Friday morning we headed to the Japanese-Peruvian Association. One of the Peru Y board members, a little Japanese man, met us there. A large group of staff and board members greeted us at the entrance. There were armed guards outside as well. It is a BEAUTIFUL building. We were immediately escorted to the conference room which is surrounded by an outdoor balcony and a coy pond. It was gorgeous. We were all seated in a u-shape. Everyone was wearing a suit. Assistants came and brought us tea and mochi. The Board Chair of the JPA sat at the front with Renata and Roscio to his left, and other board members to his right. All of the pictures of the past board chairs hung on either wall. There was only one female.

They started asking about our organization, where we get funding from, what types of services we provide, etc. We learned that the Peruvian Japanese came to Peru during difficult economic times. They were sent to U.S. internment camps which happened all over the Americas. 79% of them didn't return to Peru afterward.

Fujimori - the ex president/dictator of Peru is a huge embarrassment to the Japanese-Peruvian population because it was their first representative in power and turned out to be a failure. As a result of Fujimori, people were more prejudice against the Japanese, which caused them to be less confrontational. One of their cultural quotes is "the nail that sticks out gets hammered." Another quote is "it can't be helped" - meaning, there is not much you can do about it so don't stress too much over it.

About 31,000 Afro-Peruvians left in a mass exodus when Fujimori was president. There are about 80,000 now in Peru. 15,000 Peruvians live in Japan. "Knitka" is the term they use for Japanese-Peruvians. It is a term of endearment for any Japanese, of any generation, who leaves Japan. Fuji won the ticket as "el chino" and got the Indigenous vote too.

The transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly is uncomfortable but necessary for growth.

The goals of the JPA are to 1. Keep the identity and their roots alive 2. They are Peruvian 3. Strengthen themselves - Japanese-Peruvian. Everyone who works there is a volunteer. There are about 350 volunteers and 1000 staff. The majority of them speak 3 languages. (Spanish, English, and Japanese - in that order) They secure funding from donations in both Japan and Peru. They run a surplus. They have a clinic that services 2500 people daily and generates revenue. They pick up 500 of them every day. They do loans for students, teach Japanese culture, host a theatre that seats 1000 people, and offer 250 cultural programs/year that are free. They also have a sporting club that teaches new sports to the members.

It was founded in 1917 - they have been around for 130 years as an organization. There are 21 people on the board. they are all older. Most volunteers come at night and every day of the week. That is how dedicated they are. The org is open 7:30am-7:30pm. It's like a part time job for many. There about 6 generations of Japanese in Peru, but not everyone identifies as such.

While asking us questions, he asked about the C in the YMCA. In the Peru Y, you have to be Christian to serve on the board. He mentioned that he stayed at the YMCA in London when he visited there as a young boy. For International Ys there is a voting assembly of members. A "basic" member has voting privileges. Currently our goal in the U.S. is 15% donations. We are currently at 8%. The board Chair says that outside the walls of the JPA they do whatever, but inside the walls they change their lenses.

If they have to choose, they choose their Peruvian identity. They have a department of youth. When the Japanese arrive in Peru, they wanted to go back to Japan, so they held tightly to their customs and traditions. The Japanese talk a lot about generations. The second generation still didn't want to integrate. They were more Japanese than Peruvian. Third generation lose their roots. They are not Japanese and don't want to be called Japanese. When the go to Japan they are considered foreigners. They behave differently. They know they can't force the youth to come to the JPA, but they need to be relevant and accessible to them. We want them to be stronger.

There is a Japanese school in Lima. There are 5 "nisay" schools - mixed. They are not concerned about maintaining the language. They are more concerned about continuing customs and traditions. The embassy wants them to teach more language but they care more about identity. Spanish first, English second, Japanese third.

The flag of the organization is a play off of the Japanese flag and off the yin/yang symbol. There is a remote control for the ceiling fan. An emperor came to visit and planted a baby pine tree as a gift, which is huge now. They came here as Buddhists and then added Catholicism as they integrated. It was crazy to me to see Japanese Peruvians playing cricket in Peru. The theatre was amazing and it brought back memories for Tim who was a drama major.

The Japanese came during the economic crisis. They worked on sugar and rice and cotton plantations. It took 1-3 months on a ship to arrive. In 1925 Peru stopped the work contracts but you could still bring your family over. Everything stopped during WW2. Internment camps are called concentration camps in Peru. Land retribution was granted 45 years ago. Most people to a province but put their kids in school first. After the indentured servant contracts expired they opened private businesses. Barbershops were first. The first and only woman board chair introduced the tea ceremony and was very proud of this achievement.

Before we left the museum tour the JPA gave us gifts. Huge books to take home about the history of Japanese-Peruvians. The hospitality was incredible. I felt like royalty.