NikkeiWest--Northern California Japanese American Newspaper

By Brandi-Ann Uyemura

CUPERTINO—What was life like for the Japanese living in Palo Alto, California a hundred years ago?  In 2007, Aldersgate United Methodist Church secretary and photographer Brad Shirakawa set out to find the answer.  He underwent two ambitious projects.  First to plan the Aldersgate UMC’s 100th anniversary party and second to compile its history into a hardbound book aptly named, "The Streets That Dreams Are Made Of."

On Nov. 8, 360 members and their guests came from all over the Bay Area as well as LA, Fresno and even Hawaii to witness the fruits of his labor.  The centennial celebration took place at Dynasty Seafood restaurant in Cupertino.

Among those attending the event were 442nd war vets, reverends and bestselling author David Masumoto along with old and new members of the 100-year-old church. There was a bustle of activity as guests searched for their tables, old friends embraced, people laughed at old photos and families asked to have their pictures taken.  Yellow faded newspapers and black and white photographs were framed, placed onto poster boards or protected in plastic.  Some stared intensely at faded photos in the hopes of recognizing familiar faces while others waited in line to turn back the pages of time in photos and personal stories of war, immigration and internment camps in The Streets That Dreams Are Made Of.  Never was the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand words” more poignant.

It’s hard to believe that less than a hundred years ago, the racial climate for the Japanese was very different than it is today.  The Issei endured a great deal from first immigrating to the country in the early 1900’s to being discriminated against in the 1940’s. The church played a central role in the lives of the Issei and Nisei at that time. 

Originally, church services were held in a boarding house on Ramona Street in Palo Alto, California.  It wasn’t until 1940 that the Japanese Methodist church had its own building.  They moved to Page Mill Road in Mayfield (what is now part of South Palo Alto) and changed their name to Page Mill Methodist.  Their happiness, however, was short-lived when war hysteria and racism led to Executive Order 9066.  According to the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation website, from 1942-1945 about 11,000 Japanese were sent there, suddenly making Heart Mountain Wyoming’s third largest city.

WWII left its imprint on church members.  Some were sent to internment camps and others volunteered for the war.  Unfortunately, harsh temperatures and few doctors in the internment camps along with the war itself resulted in the eventual trauma and loss endured by its members.

After the war, the church worked hard to get their congregation back together.  Their membership increased and in 1965 they would make their final move to 4243 Manuela Avenue in Palo Alto.  Eventually they changed their name to Aldersgate United Methodist Church. 

In retrospect, the difficulties the Japanese faced were a significant part of their history and consequently the history of the church.  The son of one of Aldersgate’s ministers from 1959 to 1970, Reverend Alpha Goto in a speech said, “The life and times of the Issei, Nisei.  Not always the easiest of times but we learned from adversity and challenge.”

Keynote speaker and author of Wisdom of the Last Farmer, David “Mas” Masumoto also spoke on the hardships experienced by the Japanese Americans.  In an eloquent twist, Masumoto compared his father’s recovery from stroke and the struggles Japanese Americans were forced to face.  His father’s challenge was relearning how to walk on farm that had no sidewalks and no even surfaces.  Similarly, Masumoto said, “Our story-the immigrant story of struggle…and then of course WWII and relocation, for the Issei and Nisei there were no sidewalks in their life.  And this too, is part of all of our histories, a history of a church…”

This common struggle marked by war and racism has consequently reshaped the Japanese American community.  Masumoto said a stroke, which is called an insult is not unlike the insults against the Japanese.  “For Japanese Americans, we honor the resilience of Nisei and Issei, as they too learn to respond to the insults that were thrown at them…It creates a personal connection that we all share with this collective history.  It’s a history that makes us different...There is a past that you live with constantly. And it’s the type of past, that helps frame who we are…”

Many of the people who came to the 100th anniversary were searching to understand and piece together the past and reconnect with the community.  Pam Nishimoto was one of those people.  Born and raised in Chicago, she didn’t grow up in Aldersgate UMC, but her mom did.  Besides reconnecting with her mother’s old friends Nishimoto brought a small photo album with her.  On the front cover, there was a question mark and in it her mom’s photos.  Throughout the night, she passed the book around asking others to help identify the people in them. 

Being a part of the community was also a reason why third generation church go-er Michelle Nieda Yoshida brings her family to Aldersgate.  “It’s all about community.  It’s all the things about being part of the Japanese community-everyone knowing each other, the generosity, and oh the potluck!” she said with a smile.

And then there was Jay Sasagawa, who was baptized in the church when he was a year old.  That night he received an award for being the longest member.  Seeing Aldergate UMC through war, relocation and change within the church itself he said he was “proud to be an active member for 83 years.”

Others like 92-year-old Soyo Takahashi, whose parent’s boarding house was the first site of the church, was excited to reconnect with old friends. When asked what she thought of the event Takahashi’s eyes light up, “It’s really great!  I never expected so many people.  I haven’t seen some of these people since the war.”

Whether it was to find answers, preserve history or to reconnect, the event and the book provided layers of meaning to the church’s members.  Even Shirakawa himself who compiled the stories and photographs in The Streets That Dreams Are Made Of was surprised by the outcome.  He said, “Our church history was much bigger and broader than I assumed” and the project meant more to him than he realized. 

What made the night momentous was that it wasn’t the history about a 100 year old church so much as it was the tales about the people in it.  Each member’s story was a single thread interwoven into the intricate quilt that is the history of Japanese Americans. The gift was their awareness of the importance of preserving it in a book and celebrating it.

What has happened in the hundred years since the beginning of Aldersgate and the arrival of the Japanese?  The Issei and Nisei laid the groundwork and younger generations are now analyzing and redefining what it means to be Japanese American.  Masumoto said, “In a way, this is the first time we are able to choose who we want to be. The Issei and Nisei had their identities defined for them, imposed on them. But now we are beginning to choose who we are and what we want to leave behind…I think we are a new type of cultural worker, certainly relocation helped to define us publicly. It gave us a name and the masks that we wear, and identified us forever as being different, but now we are a part of a cultural community that makes those definitions for ourselves.”

Although life for the Japanese was difficult a hundred years ago, it is an important part of the community.  This could be the reason why 360 people flocked to the night’s event.  There was a strong desire to reconnect with lost friends, to remember times past, and to redefine one’s culture.  Emmy Award winner and television producer Wendy Hanamura, who was the emcee of the evening, said in a speech, “If you don’t know your story and you don’t know your history, you really can’t know who you are or where you’re going.”