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Back to the Community
Along with the scorching heat and rampant fires, this past summer brought with it great changes in Little Tokyo. The unexpected sales of Weller Court, Japanese Village Plaza, and the New Otani created shock throughout the JA community. Some five months later, uncertainty remains. The community is changing, or, perhaps, fading. Those who continue to fight for it are the movers and shakers of a generation ago. Interest in heritage and culture, true art, has been replaced with hyper-capitalism and reality T.V. Amidst all of this, Dec. 15 marks the return of something comfortingly familiar. Hiroshima, the perfect blend of familiarity and eclecticism, will for the sixth year, present their Spirit of the Season concert at the Aratani/Japan America Theatre (JAT). “We get to the holidays and everyone is so tripped out on, ‘I need to buy this’ or do some other crazy thing, and we forget about the humanity, and we forget about our community and how we embrace each other,” said Dan Kuramoto, who along with his wife June, are co-founders of the band. Along with being a one-fingered salute to all of the labels that promised them a Christmas concert and then mocked the idea behind their backs, Hiroshima has continued to produce Spirit of the Seasonas a way of remembering the community, remembering humanity, using it as a means of bringing the community together by bridging the gap between the familiar and the novel. Vocalist Terry Steele, a member of the Hiroshima family, returns to the stage along with Tetsuya Nakamura of WAR fame, while former Miss Oahu and Hawaii Stars 2007 winner, Yvette Nii, will make her JAT debut. The familiar and new. Hiroshima, as customary, will perform music from their holiday CD that shares the concert’s name, but will also be showcasing selections from their latest CD “Little Tokyo.” The album, which was released in May, has been met with wide-spread critical acclaim. “We wanted to focus on our community because we really feel like the diversity of America is its greatest strength,” Dan Kuramoto said. “That is one of the main reasons we started the band. Specifically, ‘Little Tokyo’ represents that same diversity with an Asian-specific, Japan-specific mentality. That is everything we’re about. And it’s not just Little Tokyo. If it’s Old town, or a Chicano town, or Little Italy, Greek town, this is what makes life rich. Not just America, but life rich—it’s all these different cultures.” The richness of life then, has been in constant decline for quite a while now. There are only three Little Tokyos left in California. Though San Jose has been thriving, San Francisco is in regression and Los Angeles is undergoing a great deal of change. For better or worse has yet to be determined, but the future of the JA community is in question, and it seems as if the youth of today have remained generally apathetic. “We feel badly that there isn’t a sense of self in all of this,” Dan Kuramoto said. “Really, that rich history from Japan, from Mexico, from Germany, wherever it is, that richness, when it goes that much of yourself goes with it. And you will pay the price. And worse than that, your kids will pay the price. And the society as a whole suffers.” “You don’t see the immediate need for it yet,” June Kuramoto said. “But later on you will. We, the older generation, cannot give it to you. Well, we can give it to you, but you have to want it. And when you want it, you will go find it. My only hope is that it will still be there.” In the present, it is still there and Hiroshima is helping provide it. So come on out and serve up a giant helping at their concert this December. Get active, get in touch with the community. Start wanting it before it’s too late. For more information on the band, visit www.hiroshimamusic.com. For information about or to purchase tickets for the concert, visit www.jaccc.org or call (213) 680-3700. |
