Message from a Yonsei
(Fourth Generation)
by Saren Sakurai
Presented at the Minidoka Pilgrimage 2003, Sunday, June 29, 2003
at the Minidoka Internment Camp National Monument, Hunt, Idaho.
I wanted to say a few words on behalf of the Yonsei
(Fourth Generation) to share with you a few things I have learned as a Yonsei
in the Japanese American community.
From the Issei (First Generation Japanese immigrant) I have learned:
Life is tough but it is not to be sneezed at. If you get knocked down, get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going. When the going gets tough, a Nikkei (Japanese American) relies on ingenuity.
From the Nisei (Second Generation) I have learned:
When the elders speak, listen. When the children
ask, answer. Life is what you make it. And it's particularly good
to make of your life a good story. To live to tell your story.
This may not have been in our culture then, but I can tell you, it’s in our
culture now.
From the Sansei (Third Generation) I have learned:
If it's in the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights,
take it literally. Trust it. Believe it. Expect it.
Demand it. If these rights are found lacking, or have been denied
to you, there are things that you can do. When you are right, as we are,
you will win.
Now, I'd like to teach those generations something I know
about being a Yonse (Fourth Generation):
You can trust us. We will remember
Minidoka. We will carry on its memory and
we will come back. We accept the Japanese American legacy as you have
offered it to us. I swear to you today, on my ancestors memories interned
here, Minidoka and
the Nikkei story will not be forgotten. Its stories will be told.
By me and by my children. But more importantly, it will not be repeated.
Because from you we have learned that every experience is a learning
experience - and we have learned how to pass that on.
Thank you.
* Japanese Terms:
Issei: First Generation Japanese immigrant
Nisei: Second Generation
Sansei: Third Generation
Yonsei: Fourth Generation
nikkei: Japanese American
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