Rarely am I moved to tears while watching a movie, but recently seeing Come See the Paradise (1990) brought tears to my eyes, especially when the Kawamura family, including their lovely daughter Lily (who was married to an Irish American), was sent to an internment camp.
I couldn’t help but think about that touching movie when reflecting on the life of Yuri Kochiyama, the real-life woman who, like Lily, was born in California to immigrants from Japan—and yuri is the Japanese word for lily.
The Crux of “Lily’s” Life
Perhaps few of you have heard of Yuri, the remarkable
Japanese American “Lily” born 100 years ago, but hers is an interesting story
and one worthy of thoughtful consideration.
On May 19, 1921, Seiichi and Tsuyako Nakahara
became the parents of twins, a boy and a girl they named Mary Yuriko. They
lived in a relatively affluent White neighborhood, and as a youth Mary attended
a Christian church and taught Sunday school classes.
But things drastically changed on December 7
when Mary was 20. Her father, just home from the hospital, was arrested by FBI
agents. He died the next month. Shortly after that, Pres. Roosevelt issued
Executive Order 9066 and Mary and her family were sent to an internment camp in
Arkansas.
Max
Garrott, my friend and esteemed missionary sempai (older colleague)
was forced to leave Japan in 1942 and served for a time as a chaplain at the
Japanese internment camps in Arkansas. During Passion Week and Easter in 1944,
Dr. Garrott preached at the camp where Mary Yuriko was interned.
Perhaps she heard him preach or lead Bible
study that week as she continued to be an active Christian even while
incarcerated in the Jerome, Arkansas, camp.
While there, she met her future husband, Bill
Kochiyama, a nisei (second-generation Japanese American) soldier
fighting for the United States. The couple married in 1946 and moved to New York
City two years later. There she became widely known as Yuri Kochiyama.
Yuri (“Lily”) died seven years ago, on June 1,
2014, at the age of 93.
The Combative “Lily”
After moving to New
York and into public housing there, for the rest of her life Yuri Kochiyama was
an activist. She became an outspoken and combative critic of the mistreatment
not only of Japanese Americans but of other mistreated minorities living in the
U.S.
In 1963 she met
Malcomb X and became a combative supporter of his work for racial justice and
human rights. When he was assassinated in 1965, the picture of the fallen Black
leader in Life
magazine shows Yuri crouched in the background, cradling his head.
During the 1960s, Yuri
also became a contentious critic of the war in Vietnam and then for decades of
what she saw as American “imperialism.”
The
Compassionate “Lily”
Five days after her
death in June 2014, the White House honored Kochiyama on its website:
Today, we honor the legacy of Yuri Kochiyama, a Japanese American activist who dedicated her life to the pursuit of social justice, not only for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, but all communities of color.
That was an appropriate recognition for the combative
and compassionate “Lily.”
Five years ago on
what would have been her 95th birthday, a Google
Doodle, which was both praised and criticized, said this about Yuri:
Kochiyama left a legacy of advocacy: for peace, U.S. political prisoners, nuclear disarmament, and reparations for Japanese Americans interned during the war. She was known for her tireless intensity and compassion, and remained committed to speaking out, consciousness-raising, and taking action until her death in 2014.
Here is one of “Lily” Kochiyama’s most quoted statements:
While we may not agree with all the people and
causes Yuri Kochiyama supported, can’t we at least appreciate these words of
hers?
_______
** Yuri Kochiyama’s contentious and compassionate life’s work seems to be getting more and more recognition.
A children’s book titled Rad American Women A – Z was published in 2015, and Yuri was the Y for the 26 women written about in that book.
In 2019 a book was published under the title Can I Get a Witness?: Thirteen Peacemakers, Community-Builders, and Agitators for Faith and Justice. The third chapter, following essays about Cesar Chavez and Howard Thurman, is titled “Setting the Captives Free: Yuri Kochiyama and Her Lifelong Fight against Unjust Imprisonment.”
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I agree with you Leroy that we All should recognize the struggle of people of color and do All we can to treat them with dignity and respect; like we would like to be treated.
ReplyDeleteYour many years, as a Missionary in Japan probably Gave you a more compassion for the Japanese people-rightfully so.
It saddens me too Leroy to observe the injustices we inflict on Others.
Thanks for your Excellent article!
Respectfully,
John(Tim)Carr
Thank you, John Tim, for your comments and for being the first to post comments this morning -- and it was especially meaningful to hear from you since you are now in hospice care.
DeleteEven though there have been more than the usual number of pageviews by this time on the morning of posting, the only other comments I have received so far are from Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson in Kentucky:
ReplyDelete"Excellent article, Leroy. Thanks for sharing her story, which I had never heard."
Thanks, as always, for your comments, Dr. Hinson. I don't remember hearing about Ms. Kochiyama until early this year, but I have found her story, of which I could tell only a small part, to be quite fascinating.
DeleteThe book "Can I Get a Witness?" was in my local library system, and the 24-page chapter on Ms. Kochiyama by Grace Y. Kao, a professor at Claremont School of Theology, was excellent.
I just read your previous post today, so I may be seeing more parallel than you intended. It would seem to me the quote you included speaks directly to critical race theory. Contrast that with Missouri Governor Mike Parson, who ran on "law and order" with its connotation to Black suppression, but has no interest in justice related to a Black man who has been falsely imprisoned for over 40 years since he was found guilty by an all-white jury. The previous sentence contains my opinions mixed in with facts, but I do not think I am wrong. Unfortunately there are many examples of injustice that we could discuss every five days.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your perceptive comments, Dennis. I, too, find Gov. Parson's statements and inaction regarding Kevin Strickland deplorable.
DeleteWith regards to Yuri Kochiyama and CRT, it seems completely unquestionable that she spent her life fighting against sinful social structures. From the time she was incarcerated because of Executive Order 9066, during the years she lived among People of Color in public housing in New York City, and through the decades following, she forthrightly opposed not just the "sins" of individuals but the sins imbedded in the laws and practices of a society structured for the benefit of Whites and to the detriment of People of Color. Her lifework was about the history of the U.S. that critics of CRT want to ignore.
Yesterday evening I received the following comments from Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago:
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, for bringing Yuri Kochiyama to our attention. I had not heard of her previously.
"While I agree with her ultimate goal of a just and peaceful society, I do not agree with some of her methods. Nonetheless, her courage was incredible."
Thanks for your comments, Eric.
DeleteMore than her "methods," many people in this country criticized Ms. Kochiyama for the people she supported, such as Malcolm X and prominent people in other countries who were considered enemies of the U.S.
And then early this afternoon Thinking Friend Truett Baker in Arizona sent these comments:
ReplyDelete"Truly a remarkable woman and loyal American. I hope she received the recognition she deserved. I would think that there were other Japanese-Americans of similar achievement who have not been recognized. Today, our country is a little short of principled people and that is a black mark on democracy. Thanks for a very interesting review of this brave lady."
Thanks, Truett, for your positive comments.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are probably a number of Japanese Americans who have legitimately protested against the unjust treatment they, or their family members, received in the 1940s. The only other one that I know of who has been widely recognized is Fred Korematsu, about whom I wrote in my January 30, 2019, blog article (at the link below):
https://theviewfromthisseat.blogspot.com/2019/01/in-honor-of-fred-korematsu-civil-rights.html
First, thank you for introducing me to Yuri Kochiyama. That she was the person who ended up cradling the head of the fallen Malcolm X says a lot about her.
ReplyDeleteAmerica did not invent imperialism, and Vietnam was neither the start nor the end of it. As someone who graduated from high school in the 1960s, Vietnam was certainly a defining feature of my coming of age, and a prime example of American imperialism. I think Thucydides gave a rather succinct definition 2,500 years ago when in his History of the Peloponnesian War he has the Athenians arguing that the Melians should not be allowed to be neutral. An Athenian declares "the standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel and that … the strong do what they have the power to do and the weak accept what they have to accept." This "might makes right" attitude has been the heart of imperialism for thousands of years. Of course, the final result of the imperialism of Sparta and Athens was the ascendancy of first Macedon and later Rome. You can read more about Thucydides here: https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-thucydidess-history-of-the-peloponnesian-war-71550
This is what empires do, first they consume their victims, then they consume themselves. America has been on a fool's errand for most of my lifetime, scoffing at the limits of soft power, and playing the hard power game as much as possible. We imported it from England with the first settlers at Jamestown, and have practiced it for over four centuries since. In my lifetime we have fought a series of counterproductive battles in Iran (installing the Shah in the 1950s), Vietnam, Central America (think Iran-Contra), Afghanistan and Iraq; not to mention a number of smaller outings. What have we gained but a gaggle of enemies who wish us ill? The military-industrial complex is the only winner in America, certainly the only winner in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Now our proteges in Russia and China are mimicking our foolishness, and who knows where that will lead. Meanwhile, Anthropogenic Global Warming is marching on. Just ask Portland and Seattle about that!
Thanks, Craig, for your lengthy and erudite comments about imperialism.
DeleteTruly, Yuri Kochiyama was widely castigated for seeing and speaking out forcefully against the imperialism that was recognized by only a small majority of people in the U.S. during her lifetime, or now.
This morning, Thinking Friend Tom Trullinger in my northwest Missouri home county, commented:
ReplyDelete"My wife’s aunt was a lifetime school teacher and taught in an internment camp. Made lifetime friends there and was never able to understand the rationale for the treatment they received."
Thank you, Leroy, for introducing us to Yuri Kochiyama. My current lack of familiarity with her work renders me unqualified to offer an informed opinion. However, based on your explanation above, I would affirm that we should appreciate her passion for justice, even if we do not agree with all her methods and associations. I grieve that, for whatever reason, she did not find a network of those within the true Christian faith who "hunger and thirst for righteousness."
ReplyDeleteRay, I was happy to hear from you again and appreciate the comments you posted.
DeleteAs I wrote to Dr. Hinson above, the book "Can I Get a Witness?" (which was in my local library system) has a 24-page chapter on Ms. Kochiyama by Grace Y. Kao, a professor at Claremont School of Theology, and it was very helpful. According to Dr. Kao, Ms. Kochiyama maintained a relationship with progressive Christians throughout her life and seems never to have given up her Christian faith, as I first thought she probably did.