Cherry Blossom Alumnae’s mission is to give back to the Japanese American community through volunteerism, education, cultural appreciation, leadership and financial support. As a yonsei (fourth generation Japanese American), one of the things dear to my heart is passing on our Japanese American culture to our future generations the same culture that was passed on to us from our sansei (third generation JA), nisei (second generation) and issei (first generation). Unless our culture is passed on from one generation to the next, it will be lost or as in the example cited above, even worse our culture is misunderstood so it lacks the original meaning it was intended.
As more Japanese Americans become assimilated and as the older generations pass away, we lose the JA traditions from one generation to the next. I am concerned that some young Japanese Americans today do not understand the importance of our JA culture – or understand the history, struggles and reasons why our culture is ingrained in tradition. To truly understand our Japanese American culture, it is important to be an active participant in our culture, not merely a passive observer. We have been shaped by the Issei and Nisei who endured internment camps during World War II. For young people who are used to being online or mobile 24/7, it might be a bit of shock that learning our culture is not reading about it online, but it takes years of active hands on experience to learn from our parents, grandparents and sensei (teachers). It is not something that is taught in a day. Our culture is not just about Japanese food, either. It’s incorporating our values in how we live our everyday life.
Cherry Blossom Alumnae