Prof. Bodoh-Creed Anth 338 – Section 1 February 27, 2012
On an ordinary Saturday afternoon, my sister and I made our way to 1st St. and Central Ave. from a failed attempt at another left-to-be-unnamed cultural epicenter, which was a very disappointing trip. Little Tokyo proved to be quite the opposite, as I was able to ascertain a much deeper understanding of the Japanese culture because of it, and at the same time was able to reflect on the differences and similarities of my Filipino heritage. From what I was able to gather, the Japanese and Filipino cultures have quite a few significant differences, but have more similarities than I originally anticipated. As the name would suggest, Little Tokyo is fairly little, with its borders The young college student told me that her parents were also traditional in that her father doesn’t do any those tasks. Instead, she said, “He’ll do the man things, like mowing the lawn, getting things fixed, like the barbeque”. This stratified construction seemed very common among the workers I spoke to, even for “radical” families like ones the young college student claims to have. But one thing is certain: most of the Japanese Americans in Little Tokyo would much rather live this kind of life here in America than the overtly traditional lifestyles in Japan, especially those from the countryside. Not only were they attracted to America’s reputation as the land of opportunity, they didn’t want the inherent pressure that is handed down to them by their parents’ dated traditions, what one woman aptly describes as “the way”. Most of the residents and proprietors have found this culture in Little Tokyo to be somewhat similar to the cities in modern-day Japan, but they haven’t completely accepted all the customs and nuances that America has to offer. All the people I spoke to referred to the Japanese television at one time or another when asked to compare the lifestyle and culture differences. Therefore, it came to no surprise to discover that they share similar mentalities in their views of the various cultures, which was
