Sunday, February 12, 2006
"Una Mezcla"
We had the pleasure of having dinner with Kelly's co-workers last night and I was introduced to Daniel and Jessica. They are Okinawans and are native speakers of Spanish and Japanese is their second language. Daniel and Jessica speak Spanish like nobody's business and Jessica is not very proficient in Japanese. Interesting huh?
Well the story begins about 100 years ago, when about 790 Okinawans went to Peru seeking a better life and to work in the lumber industry. The immigration of Okinawans continued until 1958 where they reached a peak of about 80,000. The Okinawans became so prosperous that they got into politics and Peru actually had a Japanese-Okinawan President for 10 years, remember Alberto Fujimori, he's a wanted man by Peru now for corruption and other crimes against the people. The Okinawans that stayed in Peru became very prosperous and many of the present-day wealthy Okinawans owe their wealth to relatives who survived WWII in Peru. While Alberto Fujimori was President he was able to work out a deal with the Japanese government where descendants of the Okinawans could immigrate back to Japan to find work. Most of the Okinawans that came back to Japan/Okinawa didn't speak the mother tongue anymore. Even though they looked Japanese, they sure didn't sound Japanese. So these decedents became "Gaijin" to their own people. Some of these folks have come to realize that they are less Japanese than they originally thought - even though they came from families who attempted to preserve the language, customs and even the food of their ancestors. So most of these descendents that you'll meet will have cool names like Jose Nakimoro or Pedro Sato or Daniel Satoya. So I had the privilege of meeting some modern day Okinawan Peruvians that seem to be doing ok for themselves in their adopted homeland. Kelly asked Jessica if she feels more Japanese or more Peruvian and she thought about it for a while and just didn't know. She just said that she is "Una Mezcla"...A Mix.
As a side note, we always refer to the people of Okinawa as Okinawans, but in reality they are Japanese. The younger generation consider themselves Japanese, while the older generation consider themselves Okinawan. The Okinawans have their own language (which is slowly dying out and being replaced by Japanese) their own traditions, their own music and most importantly their own Liquor, Awamori. Eventually, most of this will be lost as the modern day Okinawan culture is slowly assimilated into mainland Japan's. Kelly and I are fortunate that we'll be able to experience some of the traditional Okinawan ways before they vanish, especially the Awamori! :)
-J
Well the story begins about 100 years ago, when about 790 Okinawans went to Peru seeking a better life and to work in the lumber industry. The immigration of Okinawans continued until 1958 where they reached a peak of about 80,000. The Okinawans became so prosperous that they got into politics and Peru actually had a Japanese-Okinawan President for 10 years, remember Alberto Fujimori, he's a wanted man by Peru now for corruption and other crimes against the people. The Okinawans that stayed in Peru became very prosperous and many of the present-day wealthy Okinawans owe their wealth to relatives who survived WWII in Peru. While Alberto Fujimori was President he was able to work out a deal with the Japanese government where descendants of the Okinawans could immigrate back to Japan to find work. Most of the Okinawans that came back to Japan/Okinawa didn't speak the mother tongue anymore. Even though they looked Japanese, they sure didn't sound Japanese. So these decedents became "Gaijin" to their own people. Some of these folks have come to realize that they are less Japanese than they originally thought - even though they came from families who attempted to preserve the language, customs and even the food of their ancestors. So most of these descendents that you'll meet will have cool names like Jose Nakimoro or Pedro Sato or Daniel Satoya. So I had the privilege of meeting some modern day Okinawan Peruvians that seem to be doing ok for themselves in their adopted homeland. Kelly asked Jessica if she feels more Japanese or more Peruvian and she thought about it for a while and just didn't know. She just said that she is "Una Mezcla"...A Mix.
As a side note, we always refer to the people of Okinawa as Okinawans, but in reality they are Japanese. The younger generation consider themselves Japanese, while the older generation consider themselves Okinawan. The Okinawans have their own language (which is slowly dying out and being replaced by Japanese) their own traditions, their own music and most importantly their own Liquor, Awamori. Eventually, most of this will be lost as the modern day Okinawan culture is slowly assimilated into mainland Japan's. Kelly and I are fortunate that we'll be able to experience some of the traditional Okinawan ways before they vanish, especially the Awamori! :)
-J
