woman.  When she was 22 she began to lose her hearing and by the time he was about 7, she was deaf.  She learned to read lips and still spoke with Hiro as much as she could, but it was very isolating for her. "She learned to make signs to talk with me and smiled at me and made faces." Hiro was an only child, so his household was extremely quiet and I imagine, somewhat lonely.

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おじいちゃん

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Ojichan, (grandpa), Miyata meets grandson, Kenji Miyata

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Traditionally Japanese read the opposite of American books. They read back to front, beginning on the left, in vertical rows.  They finish where American books begin. My uncle explained that many Japanese books today are being printed to begin at the front and be read horizontally the way American books are read.This was not true when he grew up in Japan, and attended school.

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おばあちゃん

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Obachan, (grandmother), Miyata meets Kenji Miyata

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Another picture of Kenji Miyata's grandparents.

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My Uncle, Yukihiro  (Hiro) Miyata with his parents

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My Uncle, Yukihiro  (Hiro) Miyata with his parents

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Generally his mom dressed more traditionally, in this photo they are meeting my aunt, Sherry Miyata.

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My uncle is originally from Japan, raised in a traditional family.  He moved to the United States in his 20s.  He is an only child, and it must have been hard on his parents when he immigrated.  Interestingly, he is adopted.  Both his children are also.  This is highly unusual in Japanese culture. He practices the martial art, Shorenji Kempo, and is a Grand Master in Japan.  He still makes trips to Japan for competitions and is one of the top 10 in the world in his discipline. Last summer he traveled to Moscow to do an exhibition and showcase his craft.  He had been invited by a former Russian student who studied under him in Japan.  He said, "They called me to come to Moscow because I am rather famous in Japan." The student returned to Russia and started several schools that practice the discipline.  He wanted my uncle to showcase his talent and make sure the schools were maintaining "an authentic discipline".

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My uncle is originally from Japan, raised in a traditional family.  He moved to the United States in his 20s.  He is an only child, and it must have been hard on his parents when he immigrated.  Interestingly, he is adopted.  Both his children are also.  This is highly unusual in Japanese culture. He practices the martial art, Shorenji Kempo, and is a Grand Master in Japan.  He still makes trips to Japan for competitions and is one of the top 10 in the world in his discipline. Last summer he traveled to Moscow to do an exhibition and showcase his craft.  He had been invited by a former Russian student who studied under him in Japan.  He said, "They called me to come to Moscow because I am rather famous in Japan." The student returned to Russia and started several schools that practice the discipline.  He wanted my uncle to showcase his talent and make sure the schools were maintaining "an authentic discipline".

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Yukihiro and Sherry Miyata
My uncle and aunt

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Heather, Levi and Kenji

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It runs in the family.

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My cousin Kenji and his son Levi Miyata

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Levi getting ice for himself