アジア太平洋系米人ヘリテージ協会(APAHA)主催ガラ・ディナーでのスピーチ 2005年5月20日在ヒューストン日本国総領事 加茂佳彦
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a great honor to be invited by the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Association to give remarks at today’s gala.
As a diplomat, I have been stationed in many countries throughout my career. When I came to my current post 9 months ago, I was surprised by the amount of diversity in Houston. With 82 Consulates, active sister city relations with 16 cities throughout the world and a strong network within many ethnic communities, Houston can be considered a true “InternationalCity.”
With people from various ethnic backgrounds living together in one city, it is important that there is cultural awareness and mutual understanding between the different communities. At the Japanese Consulate, we work together with organizations such as APAHA, the Asia Society, the Japan America Society of Houston, the Japanese American Citizens League of Houston and the Japanese Association of Greater Houston to promote awareness of Japan and Japanese Americans.
With APAHA highlighting Japan this year, it has opened doors for Houstonians, especially within the Asian community, to have a better understanding of Japan. We truly appreciate the hard work and dedication that APAHA has shown in creating educational programs and outreach events that enrich the already strong network of Japan-related organizations.
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the HISD/APAHA Kick-off event. It was inspiring to see the Asian community come together to represent a larger force. Seeing Japan, along with India, highlighted among the many Asian nations was a true delight for me.
Compared with the 400,000 Asian Americans that are estimated to live in Houston, the Japanese community in Houston is small with only 2,500 Japanese citizens and an even smaller number of Japanese Americans.
However, the history of the Japanese in Texas is rich and dates back to 1903 when Japanese farmers came to the Houston area to develop the rice industry. The Japanese American community has continued to grow strong. In fact, the HolocaustMuseum is currently featuring a photo exhibit that documents the story of Japanese Americans who bravely fought during World War II. Do you know the story of Troupe 442? Let me briefly explain it.
The battalion, known as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was made up of Japanese Americans and became the most decorated unit in the history of the U.S. military. They are famous in Texas for bravely rescuing the Texas 36th Division when they were surrounded by the enemy in France. However, the 442nd regiment suffered the loss of more than 800 troops in the process of rescuing them.
As you can see, the history of Japanese Americans in Texas is fascinating. By learning about the past, we can understand the early struggles and appreciate the present achievements of Japanese Americans.
However, Japan’s influence in Houston is not limited to Japanese Americans. There are also numerous Americans and local organizations that devote themselves to promoting Japan in the cultural and artistic fields.
A few examples include a teacher who invited a Japanese potter to do workshops at the Glassell School of Art and other venues, a dentist in Dallas who invited his teacher, a shakuhachi musician, to perform to sold-out audiences in both Dallas and Houston, and the Asia Society for choosing world-acclaimed architect, Mr. Yoshio Taniguchi, to design the new Asia House.
In addition, there are several very successful Japan-related events that attract thousands of people every year. One is the Japan Festival that is held in the JapaneseGarden in HermannPark and the other is the annual concert of the Houston-based drumming group, Kaminari Taiko. The growing success of these events serves as evidence that there is a genuine interest in Japan within the Houston community.
Next month (on June10th and 11th), we will introduce a different aspect of Japanese culture to Houstonians. Noh is a traditional Japanese theatrical art that has been passed down over 700 years and has remained relatively unchanged. 3 performances of Noh will be presented at the GeorgeR.BrownConvention Center. We are very honored to have one of Japan’s Intangible Cultural Assets as a performer. I hope that you will take advantage of this rare opportunity to gain insight into the world of Noh.
Although you may not have had an opportunity to listen to Japanese music or see Japanese theater, I am sure that you have experienced a part of Japanese culture that is closer to all of our hearts…or shall I say, stomachs. Japanese food, particularly sushi, is increasingly popular. Because of this, you can find Japanese restaurants on nearly every corner. I think that sushi might replace hamburgers as the favorite food of most Americans.
In fact, one of tonight’s awards recipients, Mr. Glen Gondo, runs a company that provided sushi to local supermarkets. Maybe Mr. Gondo will feel generous tonight and offer us all a discount on sushi.
In closing, I would like to thank APAHA for bringing together not only the Japanese and Japanese-American community, but the Asian community as a whole. I feel that APAHA’s events will encourage Asian and Pacific Americans to come together as one group and serve as a source of empowerment in the future.
Thank you.