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Letters to Home: Art and Writing by LGBTQ+ Nikkei and Allies
294 pages, Paperback
Published June 7, 2024
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December 6, 2024
To briefly preface this book review of Letters to Home, I am a queer Japanese American (JA) who was born and raised in Texas; growing up in the south as a closted Asian kid made for some unforgettable stories. However, I recently discovered Okaeri on Instagram as this LGBTQ+ organization specifically for other LGBTQ+ JA individuals and families. It made me realize that there were more people like me and that there are so many people with their own unique stories to share. Even if we all belong to the LGBTQ+ community and the Nikkei community, this queer Nikkei anthology made me realize that there’s more sides to being Japanese and queer and this anthology highlights this intersectionality of our community.
Michael Matsuno and Marsha Aizumi wrote two wonderful introductions to this work explaining in their own words why this book was created and formatted in this way and why this Okaeri organization was established in the first place and her family’s story respectively. It was really empowering reading these essays and seeing all the work that went into both this book and this nonprofit. I can’t thank them enough for putting in the work to do something like this.
Welcoming
Okaeri, meaning “welcome home,” is said whenever a member of the family returns home and in return, the member of the family says tadaima, meaning “I’m home.” It’s a daily greeting that is used in almost all Japanese households and the namesake of the Okaeri organization, which encompasses the meaning of this organization so well. “A Long Welcome” by Nikiko Masumoto introduces the book and invites readers to sit and stay for a while; readers are welcome to learn from these stories and are fully invited to the home. It’s a charming and welcoming (pun intended) poem and a great start to this book.
The Earth and Body
This section was one of the shorter ones in this work but I enjoyed this section a lot and reflecting on the natural world as a whole. My favorite work from this section was the free verse poem “Because our Roots Find Each Other Underground” by anaïs peterson. The sunflower imagery was stunning to read.
Reflections of Pride
This part truly shows the diversity of art forms that this anthology features. “Tempis Fugit” by Ion Yamazaki is a video that Yamazaki created to highlight what the definition of masculinity and patriarchy meant to him growing up and how the male figures in his life haunted this definition. It reminded me of growing up in the early 2010s watching online Youtubers who made coming out videos and I enjoyed watching it.
Self Portraits
I personally adored the “Self-Portraits” section and how holding multiple identities at once is highlighted and how the artists were able to reflect on where their homes and communities they can return to truly are. One of the works I still think about to this day is “A Prodigal Son’s Return to Village” by Eric Arimoto and his long journey of acceptance he went through to get to this point today with Okaeri.
Where we Find Home
My favorite work in this section was “This is me” by eri oura, how moving to different places outside of her home state helped her acknowledge that oura needed to decolonize her own narrative and continue advocating for marginalized black folk.
The Imperfect Practice of Parenting and Allyship
It was really nice to see this section and know that there are parents who support their LGBTQ+ children, coming from a family who doesn’t really understand this concept and how I am still closeted to my family. I enjoyed “Crossed up in Translation” by Bill Watanabe a lot!
All in all, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend this as a read for anyone who wants to learn more about the countless members of the Japanese diaspora from different backgrounds who also represent different LGBTQ+ identities and how they navigate this world. This book made me feel at home, which is all I could ever feel. :)
Thank you to Okaeri for sending a review copy of this book!
Michael Matsuno and Marsha Aizumi wrote two wonderful introductions to this work explaining in their own words why this book was created and formatted in this way and why this Okaeri organization was established in the first place and her family’s story respectively. It was really empowering reading these essays and seeing all the work that went into both this book and this nonprofit. I can’t thank them enough for putting in the work to do something like this.
Welcoming
Okaeri, meaning “welcome home,” is said whenever a member of the family returns home and in return, the member of the family says tadaima, meaning “I’m home.” It’s a daily greeting that is used in almost all Japanese households and the namesake of the Okaeri organization, which encompasses the meaning of this organization so well. “A Long Welcome” by Nikiko Masumoto introduces the book and invites readers to sit and stay for a while; readers are welcome to learn from these stories and are fully invited to the home. It’s a charming and welcoming (pun intended) poem and a great start to this book.
The Earth and Body
This section was one of the shorter ones in this work but I enjoyed this section a lot and reflecting on the natural world as a whole. My favorite work from this section was the free verse poem “Because our Roots Find Each Other Underground” by anaïs peterson. The sunflower imagery was stunning to read.
Reflections of Pride
This part truly shows the diversity of art forms that this anthology features. “Tempis Fugit” by Ion Yamazaki is a video that Yamazaki created to highlight what the definition of masculinity and patriarchy meant to him growing up and how the male figures in his life haunted this definition. It reminded me of growing up in the early 2010s watching online Youtubers who made coming out videos and I enjoyed watching it.
Self Portraits
I personally adored the “Self-Portraits” section and how holding multiple identities at once is highlighted and how the artists were able to reflect on where their homes and communities they can return to truly are. One of the works I still think about to this day is “A Prodigal Son’s Return to Village” by Eric Arimoto and his long journey of acceptance he went through to get to this point today with Okaeri.
Where we Find Home
My favorite work in this section was “This is me” by eri oura, how moving to different places outside of her home state helped her acknowledge that oura needed to decolonize her own narrative and continue advocating for marginalized black folk.
The Imperfect Practice of Parenting and Allyship
It was really nice to see this section and know that there are parents who support their LGBTQ+ children, coming from a family who doesn’t really understand this concept and how I am still closeted to my family. I enjoyed “Crossed up in Translation” by Bill Watanabe a lot!
All in all, I enjoyed this book and highly recommend this as a read for anyone who wants to learn more about the countless members of the Japanese diaspora from different backgrounds who also represent different LGBTQ+ identities and how they navigate this world. This book made me feel at home, which is all I could ever feel. :)
Thank you to Okaeri for sending a review copy of this book!
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