<Begin Segment 10>

RB: So I guess, thinking about the role that Japanese culture has played in your life as an adult, to what extent do you think that that's sort of shaped your identity or inspired you to do different things that you did, either as a volunteer or even in the places that you chose to travel or study?

MM: Well, I think one of the questions there had been about values and your values, and what did you learn from your parents. And as my parents got older, I realized their values are very Japanese because their parents were Nihonjin and were speaking to them in Japanese. So gaman, and working hard and not being too obnoxious aloud sort of thing, all these things. And so there's an intersection between Quaker values and Japanese cultural values. So there's respect for others, and in tea ceremony there's this sense of hospitality and taking care of who your guest is, and honoring them. And this aesthetic of the architecture of nature. And then with Quakers, it's seeing each person that you meet as having that of God in them, or that potential of having spirit in them. Peace and simplicity, integrity. I think maybe integrity is the one that's the strongest, that crosses over from both my parents and from Quakers. My dad had a very strong sense of your word is your bond, and honesty. Try to live up to that. [Laughs]

RB: Yeah, trying to think what else we haven't covered here. There were a lot of things that we asked specific questions. From your perspective, are there any things that we haven't covered that you'd like to spend some time talking about?

MM: Well, this is probably true of most religious groups and churches, the question of, are your children following your lead? I'm pretty sure my kids identify Quaker and have those values, even if they're not finding the time in their lives right now to attend meeting. But each of them with their weddings, especially Jessie's in South Africa, she said, "Well, Manga's parents aren't going to think we have, we're getting married unless there is a minister up in the front." And the friend who's a minister said, "It's Protestant, it's thirty minutes tops." Then we had a Quaker meeting for worship with intention to marriage, and everybody got it. People would speak, I'd bring the mike, they would say what was on their heart, and so we did that, I think with the Indian service, and no, I guess not, Trudy's was not the Indian craziness was different. [Laughs] I wonder if there's anything else I'd like to touch on.

RB: I guess just one thing, I know that you are still very involved with the Friends, maybe just talking a little bit about the role that that's playing in your life currently?

MM: Well, right now, I have recently, Quaker meetings are, there's no minister. There's a spectrum of Quakers, so there are some Quaker churches that had ministers. But the tradition in Philadelphia and East Coast area is that of unprogrammed Friends. And so committees do all the work, and I have, for the last four years, had the, I was the clerk of Care and Counsel, which is the pastoral care. So you kind of go, okay, so meals if somebody has been sick, rides to the doctor, but there's been a number of cases where it's, the intensity of assistance has been a lot. So I happily passed that on to somebody else, and what are the next doors to open? So there's been a group that put together an end of life issues handbook. And I'm going, we never, that got pulled together right before Covid, and we haven't had the opportunity to really share that with the meeting and to educate ourselves and be better accompaniers to families when someone dies or is very ill for a long time. So it's partly I'm old enough to do this now, maybe. But we're planning a trip to Japan in the fall, and somebody asked me, "What do you hope will come from that?" And I go, "Oh, okay, I need to think about that more deeply." It's not just seeing places I've been to before or new places or figuring out the hotels and all that stuff. And it's touching base again with some people who are dear and... just to refresh those tender precious friendships. One being with Steve's... it's the last of the Nitobe relatives, and she is in her seventies. So we will be visiting with her... so I'm up to day three hundred and thirty with my Duolingo to try to get my Japanese in better shape. I can understand a lot more than comes out grammatically correct.

RB: That's a tricky part about second languages.

MM: Yeah, it sure is.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2023 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.