final self reflection letter

Xinyu Shang

ASAM 100 BB

Reading Journal

The reading, “New York, New Life,” begins on page 70 and introduces us to the

relationships or love life between Bill and Yuri. The main idea from pages 70 to 72 is that

the love or relationships was at wartime where ladies were hurriedly married and gave

full commitment to their husbands because they never knew if their husbands would

come back. Many ladies were devastated by their men’s failure to come up from the

wars. We see how Yuri kept on sending Bill letters as she seduced him which led to their

hurried married within the 3 months. However, Yuri becomes disappointed and annoyed

when the father-in-law asked the chaplain to postpone marriage until she met him

describing the situation as Mr. Kochiyama’s condescension.

We learned that Bill’s father has to follow tradition which was apparent in

samurai’s family which generally gave false pride in Yuri’s viewpoint. Yuri was

opposed to the Japanese cultural life and said that the tradition was biased to lower cadre

individuals. However, we also learned that this tradition dictated what an “ideal wife”

would be, though Yuri remained ignorant of what it was to be an “ideal wife” beyond

merely just saying that she hoped to be an “ideal wife” to Bill. To Yuri, her main

objective is to help other people and hence views concerns of financial management as

mundane/nuisance as she tells in the story offered on page 74-75. What comes clear when

Yuri invited many soldiers for her brother to treat is that she was ignorant and naïve

about the value of money.

Another idea was an apparent racial discrimination at Hattiesburg (residential

discrimination) which affected Yuri’s personality as it discriminated against Japanese

Americans who never welcomed including Black and Latino soldiers. Yuri had to move

various times in Hattiesburg to get the house to live in at Earl Finch (Godfather of the

442). This migratory experience of Yuri accounts for her expanding awareness of racism

and race as she consciously engrossed her apprehensions outwards making her to

constantly work as a Japanese American USO worker to find the house for the Nisei

soldiers via her dedication and hard work which was appreciated by Ishikawa. Yuri

played a key role as a promoter of the patriotic goalmouths of the USO with the hope that

the Japanese American fight would ultimately open the doors for the rest of her

community.

The marriage between Chiyo Ogata and Art brings the comparison between

American and Japanese customs. We learn that Japanese custom dictates that it remains

the duty of the firstborn son to care for the old parents whereas American customs hold

that it is the daughter to care for an aging parent. Another concern is the effects of the

postwar on Yuri where she could not even find a job because she never belonged to a

major of a union in San Pedro as she awaited Bill’s return. She could never find a job

because they were seen as Japanese and not as Americans. Yuri was appreciated in the

reunion organized for her selfless work to help many people.