Volume XIV, Number 3• Summer 2002
Gay & JA

JACL, Marriage and Civil Rights

On Our Honor: Boy Scouts and the BCA

From the Past: A Gay Life

Gay Nikkei Pioneers

The Good Fight: Kiyoshi Kuromiya

A Hidden History

Not-Queer, Not-Asian, Not-Black

Resurrection of a Family

No Denial: Paul Kawata

Dancing on the Moon: Jill Togawa

A Nikkei Church and its Covenant

Program Calendar

Who was Jiro Onuma? There he is on this issue's cover, confronting the camera with a slight smile. By appearances, he is a man content with his lot. He appears calm and confident in a dashing double-breasted suit; he is flanked by friends dressed just as carefully in their weekend best, the very picture of Issei immigrants enjoying success in their new homeland.

Very little additional information about Mr. Onuma survives, notes Ken Kaji on p. 7, but one fact we do now: the documents left by this unassuming butler are part of a tiny body of evidence of gay Nikkei life in the early 20th century. By making public the few details we can gather, we can recognize an aspect of Nikkei history that, like Mr. Onuma, is too often overlooked.

Mr. Onuma is a fitting symbol of the reticence that still clouds discussion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) concerns in the Japanese American community. That's partly due to a cultural response: JAs shy away from declarations of sexuality, hesitant to publicly discuss so private a topic. As Chizu Iiyama points out on p. 4, some among us insist that the issue of gay rights is "not a Japanese American matter." As we planned this issue of the journal, the Nikkei Heritage editorial board spent several meetings in discussion about just such matters. On the one hand, we worried about alienating readers; on the other, we didn't want to be shallow or patronizing in our attempt to cover the huge topic of queer Nikkei history in a brief 20 pages.

In the end, we felt we could trust our audience and the rich resource of our gay/lesbian community to bring you this homage to GLBT Pride Month in June. Our feature story by Kenji Murase illustrated the danger of denial as experienced by on Nikkei family, and their courageous response in the wake of tragedy. Thanks to many GLBT contributors, we introduce you to a host of JA activists who've shouted in the face of apathy; who use art and language and protest to educate and enlighten. On p. 10, artist Kim Anno shares more unwrittedn history; elsewhere, we document the efforts of church and political organization to embrace GLBT concerns as a matter of civil rights.

One of the most poignant voices is that of essayist Frederick Cloyd (p. 11), whose personal history is a plea for understanding without labels. As he makes clear, sexual orientation is only one aspect of a JA identity that is increasingly multifaceted. The notion of what makes a JA is expanding to include other races, cultural expressions, attitudes and experiences. I hope we'll embrace that diversity rather than see it as a loss or liability. I'd like to think that's a legacy that really would make Mr. Onuma smile.

Chiori Santiago, Editor