Traveling Japan: Kyoto’s Ninen Zaka & Sannen Zaka

Posted on September 21, 2015 by tinabot

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While researching places to go in Kyoto, I have to admit, I was trying to live my Rurouni Kenshin years and wanted to see “old Kyoto” where ever it may still exist, while temples and gardens are key destinations in such a search, I realized that I would also have to find *streets*.

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Thanks to the efforts of Kyoto citizens to preserve the historic architecture and vibe of their ancient city, there are certain areas that have preserved traditional machiyas, two-story live-work homes that have shops on the first floor. One of such places, a twin pair of streets that I had to track down were Ninen Zaka (2 Year Road) and Sannen Zaka (3 Year Road). The belief is that if you trip on the Ninen Zaka, you’ll have 2 years of bad luck, and three years if you trip on the Sannen Zaka. (I’m happy to report I didn’t trip at all.) These two roads run up towards the Kiyomizudera, my temple of non-destiny that I missed in my two visits to Kyoto throughout my life. Because this temple has been there for centuries, these two roads have always been there for quite some time as well, and they have been servicing pilgrims to the temple and travelers to Kyoto for hundreds of years.

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8Books: Jenny Zhang on Michael Derrick Hudson

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Lily

the-best-american-poetry-2015-9781476708195_hrIncluded in this year’s edition of The Best American Poetry, edited by Sherman Alexie, is a poem worthy of significant controversy. It is a poem by one Yi-Fen Chou, the Chinese pen name of a white writer named Michael Derrick Hudson. Yi-Fen Chou is in fact the name of a woman Hudson attended high school with in Indiana.

There has been a lot written about the whole debacle, from the New York Times to Asian American Writers Workshop. (Debacle being only one of many applicable words to describe this infuriating if sadly unsurprising additional episode in the long saga of a problematic publishing world that is somehow well-acknowledged, and yet simultaneously discounted and in perpetual need of reiteration).

But the best thing so far (in my opinion) is from Jenny Zhang, “They Pretend to Be Us While Pretending We Don’t Exist” for Buzzfeed. I highly recommend reading it in its entirety, but here are some excerpts, because THIS:

I won’t be scandalized by a white man who hasn’t considered that perhaps what helped his poem finally get published was less the fake Chinese woman he pretended to be, and more the robust, unflappable confidence bordering on delusion that he and many privileged white men possess: the capacity to be rejected forty (40) times and not give up, to be told, “no we don’t want you” again and again and think, I got this. I know what will get me in. What may be persistence to him is unfathomable to me. Continue reading →

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Asian American Diabetes cases: More than Half are Undiagnosed

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Jeff

PrintMany years ago I was amazed when The Wife, a Registered Nurse, looked at someone at a party and immediately (and correctly, more on that later), pointed out that the person was a diabetic.   I wondered how she figured that out, and after reading this National Institue of Health (NIH) press release about a recent study of diabetes occurrence in the US, it seems that the fact that the person was Asian American, and Filipino in particular, results in a higher probability that she was correct.   The NIH created the graphic to the left which shows that Asian Americans sampled have a much higher incidence of Diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and that half all Asian American cases are undiagnosed.

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8Books Review: “Bright Lines,” by Tanwi Nandini Islam

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Lily

BrightLinesTanwi Nandini Islam’s debut novel Bright Lines is a coming-of-age story for three young girls in Brooklyn and a family trying to find itself. Ella returns home from college for the summer to see her aunt, uncle, and cousin in Brooklyn, her adopted family after her parent’s death. The girls–Ella, her cousin Charu, and their friend Maya–explore the city, boys and girls, their sexuality, their identities. Hashi and Anwar, the parents, immigrants from Bangladesh, try to balance their work and a relationship laced with the past.

The story is overflowing with plot which no overview could possibly give justice to and it is the plot that keeps the reader engaged as much as the characters who dominate. Of the several characters, Ella and Anwar are the most compelling and detailed. Their relationship also embodies the book’s thematic twists and turns about family, love, and how the past haunts the present and a search for home haunts each in a different way.

The first part of the story takes place in Brooklyn, a summer of exploration, confusion, and frustration. The girls bike around the city, seeking escape from their homes. The parents separately delve into their passions, business and otherwise. The pages are filled with friction, even amidst summer’s frivolity, and the complex web of character relations begins to emerge. The second part sends the family on vacation to Bangladesh, where the new setting refocuses the multiple identity crises in the family and they are reunited with Ella and Charu’s grandfather and uncle. With a lot packed into these pages, it is an almost overwhelming whirlwind with generations, couples, families, cousins, friends, lovers, immigrants, New Yorkers, all trying to untangle their selves and a complex web of relationships. Yet this active fervor captures the trials of growing up or growing in general in exactly that it does sometimes all happen at once.

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Asian American Commercial Watch: Simon Premium Outlets® – Bold Summer Looks

Posted on September 15, 2015 by John

https://youtu.be/MiaqkrLtpc8

Although we’re nearing the end of the summer, I’ve only recently noticed this Simon Premium Outlets tv ad:

AACW_Simon“At Simon Premium Outlets®, there’s always something new to discover. Check out our new Simon Premium Outlets commercial, and visit a property near you for shopping that’s always worth the trip.”

I was wondering if maybe Simon had in mind targeting Asian Americans or Asian tourists looking for a good deal, or if this actress was casted race-blind? Or maybe Simon just advertises with attractive women in their ads, regardless of race.

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Traveling Japan: Kiyomizudera

Posted on September 14, 2015 by tinabot

除夜の鐘｜Joya no Kane #kyoto #kiyomizudera #japan #temple #清水寺#京都#日本#寺

A photo posted by 音羽山 清水寺｜Kiyomizu-dera (@feel_kiyomizudera) on

The image above is of Kiyomizudera buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, the night I was there. Except I wasn’t there. I had walked up to the temple that New Year’s eve in 2014 and found it closed. What I didn’t know was that the temple would open up a couple hours after I had arrived at the temple for New Year’s lighted up viewing. So I missed this amazing sight. Yeah, pretty much.

This was not the first time I missed a chance to see Kyomizudera. When I had visited Kyoto for the first time with my family nearly two decades ago, my brother and I had told my mom that we were sick of seeing temples and wanted to wander on our own. While we discovered Dance Dance Revolution, our parents went to Kiyiomizudera without us.

成就院｜Jojuin #kiyomizudera #feel kiyomizudera #japan #kyoto #temple

A photo posted by 音羽山 清水寺｜Kiyomizu-dera (@feel_kiyomizudera) on

So I currently call this breathtakingly beautiful temple my temple of non-destiny since I basically missed both chances I had to visit it.

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Former Top Clinton Fundraiser Norman Hsu Says ‘I Was Greedy’

Posted on September 11, 2015 by John

When I first started blogging for 8Asians back in 2007, I started to learn more about Asian Americans in the political realm, including fundraisers such as Norman Hsu (since convicted in 2009 and imprisoned), and even blogged about him a few times as more details became available regarding his criminal charges.

Hsu was convicted in Ponzi scheme, and recently granted the Wall Street Journal his first prison interview about politics and denying that he broke campaign-finance laws:

Norman_Hsu“The 64-year-old Mr. Hsu, who admits he ran a fraudulent investment scheme, is a reminder of the risks that campaigns take in relying on big donors who round up money from others. Such “bundlers” need influence or money to tap vast networks of donors and acquaintances, and most do so within the law. But on occasion, such fundraising techniques come back to embarrass campaigns—though usually to a smaller degree. … It is illegal for supporters to give more than $2,700 to a candidate for a primary or general election. But it is legal to bundle money from friends, family and colleagues and channel it to candidates, which can reap rewards ranging from hard-to-get restaurant reservations to ambassadorships.”

Hsu seems pretty adamant that he didn’t break any campaign laws, but did mix his business interests with his interest and involvement in politics. His campaign finance violations represent 52 months of his 292-month sentence.

Hsu is somewhat reminiscent of the earlier Asian American 1996 campaign donation scandals by Charlie Trie, Johnny Chung, John Huang and James Riady, Maria Hsia, and Ted Sioeng. These series of fundraising scandals is often noted for turning off Asian Americans, especially the older first wave of immigrants from the 1960s, to participate or contribute to campaigns.

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An Asian/White Divide in Silicon Valley

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Jeff

McAfeeMany statistics quoted about Silicon Valley diversity often lump Asian and Whites together vs Hispanics and African Americans. This sorting implies that there is some kind of unity between Asian and Whites in Silicon Valley. As a longtime resident, I have found that Silicon Valley is highly segregated, and this piece from a Silicon Valley student now at Harvard looks at that segregation from another perspective. Samuel Liu talks about the Asian/White divide where he went to high school, a high school where mostly white administrators worked hard to make sure that the school wouldn’t be “too Asian.” How true are his observations? I think he hits the mark on much on a lot of things, hints at phenomena that doesn’t get talked about, like the Indian party scene, but misses on other divides in the valley. Continue reading →

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Asian American Commercial Watch: Liberty Mutual Insurance TV Commercial – Deductible Fund

Posted on September 8, 2015 by John

https://youtu.be/8s1A68z7YFU

Untitled

I saw this Liberty Mutual Insurance commercial recently. This commercial is part of a series of commercials of insurance customers stating how insurance and insurance companies should work. This particular ad describes a decreasing car insurance deductible:

Liberty_Mutual_logo“At Liberty Mutual Insurance, for drivers who enroll in Liberty Mutual’s Deductible Fund, you could lower your deductible by $100 every year until you end up paying no deductible at all. And not only that, once your deductible is gone, you can continue to bank that $100.”

I mostly remember the ads because they are always shot with the Statue of Liberty in the background, and if I recall correctly, this is the first Asian American I’ve seen in this series of ads.

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Traveling Japan: Kyoto’s Heian Shrine

Posted on September 7, 2015 by tinabot

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The Heian Shrine is one of those major stops in Kyoto. It’s one of the main shinto shrines in the country, and its torii is one of the largest in all of Japan.

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It’s a symbol of revival for Kyoto after the capital was moved away to Tokyo, and they’ve kept the city thriving by becoming modernized while at the same time preserving a lot of the old traditions and cultures.

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Union City School changes name to honor Filipino American Farm Labor Leaders

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Jeff

alvaradomiddleschoolAlvarado Middle School in Union City California will officially change its name to Itliong-Vera Cruz Middle School this September.  Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz were farm worker labor leaders instrumental in the founding of the United Farm Workers.   The change was not without acrimony.  The school board decision was made with a close 3-2 vote.  Some parents opposed the change and set up this change.org petition to have the decision reversed.  Racist graffiti was later found on local Filipino businesses, some with apparent references to Alvarado Middle School.

One fifth of Union City’s population is Filipino, as are one third of its students.

(photo credit: Union City Patch)
(h/t Rosemary)

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Defining American Citizenship: The Story of Wong Kim Ark

Posted on September 3, 2015 by tinabot

departure-statement

As a child growing up in America, I thought of myself as not-American. In America, I was Taiwanese, I was Chinese, I was Asian. Though I pledged my allegiance to the American flag alongside my classmates of various ethnic and heritage backgrounds, the concept that I had to be White to be American had seeped into my conciousness from popular media, from society, from my fellow Americans.

Ironically, I was most American when I was not in America. In Taiwan, my heritage country, my chopsticks would get taken away and I was always offered milk and hamburgers because that’s what American kids eat. It seems that a fish knows most that it’s a fish when it is out of water.

[Image from Documented Rights]

That was definitely also the case for Wong Kim Ark. Not only did leaving America make him an American, it forced the United States of America to define and defend what it means to be an American citizen.

The Chinese Exclusion Act

On May 6, 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which made it so that “the coming of the Chinese laborers to the United States be…hereby, suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come…to remain within the United States.” In other words, this act made it so that no new Chinese people were allowed here in the United States. This act was a product of anti-Chinese sentiment during that time period due to anger and resentment over Chinese laborers being willing to work for lower wages and taking jobs. It was also a product of just general racism towards the Chinese in America.

The Chinese Exclusion Act also included a deportation order, that “any Chinese person found unlawfully within the United States shall be caused to be removed therefrom to the country from whence he came, by direction of the President of the United States, and at the cost of the United States, after being brought before some justice, judge, or commission of a court of the United States and found to be one not lawfully entitled to be or remain in the United States.” Due to a general lack of documentation and record keeping at the time, this made it possible for people of Chinese descent to be targeted and deported.

Further, the Chinese Exclusion Act also made a clear stand on whether the Chinese could become citizens, “that hereafter no State Court or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citzenship; and all laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed.” This was an unequivocal block to citizenship for anyone from China. But did it apply to those people of Chinese descent who were born here in America?
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