By JON KAJI
Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune of visiting Japan many times, as a student, for business, as a state official and now, as an elected official representing the City of Torrance.
This visit was special. A delegation of more than 40 Torrance residents, along with the mayor and the City Council, were heading to Kashiwa City in Chiba Prefecture to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sister-city relationship.
In the lead-up to the visit, the Kashiwa City delegation, headed by Mayor Kazumi Ota, had made an earlier visit to Torrance. The relationship has grown stronger over the years with numerous student exchanges between Torrance and Kashiwa, homestays by Kashiwa students with their adopted Torrance families. There have even been marriages, kids and grandkids that can trace their lineage to the sister-city affiliation.
As the Nikkei member of the City Council, I was determined to be a great representative to our friends in Kashiwa. Having lived in Japan for over 10 years, it always comes down to the basics.
Omiyageand dancing.
In this case, a visit to Trader Joe’s and See’s Candy are my go-to standards. We also had access to our “Torrance Beach” branded city merchandise (yes, we do have a beach!) that included beach towels, sunglasses with bottle openers, and T-shirts.
At our Sayonara Dinner for the Kashiwa delegation, the event closed with the “Kashiwa Odori.”
I had not prepared for the dance, and did my best to mimic the dance moves of the odori sensei that night. Epic fail.
So, from two months out, I was determined to learn the Kashiwa Odori so I could best represent the City of Torrance at the Welcome and Sayonara Dinners. How? YouTube, of course! The odori sensei had his series of “Learn to Dance the Kashiwa Odori.”
As some of you may know, our Japanese friends place a premium on precision and practice. For foreigners, the bar drops to the bottom. But being Japanese American, there’s an implicit understanding that the gaijinor foreigner standard doesn’t really apply to you. After all, you should speak fluent Japanese, know all things Japanese, etc., etc.
Knowing this, I set out to perfect the Kashiwa Odori. After all, I was representing all the Nikkei in Torrance and the South Bay.
No pressure.
Back to the visit. We started the official program organized by the City of Kashiwa and the Kashiwa International Relations Association (KIRA), which included an official welcome at Kashiwa City Hall and introductions at the City Council.
For myself, the highlight of the visit was touring the “Kashiwa-no-ha” Smart City project.
The master planned community was designed by Mitsui Fudosan and Hitachi. Located less than 30 minutes from Akihabara in central Tokyo. the LEED-certified Platinum technology and research park includes the Kashiwa campus of the University of Tokyo, Chiba University.
We entered the project on a self-driving bus. What was impressive was the number of cameras and sensors that tracked the movements of vehicles and people over the programmed course. A human driver was present; however, the move towards the next level of mobility is becoming a reality.
The tour included a visit to the Operations Center, which demonstrated the sustainable energy generated and used by the community. In the event of a disaster, there is a three-day supply of energy and water with power generation and battery storage on-site.
There were many takeaways for the delegation that may have direct application back in the City of Torrance and the South Bay area.
The Welcome Dinner was fast approaching. I did a last-minute odori practice in my hotel room before heading to the dinner.
As I entered the room, I was greeted by the odori sensei himself! I thanked him for his lessons online and told him I would do my best.
He smiled. I panicked.
The dinner was a multi-course fall selection of dishes. My mind was only focused on “the dance.”
Then, it was time. Just my luck, the odori sensei was seated close to my table. I would be dancing just ahead of him. “Kaji-san, gambatte kudasai.” (Do your best.)
The music started. One of the executives from the Kashiwa Chamber of Commerce was dancing behind me, yelling “Yoisho!” and “Sore!” as if I needed the extra attention.
Then, I realized that the two months of training took over (or was it the sake?). We had a great time. Okay, maybe I wasn’t a “10” but for me, a solid 7?
As I was leaving, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
It was the odori sensei.
“Jouzu da neh.” Good job.
Now, it’s back to the work of the city. But, I have been watching videos of the “Tanko Bushi.”
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Jon Kaji is a member of the Torrance City Council and president of Kaji & Associates.