The 1994 holiday issue: JACL’s budget crisis and chapter life

Vol. 119, No. 8, December 1994. 123 pages. View this issue

JACL’s money troubles ran through the news in this December 1994 issue. Cherry Kinoshita, chair of the Pacific Citizen Editorial Board, wrote about the paper’s financial crisis and a proposed donation checkoff, and Denny Yasuhara reported that the National Board approved cost-cutting steps to meet a projected $280,000 deficit. Grayce Uyehara described the JACL Legacy Fund and its grants to chapters, and Rep. Norman Mineta urged members to support JACL and the paper. Karen Narasaki’s new post as executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium was also announced.

Elsewhere, chapters reported on a teacher workshop on the JACL Curriculum Guide, the Seabrook anniversary, and the Chicago chapter’s 50th. Features included the James Clavell Award story by Perry Tsuchihashi and David Mas Masumoto on gambling and the fire in Del Rey. Jerry Enomoto wrote about his time at Tule Lake. About 93 of its 123 pages carry holiday greetings.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Mt. Olympus Sends Its Final Presidential Classroom Recipient to Washington D.C., by Steven Tokita, page 3. Steve Tokita became the last recipient of the Mt. Olympus Chapter’s Presidential Classroom for Young Americans award before the chapter discontinued the program due to budget constraints. Following his selection, Tokita entered the Missionary Training Center to prepare for a 22-month Mormon mission to Japan.
• Jerry Enomoto: On the Job as U.S. Marshal, by Jerry Enomoto, page 22. Former JACL national president Jerry Enomoto reflects on his first six months as a United States Marshal for the Eastern District of California, describing the historical role and modern responsibilities of the Marshal’s Service including prisoner transport and witness protection. He notes the personal significance of his journey from wartime internment at Tule Lake to holding federal law enforcement authority over that same jurisdiction.
• Nikkei Honored with Memorial Highways, page 38. California passed Assembly Concurrent Resolution 62 designating three highway segments as memorial freeways honoring Nisei WWII veteran units: the 442nd Regiment, 100th Infantry Battalion, and Military Intelligence Service. The resolution originated when Japanese American advocates testified against a proposed Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Highway, leading legislators to instead create dedicated tributes to Nisei military contributions.

Community

• San Mateo Runs Workshop for Teachers, by Greg Marutani, page 4. The San Mateo Chapter sponsored a teacher workshop introducing the JACL Curriculum Guide to local social studies instructors, providing supplementary materials and videotapes about the Japanese American internment experience. The chapter gave free copies of the guide to attending teachers and included locally produced materials about Issei pioneers in San Mateo County.
• Greater L.A. Singles: Focus on Singles, page 11. The Greater Los Angeles Singles Chapter of JACL highlights its ongoing support for Koreisha Chushoku Kai, a nutrition program for elderly Japanese Americans, through annual Christmas fundraising traditions. The chapter also profiles recipients of the Hana Uno Sheperd Memorial Scholarship, named for a redress pioneer, which specifically supports students from single-parent families.
• Diablo Valley Chapter Takes on the Domestic Partners Issue, page 12. The Diablo Valley Chapter organized an emergency resolution committee after reading about pending domestic partners legislation (AB 2810) in the Pacific Citizen, successfully pushing an emergency resolution through the JACL National Convention despite setbacks. The chapter then lobbied California Assembly members and the governor’s office, though Governor Wilson ultimately vetoed the bill on September 11, 1994.
• Cortez 75th Reunion Celebrated, page 12. The Cortez JACL chapter celebrated its 75th reunion in 1994. The event brought together longtime members of this small farming community chapter.
• Florin Chapter Presents Six Topics for Women, by Bill Kashiwagi, page 12. The Florin JACL chapter hosted its fourth annual Nikkei Women’s Day Forum featuring six speakers addressing topics including gay and lesbian issues, Nikkei identity, personal development, fitness, travel safety, and public speaking. Speakers included legislative advocate Stacie Hiramoto and civil rights activist Mary Tsukamoto.
• Contra Costa Chapter: It’s All for the Kids, by Don Delcollo, page 16. The Contra Costa Chapter’s annual Kid’s Day event immersed children in traditional Japanese culture through activities including Kimekomi doll displays, traditional dance performances, origami instruction, bonsai demonstrations, and calligraphy workshops. Approximately 90 children and their parents participated in hands-on cultural heritage activities during the fourth annual event held in May 1994.
• The Grants Program: Chapter and District Projects Funded by Legacy Fund, page 17. This article details the JACL Legacy Fund Grants Program which awarded grants to chapters for programs including photo exhibitions, curriculum development, oral histories, and cultural events. It profiles selection committee members and describes specific 1993 and 1994 funded projects across chapters including Riverside, Cincinnati, Olympia, and others.
• Alaska JACLer Shares Stories at Shemya Air Station, by Harry K. Honda, page 21. Sylvia Kobayashi of the Alaska JACL Chapter traveled to the remote Shemya Air Station in the Aleutians to speak about Asian Pacific American heritage during a military-invited event. During her trip she learned local history including WWII Japanese military occupation and met with a 97-year-old Issei woman in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
• CCDC Holds Workshops, Discussions, Installation, by Patricia Tsai, page 39. The Central California District Council held a weekend of events including an education workshop introducing the JACL curriculum guide to social studies instructors and the 45th annual banquet installing new chapter officers. National President Denny Yasuhara addressed the need to focus on organizational priorities and live within budgetary means during his keynote speech.
• San Diego Chapter: An Evening of Otsuki-mi, by Susan Leonard, page 60. San Diego’s JACL celebrated Otsuki-mi (moon-viewing festival) with koto music performances by Emiko Tayama and haiku poetry readings at the Bali Hai restaurant. The event featured a surprise appearance of a costumed “rabbit” during a raffle drawing, evoking the traditional tale of a rabbit visible in the full moon.

JACL

• From the Pacific Citizen Chair: Seeking a PC Support System, by Cherry Kinoshita, page 8. Cherry Kinoshita, chairwoman of the Pacific Citizen Editorial Board, addresses the severe financial crisis facing the Pacific Citizen, which forced a cutback to monthly publication in September 1994. She compares PC’s $12 membership allocation to subscription rates of other Asian American vernaculars and proposes a voluntary donation checkoff to help fund the paper.
• The JACL Legacy Fund: The Need, the Programs, by Grayce Uyehara, page 16. Grayce Uyehara reports that the Legacy Fund Campaign has raised over $4.5 million since 1990, while JACL faces financial pressures amid a broader downturn in charitable giving nationwide. She outlines the Annual Giving fundraising plan launched to address JACL’s mounting deficit and describes the Legacy Fund Grants Program’s funding of various chapter projects.
• Update to JACL Curriculum Guide, by Greg Marutani, page 63. The JACL Curriculum Guide is being reviewed and updated to correct errors and incorporate feedback from educators, with plans to include information about Japanese Latino internment experiences. The article also discusses upcoming presentations planned for the California Council for the Social Studies convention addressing the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Arts & Entertainment

• Fiction: James Clavell Award 1994: Without Any Accent, by Perry Tsuchihashi, page 8. This award-winning short story follows a young Japanese American man named Peter as he grapples with his father’s serious illness and hospitalization, prompting him to reconnect with his taciturn Issei father through a fishing trip. The narrative explores themes of intergenerational communication, cultural identity, and unspoken love between father and son.
• Chicago Holds 50th Anniversary Inaugural Dinner, page 52. The Chicago JACL Chapter celebrated its 50th anniversary with an inaugural dinner featuring keynote speaker Karen Suzuki-Okabe, a high-ranking Asian American woman in Utah state government. She credited her early JACL involvement with providing valuable experience for her career in public service.

Commentary

• Ethics, Values and Organizations, by Paul M. Shinkawa, page 10. Former JACL National Board member Paul Shinkawa discusses Michael Josephson’s six core ethical values and argues that JACL’s internal conflicts stem from a divergence of core values among members. He calls for JACL members nationwide to engage in grassroots discussions to reaffirm common values and rebuild community identity.
• Dare to Be Old, by Mei Nakano, page 29. Columnist Mei Nakano challenges societal attitudes that stigmatize aging, criticizing advertising and cultural narratives that equate youth with goodness and old age with decline. She calls on elderly people to demand respect and dignity rather than denying their age, while acknowledging the complex mix of prejudice, loss of independence, and stereotyping that accompanies growing old.
• The Women’s Movement: Active, Involved on Many Levels, by Chizu Iiyama, page 33. Chizu Iiyama examines the involvement of Japanese American women in feminist movements from the 1960s onward, highlighting figures like Sansei activists who participated in campus protests and Redress campaigns. The article profiles multiple generations of Nikkei women’s community service and activism, including work with organizations addressing reproductive health, environmental justice, and civil rights.
• Whither Our Goals?, by Bill Hosokawa, page 51. Bill Hosokawa reflects on how far JACL has drifted from its historic alliances by describing a Denver ACLU banquet honoring the legacy of Larry Tajiri, the wartime Pacific Citizen editor, with an award named for him. He laments that despite the significance of the occasion, almost no Japanese Americans or JACLers attended, illustrating a troubling disconnect from the causes that once unified the community.
• Ai-no-ko: (Ai Yai Yai), by William Marutani, page 51. Former judge William Marutani continues his etymological exploration of the term “hapa” and its Japanese equivalent “ai-no-ko,” tracing readers’ feedback about the term’s origins in Hawaiian language and discussing alternative Japanese terms like “kon-ketsu” for mixed-race individuals. He concludes with affectionate reflections on his own mixed-race grandchildren.

Incarceration & Redress

• Highlights of Domestic Partners Bill AB 2810, page 12. This detailed analysis explains the provisions of California Assembly Bill 2810, which would have created a statewide registry for domestic partners and provided hospital visitation and conservatorship rights. The piece lists supporting and opposing arguments from various organizations including the California Medical Association and Traditional Values Coalition.

National

• An APA Perspective on 1994 Elections, by Arlene Oki, page 15. Arlene Oki analyzes the sweeping Republican gains in Washington state’s 1994 congressional elections, including the defeat of House Speaker Tom Foley, and discusses APA community concerns about the GOP Contract with America’s proposed elimination of immigrant benefits. She highlights Kip Tokuda’s successful state House campaign and other APA candidates’ races.
• JACL National Board OKs Cost-Cutting Plan to Answer Huge Deficit, by Denny Yasuhara, page 49. National JACL President Denny Yasuhara details the National Board’s decisions to address a projected $280,000 budget deficit for 1995, including consolidating five headquarters staff positions into three and cutting the Pacific Citizen to twice-monthly publication. He explains that despite increased Legacy Fund distributions, JACL’s reserve fund has been nearly depleted covering deficits from 1993 and 1994.
• Mineta Calls for Support of JACL, PC, at Fund-Raiser, by Harry K. Honda, page 49. Rep. Norman Mineta addressed the 65th anniversary banquet of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in Los Angeles, urging JACL members to be bold and support the organization and Pacific Citizen. He also criticized the Republican Conference’s decision to ban ethnic congressional caucuses including the APA Caucus he chairs.
• JACL Objects to Ban on Ethnic Caucuses, page 49. JACL, along with the Organization of Chinese Americans and Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, denounced the House Republican Conference’s decision to ban congressional caucuses including the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Black Caucus, and Hispanic Caucus. Representatives argued the move would harm minority communities’ ability to have their interests represented in Congress.
• Narasaki Named Executive Director of APA Legal Group, page 51. Karen Narasaki, currently JACL’s Washington D.C. representative, was named executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium effective January 1, 1995. The nonprofit organization advances civil rights of Asian Pacific Americans through litigation, advocacy, and public education.
• Pass on the Legacy of JACL This Christmas, by Kimi Yoshino, page 59. Kimi Yoshino, writing on behalf of the National Youth/Student Council, challenges JACL members to translate rhetoric about passing on organizational legacy into concrete action by encouraging youth membership. She notes that many chapters have no youth or student members and proposes gift memberships as an accessible way to engage younger generations.

In-Depth

• The Tale of Genji, by Allan Beekman, page 25. Allan Beekman provides an extensive literary analysis of Murasaki Shikibu’s classical Japanese novel “The Tale of Genji,” written a thousand years ago and considered the world’s first great novel. The article explores the Heian court culture, the novel’s central character Genji and his romantic pursuits, and discusses various English translations of the work.
• Our Texas Roots, by Sandra Tanamachi Nakata, page 29. Sandra Tanamachi Nakata recounts her family’s history as Japanese American pioneers who settled in Texas in 1921, clearing pine forests to farm despite discrimination. She describes her uncles’ WWII military service with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, including one uncle’s death in France, and her ongoing campaign to rename offensively-named Texas roads
• Gambling, Bootlegging and the Fire, by David Mas Masumoto, page 42. David Mas Masumoto excerpts from his upcoming book to document oral histories of Issei gambling culture in Del Rey, California’s Japanese American farming community, including Chinese-run gambling houses and bootlegging operations during Prohibition. The piece also recounts the community’s devastating fire in the mid-1920s that destroyed much of the town’s Japantown district.
• Seabrook Celebration Marks 50th Anniversary, by Mitch Gitman, page 61. The Seabrook, New Jersey community celebrated the 50th anniversary of Japanese Americans’ arrival to work at Seabrook Farms after release from WWII internment camps, dedicating the Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center museum. The weekend celebration drew over 650 people to the museum dedication and 540 attendees from 27 states to a commemorative banquet.

Obituaries

• Obituaries: December 1994, page 53. This obituary section includes tributes to numerous notable Japanese Americans including Clara Breed, the librarian who maintained correspondence with Japanese American children during internment, and James Clavell, the author who established a writing award through JACL. Other notable obituaries include Tadashi Hirota, a longtime JACL leader, and Howard Imazeki, a prominent Japanese American newspaper editor.

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