The Seventh Heritage Japanese Speech Contest
20 Contestants Speak about Dreams, Interests and Experiences in Two Cultures
20 contestants smile for a commemorative photo with Consul General Hiroshi Tajima and judges (from left, Takeshi Komatani, Mari Yamamoto, Hiroshi Tajima, Shingo Satsutani, Marion Friebus-Flaman and Tsutomu Shibata)
The seventh annual Heritage Japanese Language Speech Contest was held on January 29 for the first time in three years at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago’s Japan Information Center. Twenty contestants from Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin competed with their Japanese language skills.
This speech contest was founded in 2017 to encourage students of Japanese heritage to polish their Japanese language skills. It is co-organized by Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago, Japan America Society of Chicago, and Chicago Sister Cities International Osaka Committee.
The competition consists of two categories: the first for elementary and junior high school students; and the second for high school and college students.
After each presentation, a judge asks the contestant a few questions in Japanese. The answers are counted toward the total points for the contestant.
Consul General Hiroshi Tajima welcomed the contestants, who were third to twelfth graders, and said, “We hope this contest will continue to grow and provide an opportunity to help refine the language skills of those who study Japanese as a heritage language in the Midwest.”
He also encouraged them saying, “Heritage learners have the unique opportunity of not only learning two languages, but also growing up with the culture from which the language originates. Regardless of the outcome, it is our hope that today’s contestants will continue to hone their language skills and become a bridge between our two countries in the years to come.”
Consul General Tajima praised the teachers and parents for their tireless efforts to support the contestants, while acknowledging the sponsors, co-organizers and judges for their assistance.
All the contestants overcame their nervousness, made good speeches and answered questions asked by Chief Judge Shingo Satsutani in Japanese.
After the speech contest, contestants relaxed and spent a break time with their families and friends. Handmade sweets prepared by Satoshi Ito, Consul General’s Chief, and sushi rolls were served for them.
All judges got together in a meeting room to select winners, and Consul Tsutomu Shibata announced the results after the break.
Prize-winning Speeches
Grand Prize: Yodai Kawasaki
Grand Prize winner Yodai Kawasaki (C) poses for a commemorative photo with Consul General Hiroshi Tajima (R) and Takeshi Komatani, Director of Midwest Region of All Nippon Airway
Yodai Kawasaki from Chicago Futabakai Saturday School won the Grand Prize with his speech titled “Imaginary World.”
Kawasaki asked the audience, “Why do people find novels interesting?”
While fictional stories, such as mysterious deaths or alien invasions, don’t give readers useful information for their lives, but it is true that people really buy novels.
As a novel lover, especially, a sucker for mysteries, Kawasaki wondered, “Why do I like mysteries?” and then found the answer that it was because novels took him to imaginary worlds.
However, he stressed that setting a proper distance between reality and fantasy is necessary. The distance would not be too close or too far from reality to properly escape from the real world. That meant fantasy could possibly happen in the real world.
He said, “I guess this good distance from reality was just right for me, and I found it fascinating.”
For him, reading novels is not justifying escape form real world, but it was a relief for stressful world and having simulating experiences in the imaginary world.
Kawasaki concluded his speech saying, “I would like to continue to lead an enjoyable and interesting reading life, while finding the right amount of reading.”
Kawasaki received 50,000 miles ANA Mileage Club Award donated by All Nippon Airways.
First Prize in First Category: Lena Ohiro
First Prize winner Lena Oshiro (L) and Sumi Pandiri (C) pose for a photo with Mari Yamamoto, Vice-Chair of PR Committee, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Chicago
Lena Oshiro form Chicago Futabakai Saturday School was the winner of the First Prize in the first category. Her speech was titled “When I grow up.”
Oshiro has been feeling sad since her elder brother decided to attend college in the U.S. She thinks if she chooses to go to Japan, she will not be able to see him for a long time. Her parents jokingly say they will live in Japan after their retirement.
In the recent situation, she has been worrying about the future of her family which eventually gets separated. She thought, “If we had lived in Japan, our family would have been together in Japan through our whole life.”
On the other hand, Oshiro loves America. She said she met many friends because she had come to Illinois. She also has so many good experiences in the U.S.
Oshiro was born in the U.S. and moved to Japan when she was four, and then she returned to the Chicago area at age six. At that time she forgot all English except for a word, “apple.” Now she has no problem with English because her teachers, friends and family supported her to develop English language skills.
She is going to continue studying Japanese at Futabakai Saturday School and said, “When I grow up, I will probably have to choose one or the other. So from now on, I would like to experience more things and leave it to the future me when I grow up a little more.”
First Prize in Second Category: Sumi Pandiri
Sumi Pandiri from New Trier High School was the winner of the First Prize in the second category. Her speech was titled “Foreigner.”
In her high school, only a few students take Japanese class, so the students’ levels are quite different, ranging from the fluent speakers, who have Japanese parents, to the beginners who are attracted by anime.
It must be hard work for her teacher dealing with different level of students to teach Japanese by using English which is not her mother tongue. Nevertheless, the teacher apologized in front of her students for not being able to teach effectively.
Listening to her teacher’s apology, Pandiri got surprised and started to cry because she could imagine how hard her teacher worked for her students. More surprisingly, other students accepted her apology instead of expressing their gratitude for her.
Pandiri wondered why other students perceived the teacher’s apology differently and thought why she became so emotional. And then she came to realize that there was an overlap between her teacher and her mother’s experience.
Her mother came to the U.S. from Japan to attend college. Pandiri recalled her mother’s tattered dictionary with marks and highlights on almost every word. She understood how hard her mother worked to catch up with other students. Pandiri said, “Even after 30 years of living in America, my mother still has encountered where she is treated like a foreigner.”
Pandiri learned about the word “Forever Foreigner,” a term indicates Asian Americans who, no matter how hard they work, will never be perceived as 100% American. She thought it was exactly like her mother.
Pandiri thought about herself. She is daughter of Japanese mother and Indian father, so she is a Japanese-Indian American.
She says that bringing Japanese bento box for lunch sets her apart from her American peers, so she is not considered fully American. In India, she is not considered fully Indian due to her American English accent, and in Japan, she is not considered fully Japanese because of her imperfect Japanese. So, she is a Forever Foreigner in those three countries.
The term of Forever Foreigner is used as negative connotation toward Asians, “But is it really a bad thing?” Pandiri questioned. She said, “My three backgrounds give me three different viewpoints, create my unique identity, make my life richer, and guide me to the right direction. Thinking of that day, I could see my teacher’s achievements instead of the shortcomings she apologized for. This is because I myself am a ‘Forever Foreigner.’”
Pandiri and Oshiro received a $100 gift card donated by Sumitomo Corporation of Americas and a Wireless Stereo Earphone donated by Panasonic Connect North America.
Further Study Will Bring You Opportunities You Never Imagine Now
Encouragement from Dr. Marion Friebus-Flaman
Dr. Marion Friebus-Flaman, Director of Language Acquisition Services, Naperville School District 203
Dr. Marion Friebus-Flaman, Director of Language Acquisition Services, Naperville School District 203, talk about her own experiences to encourage the contestants to continue Japanese study that will bring them many opportunities they never imagine now.
Marion has Japanese mother and lived in Japan when she was a small child. She moved to the Chicago area at age six. She said she was a heritage speaker like the contestants who spoke Japanese at home.
At that time, there was no official Japanese school in the area, so she couldn’t have formal Japanese language study until she entered a college. She wanted to continue Japanese studies to higher level including ability to comprehend kanji characters, even though she could speak Japanese with her mother. She told the contestants, “What you speak at home is different from what you speak outside home such as schools, business occasions and more.”
One of Marion’s dreams was to go to Japan to teach English in high schools like a JET teacher, but she was able to teach at a national university in Japan because she had higher level of Japanese. She said, “That was an opportunity I had never imagined for myself when I wanted to study more Japanese.”
When she returned to the Chicago area after teaching at a national university, she wanted to continue teaching. And then another opportunity soon came to her, so she was able to work as a Japanese teacher in a public school. “Again if I hadn’t had higher level of Japanese and only had Japanese that I spoke with my mother, I was not able to do that,” she said.
Her higher level of Japanese also brought her opportunities to take leadership positions both in her career and her social life.
She met Consul General of Japan in Chicago, and then she was selected as a leader of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation to Japan. She had an opportunity to address to Japan’s Prime Minister and had a tea ceremony with Prince Takamadonomiya’s wife, Princess Hisako.
“Those are things that I never had imagined and were possible, but those opportunities opened up for me because I had bilingualism as I had higher level of Japanese. This is also an opportunity to talk to you here today,” Marion told the contestants.
“I do think that there are so many opportunities that will come in your way that we can’t imagine right now and will open up opportunities because you have a slightly different perspective on the world because of your two languages. You have understanding that there are multiple ways to view the world, to approach problem solving, and all of that because you have these languages. So, I encourage you. Go and keep studying,” Marion said.
Other Awardees:
2nd Prize:
Rentrou Ridder, Taihei Rokumoto
3rd Prize:
Mia Shimazu, Kate Jeske
4th Pirze:
Nanami Tamura, Amy Snow
JASC Award:
Rina Hasunuma, Mia Betters
JIC Award:
Yumi Chinen, Ryuji Matsuda, Leia Tanaka, Meisa Hasegawa, Lena Ota, Kai Senzaki, Remy Walker, Viviane Ayaka Jean