Culture and friendship Culture and friendship (July 13, 2001)

Summer camp teaches Japanese traditions, food, clothing and more

By Kris Resellmo "The school really makes the kids realize their heritage" @dropname:Grace Ikanega Clymer, teacher, Nakayoshi Gakko Friendship School

"How long does it take?" a little girl asks, wondering how much time it takes to put the garments on. The demonstrator pauses to answer, "A simple one like this, maybe 10 minutes." Mary Arii Mah is showing students at a Japanese "Friendship School" traditional Japanese clothing, the kimono. Mah goes on to explain that in feudal times, women would sometimes wear 12 layers of clothing.

Students at the Nakayoshi Gakko, which is Japanese for Friendship School, have spent nine days learning about Japanese culture and tradition. This is the second year for the summer camp, and 91 students in first through sixth grade are enrolled.

The school's mission is to increase awareness of Japanese culture, and help students appreciate the Japanese-American heritage. Kit Nishiura, curriculum director and art teacher at Monta Loma and Community School of Music and Arts, said that there is an interesting mix of students at the school.

Although most of the students are Japanese American, there are also students of other cultural and ethnic backgrounds at the school. There are, for example, children with a French background at the camp.

Both students and teachers wear nametags. The teachers are addressed with an honorary title, sensei, which means teacher.

Ikanega sensei, or Grace Ikanega Clymer, is teaching her second year at the camp. The fourth generation Japanese American is a private school teacher from Louisiana, who decided to teach at the camp after someone else dropped out in the last minute. She says it's great to teach at the camp, both as a Japanese American and as a parent.

"The school really makes the kids realize their heritage. Hopefully they come out with an appreciation of being Japanese" According to the private school teacher, her own daughter was benefiting, and loves the school. One of the reasons Clymer, who wore a name-tag with her maiden name, Ikanega, likes the camp is that kids learn they are not different.

Dave Nishimoto has two students at Nakayoshi Gakko. Nishimoto says he wanted his children to learn more about their heritage and culture.

Most of the kids are from the Bay Area, but there are several out-of-state children attending as well. Some of them use the occasion to visit Bay Area relatives, as well as attend the cultural summer camp.

Clymer pointed out that on the East Coast, the Japanese American community is not as populous, so it is good for the kids to come here and see that they don't stand out.

Kathy Fujii, president of the board of directors, says that the sixth grade class had a "picture bride" exercise. The exercise referred to the practice of sending pictures of oneself back to Japan to a prospective wife or husband. According to Fujii, it was something that happened when the Japanese population in America was much smaller. The kids brought pictures of themselves, and they teamed up as husband and wife. Fujii says, "They don't know it yet, but we're going to give them pictures of them as 'picture brides.'"

Fujii says there is a lot of enthusiasm in the school, from teachers, parent volunteers and students. "It's kind of infectious," she admits. The school is led by a volunteer board of 12 women, all mothers of students in the program. "The whole community comes together," Fujii says.

Another teacher at the Nakayoshi Gakko normally teaches at a year-round school in Los Angeles. She is spending her two weeks of vacation teaching at the Friendship School, according to Fujii.

The school is very structured, and the school day, which lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. is split in morning and afternoon sessions.

In the mornings, the school has a curriculum of science, language, literature and social studies, taught by public school teachers. The afternoon sessions consist of electives, and the students have rotated between classes such as Ryori (cooking), Ongaku (music), Origami (paper folding), Odori (dance), Undokai (physical education), and Soroban (abacus).

At the end of each day, all the classes gather for a demonstration. This year, demonstrations included Mochitsuki (rice pounding), Karate, Ikebana (flower arranging) and an introduction to Buddhism.

Although the school teaches religion, it is not a religious school, says Fujii. Each of the six classes are named after an animal. The Kuma class, for example, is named after the bear. The sixth graders are in the Tora class, which is Japanese for tiger.

Kimmie Smith, a student in the Tora class, enjoys learning about her Japanese heritage. She especially likes the arts and crafts, Smith says. Her mom, Naoko Murai, is a parent volunteer. "I like the hands-on learning," she said. "I like the learning style a lot."

Each of the classes has a theme. Heather Wong's class, the Kuma (bear) class, has a theme of seaweed. The students were asked to bring consumer products that contained seaweed to class, and returned with products from soy milk to toothpaste.

The school is modeled after similar schools in Palo Alto and San Jose, Fujii said. "The schools were totally full. My daughter was in one of them, but did not get in the following year." It was so hard to get into the other schools, she explained, that parents decided to get together and organize a school in Mountain View. The Mountain View Buddhist Temple, to which Fujii belongs, sponsored the school with facilities and some money.

Parents volunteer in the classrooms, and area high school students have volunteered as junior leaders. They watch the kids, and gain leadership experience, says Fujii.

During its first year, the school had 77 children. The cultural summer school is very popular, and Fujii said they had to turn kids away this year, because the classes were full.

The school is funded primarily through by tuition, and the nine-day program costs $320 per kid. Nakayoshi Gakko also holds a fundraiser, and recently received a grant from the Arts Council Silicon Valley.

Registration for next year's summer camp will begin in January. Priority is given to Sunday School students at the Buddhist Temple and returning students. For more information, call Kathy Fujii at (408) 255-7624.