Honoring API Heritage Month
Pieces of Asian Pacific Islander culture and community I want to share with you.
The backstory
I’m writing this the day after Children’s Day - formally known as Boys’ Day - May 5. In Japanese culture, Boys’ Day celebrates boys and fathers as a counterpart to Girls’ Day, which celebrates girls and mothers on March 3. Setting aside the blatant binary connotations to Boys’ Day and Girls’ Day, I wholeheartedly embrace the idea of Children’s Day as an annual moment to celebrate the next generation, family, hope and future prosperity.
On this day, my mom-and-brother text thread and the shared family album was filled with pictures of our new nephew Clay and proud sister Camila sitting in front of the traditional Japanese dolls and fish flags - koinobori. It immediately sparked good feels and memories of small gifts from mom, classroom treats and a good family meal. In Hawaii, Children’s Day is celebrated at home, at school and in your community.
I don’t talk about my Asian-ness often. It comes in waves and with certain people, but this sense of disconnect to my Asian heritage has grown stronger and more uncomfortable the more I feel removed from where I grew up. If I were to dissect my intersectional identity, my Asian-ness, growing-up-in-Hawaii-ness and queer-ness were each more prominent at different chapters of my life, so far. The first identity I really led life with was my Japanese identity. It wasn’t on purpose, I think it’s just that the earliest influences on my life were sparked by family, which is inherently rooted in our Japanese culture. My earliest memories that I associate with that identity’s cultural tradition are New Year’s soup (ozoni), playing Hanafuda (a Japanese card game), kinako mochi, bon dances, lighting senko (incense stick) and praying to my ancestors, wanting to learn taiko drumming (huh!) and making my own koinobori out of construction paper, a dowel and string. So many memories I packed away and left in storage when I moved to New York.
I find it odd to say, “Happy Asian Pacific Islander Month.” It feels like saying, “Happy point-at-the-thing-that-made-you-feel-different month,” but that’s coming from deeply rooted insecurities that I need to do more work on to uproot. And in the spirit of uprooting, I want to share some API people, artists, places and businesses that make me feel more connected to me and proud to be a part of the API community.
New nephew Clay (L) and older sister Camila (R) with the Japanese dolls and koinobori in celebration of Children’s Day.
A few of my favorite API things
LISTEN:
Mei
My friend Nathan turned me on to Mei’s music. He just released his debut album, Supernova, and each track is a vibe. What he does with his guitar and smooth yet raspy vocals are everything I wish I was when I sit down that one time each year with my guitar to stumble through an ear worm.
MEDITATE:
Kei Tsuruharatani
I am so proud of my friend Kei who continues to share their mindfulness journey and teachings in an inclusive way. If you are looking for a safe space to practice meditation, consider learning more about Kei’s BIPOC Mindfulness Group HERE.
SHOP:
Every time we go home, we always have to check out the latest designs from these two shops. Some of our favorite pieces in our closet are from these two brands owned, founded and operated by Hawaiians in Hawaii. I’m borrowing language from their website to make sure I represent their businesses accurately.
Manaola
Inspired by his cultural upbringing as a native Hawaiian hula practitioner, self-taught fashion designer Manaola Yap translates Hawaiian spirituality and Hawai’i’s natural beauty into prints that embody repetitious patterns found in nature.
Salvage Public
Salvage Public is a Hawaiian sportswear brand based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Since launching in 2013, the brand has built a loyal following around its take on surf-inspired menswear. Its point-of-view is distinctly Hawaiian. Its aesthetic is authentic, modern, and adventurous. In our details is an attentiveness to Honolulu’s connection to the wider world, to a city where people are forever coming and going as they crisscross the Pacific.
VISIT:
Japanese Garden @ Como Park
This Japanese garden has the power to transport you to Japan. “A renowned landscape designer in Nagasaki, Masami Matsuda, created the garden according to time honored Japanese design principles using plants and trees that are hardy in Minnesota.” Lear more on the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory website HERE.
🗣 To my API community, comment below with pieces of our culture that inspires you, gives you energy and moves you to take up the space you deserve.
