<Begin Segment 16>

SF: George, since you spent almost your whole life in Japantown, since the early postwar years, what do you think the future of Japantown is going to be? What do you see happening to this area?

GH: Well, it's been here a long time. It was initially a Chinatown, but it's Japantown, I guess, as far as I can remember. And there isn't too many of the Japanese centers, concentrated centers like here, and I think it's a good thing. It retains a certain culture, has a, has a kind of a draw for the community, you know, the Japanese community.

SF: Well, how would you describe the draw? What draws people here?

GH: Well, the main draws that I can see is the two churches. They draw, and the merchants in the area and, and the young people like, you notice at the Buddhist Church, on a Friday night, they must have two or three hundred kids running around. They're in either the Cub Scouts or the dance group, and it kind of pulls the community together, and they, the young people such as you, you don't want your kids to lose the Japanese culture or the, whatever. You don't want to lose that completely; you don't want your kids to lose it. And so I think that fact that they come here and they come to the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts and the dance groups and the, they have for the older people, they have the flower arrangements and the craft classes. And now that Yu-Ai Kai is started up the last ten or fifteen years, that's another big draw, and that pulls everything together. And this museum, that helps a lot. I think all that pulls it all together and at least you have a certain amount of camaraderie, you know.

SF: Uh-huh. What do you think makes up Japanese American culture? Like, you mentioned that I would want my kids to learn a little bit about or feel or have some affinity toward Japanese American culture, which is true; I really do. And like a lot of other people, what do you think that, that is now?

GH: Why?

SF: Or what is Japanese American culture? Why do I want my kids to, to mix it up with other Japanese Americans? Go to Boy Scouts or belong to the museum or go to one of the churches here?

GH: Well, they, they can't really, I don't think that they can really develop... I think everything reverts back to past history, to some extent. I don't think that, that they always improve on it, but then basically you go back to your old heritage and bring up things that, that you want to retain. You're not going to change your, your appearance; you're gonna always look Japanese, I don't care what you do. So I think you're always -- I mean, if, even if your hakujin closest friend looks at you, he may -- I have some friends that they, it's no, they can't tell the difference. I mean, they look at you and they, but they still see an Asian face.

SF: Right.

GH: That isn't going to change. And so that's one thing that I think would have a bearing on it, that... and you, sometimes -- not all the time -- but sometimes you feel more comfortable talking about -- depending on what you're talking about. I did a lot of hunting in my younger days, we used to go to Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and most of the hunters are, are hakujin guys. And never, never felt any less than them or better than them, or, and I, I'm sure that they felt the same.

SF: So can you think of anything that would be, like, a crucial part of Japanese American culture that would be attractive that, to keep people coming here, or that you'd like to pass on to future generations, or make sure it's preserved? What, what's left of Japanese American culture?

GH: Well, mostly, I guess, the art and religion. I could say music, but I'm not a musically inclined person, you know, so... but I think the arts and the religion, for one thing. And they have a, Japanese seem to -- especially Japanese -- they're, they have a.... I don't know, kind of a proud sense, like. You know, like, it isn't like... they don't work too well together in corporations and stuff, in business or... Chinese seem to do well, but Japanese can't seem to get together too well in business, but I think they have a certain amount of, a sense of personal pride, like. I think that goes even for the Sanseis and Yonseis.

SF: So what else do you think besides this pride is still found in Sanseis and Yonseis? Can you think of any other kind of character traits that Japanese Americans still have? I mean, is there something like... you mentioned sort of, sort of like honor or pride. Do you think that they...

GH: Well, they have this sense of trying hard, you know, and I think that was instilled by, by their, their parents or older people. I think that was instilled in them. You don't see too many low SAT scores on Asian people, because they try hard.

SF: So you still see that persisting, or lasting for quite a while yet, huh?

GH: Well, I think it, it'll continue on as long as, as long as the parents teach them that. I think that education was really important to the Isseis, even if they came over here young and didn't get much of an education in Japan, and didn't get much of an education here, they still stress that they wanted their kids to have an education.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2004 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.