Revisiting the Notions of
Leadership and Identity1 (1987)

Who are we, we Japanese Canadians of the first, second, third, and fourth generations, who from far and near have here assembled? What calls us to this communal venturing wherein we gather to hear and to offer voices regarding our mutual concerns? What are the personal and communal stories that have been told, are being told, and will yet be told? Who are we that tell these stories, and what indeed do these stories tell? And, I add, what are the questions to which these stories are answers?

As for me, what authorizes me, silver-haired and vintage Nisei that I am, to stand before you and ask you to hear my voice rather than other voices more elegant, eloquent, and thoughtful than mine? I present myself not so much to tell stories, but rather to participate in a questioning of the questions we typically ask when we, in and through our very living, tell our stories—stories that inevitably tell who we are and, as well, our understanding of how our world is. In a sense, I assume somewhat of a distanced but hopefully reflective stance—a stance that may allow us to question anew questions we have become so fond of. Some of you wedded to a particular tradition will question whether my sort of questioning is needed or desirable; others more attuned to our own personal and cultural historicity, as historical beings, may be more solicitous to my form and way of questioning.

Over the generations the question, “Who are we, we who call ourselves Japanese Canadians?” appears not to have changed. Seemingly it recurs and is considered to be the central question by each generation. But I feel that although the question may sound and appear the same, the question is inevitably understood differently by each generation, for the context within which the question is interpreted changes.

I have been asked to participate in the questioning of two of the themes of the workshop on “generations” this afternoon—the notions of “identity” and “leadership. ”

In this questioning, you will have to forgive me for situating my task as I understand it in my own lived situation—that of a Japanese Canadian who devoted more than four decades to the fields of public education and teacher education. Inevitably, my bias will show. What follows, then, are two sets of questionings—questionings that hopefully will help us move beyond the typical understandings of “leadership” and “identity. ”

____________________

1

An invited address presented at the National Conference of the National Association of Japanese Canadians held in Vancouver, British Columbia, May 16 and 17, 1987