Summer Fun for Japanese Community: Annual Picnic at Busse Woods
Photo: Japanese Community Picnic at Busse Woods’ Picnic Grove #32 on August 6, 2022 | Yoshiko Urayama
Families and friends of Chicagoland’s Japanese community gathered for the second year at Busse Woods, Elk Grove Village, for a full day of fun and food on August 6. The annual Japanese Community Picnic has a long history, starting shortly after the end of World War II. Initially organized by Japanese Americans who relocated to Chicago, it had been hosted by the Tokon Judo Academy in Chicago and held in Niles for decades. The venue was moved to Busse Woods in 2021.
In an attempt to make the picnic more inclusive, the first “joint” picnic was organized in 2014 by the Tokon Judo Academy and the Chicago Japanese American Council (“CJAC”). It began inviting a wider range of participants, including people from Japan as well as U.S.-born Japanese Americans.
Photo: JCCC volunteers cook “B Class Gourmet” such as yakisoba and fried rice | Yoshiko Urayama
Currently, several Japanese and Japanese-American organizations co-host the event, including the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“JCCC”), Chicago Japanese Club (“CJC”), Japanese American Service Committee (“JASC”), and the Japanese American Citizens League Chicago (“JACL Chicago”).
Busse Woods’ Picnic Grove #32 was filled with tents and tables of picnic foods and people who enjoyed them. Participants brought homemade dishes, snacks and sweets to share, while the members of the Tokon Judo Academy served a roast pig, hamburgers and hot dogs. To celebrate the Academy’s 25th anniversary, a large cake was on display.
JCCC volunteers tended sizzling hot plates to serve mouth-watering yakisoba, takoyaki, gyoza, and fried rice. A shaved ice stand by the CJC attracted kids and adults alike to quench their thirst under the hot sun. Nonstop activities went on throughout the day, including horseback riding, volleyball, karaoke, live music, and kids’ games.
***********************
Photo: Consul General Hiroshi Tajima enjoys having seconds. | Yoshiko Urayama
Who was there at the Picnic?
Consul General Hiroshi Tajima was there, enjoying the picnic with a plate of gyoza in hand. Tajima was happy to see the picnic tradition has been carried on by the vibrant Japanese community, despite the COVID-19 crisis. “It is wonderful that people from Japan, U.S.-born Japanese Americans, and everybody else share a whole day of summer fun,” Tajima commented. “I really appreciate the effort of the hosting organizations and volunteers to make this happen.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------
With his family and friends, third-generation Japanese American Bruce Kosaka was relaxing under a tree. He is a long-time regular at the Picnic, beginning from the time when his children were young. Both of Kosaka’s parents were from Seattle and moved to Chicago after the war, where they married. His mother was in an internment camp in Minidoka, ID during the war. His father was drafted when he was living in San Antonio, TX, and fought in the war.
After the war, Kosaka’s father studied at Northwestern University and founded United Bindery Service, a graphic arts finishing company, upon graduation.
Born and raised in Chicago, Kosaka enrolled in Lane Tech College Prep High School, a selective enrollment high school on the North Side. Many third-generation kids went to that school, and he can name 50 or 100 of them, he said.
Kosaka took over the family business after his father passed away in 1997, and has served as its president for decades. Now in his mid-60s, Kosaka closed down the company recently and retired. The COVID pandemic had a huge impact on his business as well as on society in general. “These days, everything is moving online,” lamented Kosaka. “Printing is going away; I’ve never seen my children read newspapers. They are always on their smart phones.” That doesn’t mean that everything is bad, however.
“My kids – in Texas and New York – visit us more often, because they can work remotely now.”
Kosaka wanted to be retired. Now he can enjoy a life as a retiree. He has just returned from a cruise, visiting Iceland and Greenland. “I really want to go back to Japan,” Kosaka said. He and his family visited the country in July 2018.
Kosaka regrets not learning to speak Japanese. He once asked his mother why the family never spoke Japanese. His mother, Kosaka recalls, told him that because of her internment experience, she wanted her children to be very American. No Japanese, just speak English, his mother said.
“Look at my Chinese and Taiwanese friends here,” Kosaka said. “They can speak their languages, but a lot of Japanese Americans can’t speak Japanese. I wish we could.”
Just as his father George had done, Kosaka used to run a New Year’s ad in the Chicago Shimpo every year. After speaking with him over the phone for over 20 years, the Shimpo finally had a chance to meet him in person this day.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo: From left: Yoji Nakamaru, Heather and Nelson Vargas and their daughter Alaina Vargas, and Mai Nakamaru | Yoshiko Urayama
Nelson and Heather Vargas came to the picnic because they were invited by their neighbors, Yoji and Mai Nakamaru from Japan. The sons of the two families play soccer on the same team. They are now inseparable friends. Nelson said the Nakamarus are their wonderful friends. He loved the food and people at the picnic, too. Heather was also enjoying the Japanese dishes there.
“I love noodles, rice, dumplings, chicken, everything,” she said. She and her family were at the Nakamarus’ for a sushi party recently, where they taught them how to make sushi rolls.
“We need more peace and love in our world,” Nelson said. “Even if our cultures are different, [we are] not so different; [through knowing each other’s culture,] we get to know each other better.”
Yoji and Mai Nakamaru have been living in the Chicago suburbs for four years. Yoji studied law at Northwestern University nine years ago, while living in Downtown Chicago with his wife. After returning home to Japan, Yoji and his family came back, this time to live in the suburbs as a Japanese expatriate on a U.S. assignment.
Photo: Sumo enthusiast Matt (L) | Yoshiko Urayama
Mai said this is the second picnic for her and her family to attend. They were informed about the event by the JCCC. “We had such a great time last year, so we came back,” she said. “Outdoor surroundings are beautiful in the suburbs.” Yoji said the picnic is a “perfect” event where Japanese and everybody else can enjoy great food and have fun together. “Personally, I like the suburbs better [than Downtown]; they are rich in nature,” he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A bare-chested man was walking around in the crowd, donned with a sumo wrestler’s loincloth over red biker shorts. He called himself Matt. An apparent sumo enthusiast, he was challenging anybody who may show an interest for a brief match of sumo.
Why was he doing this? “I really like sumo, and I don’t know why because I don’t really like sports,” he replied. He is starting a sumo club in the Chicago area, and looking for someone who can serve as a gyoji (sumo referee).
Currently a Chicago resident, Matt has been in Japan and watched sumo on TV. Now he enjoys watching matches online.
Photo: Kyrgyzstan Brothers, Eldar (L), Nurdin (C) and Shukhrat | Yoshiko Urayama
A young Japanese man took up Matt’s challenge and got on the makeshift ring on the grass. The match was brief. It ended when the man pushed down Matt, who tried in vain to stay within the ring.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Away from the sumo ring, under a large patio umbrella, three men were stirring something in an oversized iron pot. They were brothers from Kyrgyzstan, Nurdin, Shukhrat, and Eldar, and in the pot were cut-up pieces of lamb. The slow-cooked lamb pieces were being cooked in oil with onions.
The Russian-speaking brothers said it takes 17 hours to fly to their home country from Chicago.
Nurdin’s children learn judo at the Tokon Judo Academy. Its founder, Doug Tono, invited the brothers to the picnic. They have come to the event for two summers in a row. “We look forward to coming to this kind of event,” Nurdin said. “[It’s an occasion to] bring food of our home country and share it with others. That’s why we are here.”
Photo: Kids enjoy horse riding at Japanese Community Picnic | Yoshiko Urayama
The lamb wasn’t ready yet. The Shimpo was offered a piece for tasting. Salted just right, it was tender and extremely flavorful.