Japanese American on the Flip Side

Nissei?
Japanese-American
Made by omiyage
My blue eyes and straight nose
A legacy of Northern Europe
Gifts from my ancestors

My parents stayed in the U.S.
While I studied and stayed in Asia
Japan is now my home

Those familiar eyes and faces staring back
Their voices in my ‘native’ tongue
Call to me across the ocean

Mom and Dad “up North”
America with polar bears and seals
Tinged by the land of my residence

A typical elderly couple
Most American
A stereotype face up

When they walk away, backs turned
In Uniqlo, kappōgi and hanten
Look like any Japanese couple I see in Tokyo.

Momma wa Okāsan ni nari
Father wa Otōsan ni naru
Oya wa acchi de, boku wa koko de imasu

They are over there, while I am here.

*Nissei: ‘ethnically Japanese people born in a different country’ in Japanese
*Hanten: ‘Japanese quilted jacket’ in Japanese
*Okāsan: ‘mom’ in Japanese
*Otōsan: ‘dad’ in Japanese
*Momma wa Okāsan ni nari: ‘Momma’ becomes ‘Okāsan’ in Japanese
*Father wa Otōsan ni naru: ‘Father becomes Otōsan’ in Japanese
*Oya wa acchi de, boku wa koko de imasu: ‘My parents are over there; I am living here’ in Japanese