Reflections on Multicultural Identity:
An Interview and Essay
by Ema Nakajima-Liu, JIS student

Growing Up in Multicultural Setting: My reflection after interviewing Mr. Randy Sakamoto (April 2025)

By Ema Nakajima-Liu

As somebody who was born and raised in the United States, with a mother who immigrated from Japan, and a father who is a Taiwanese-American, I have always wondered about what it means to be growing up in a multicultural setting. What values can I bring to my classroom, my community, and, eventually, to society?  

When I was younger I didn’t know how much of my “Japanese side” I would bring into my local school since I was the only Japanese student in the entire school. In second grade, our class decided to do a marketplace project where each student brings in items to sell with fake currency. I was initially unsure about bringing in handmade Japanese origami cranes when everyone else seemed to be bringing in something more elaborate and more traditionally “American.” I was worried that a craft made from just a piece of paper was not good enough. To my surprise, all my classmates were intrigued by the intricacy of my origami cranes, and I was able to share a little bit of the Japanese culture about pursuit of elegant and handmade design. This experience taught me firsthand that people are empathetic and curious to learn more about other cultures, and that I should have more confidence in bringing in different perspectives and narratives through my unique background. 

Since I began attending the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle (JIS) every Saturday 5 years ago, it has become a place where I could be with people with similar cultural backgrounds and further build confidence in myself to experiment with personal ways to bridge the gapJapanese and American cultures.

 JIS recently celebrated a 100 year anniversary, where Randy Sakamoto (the grandson of the original JIS founder, Gisuke Sakamoto) presented the history of JIS. I was fascinated by his presentation because it related the simple origin story of the school. JIS started with just four students and now it has grown into a central part of the Japanese American community in Los Angeles and an important part of my self identity. I recently had an opportunity to interview Randy, and I want to share what I learned from him in regards to the history of JIS, as well as his own personal stories and experiences. 

What makes JIS unique goes all the way back to the personal story of Gisuke Sakamoto, the founder of JIS. Gisuke was born at the start of the Meiji Restoration in Japan. He owned a silk factory and wanted to take part in the changing world of Japan. He decided to immigrate to America in the early 1900s with his wife, and eventually established a successful life and business there. In the 1920s, he built a house in Sawtelle (community in west Los Angeles) and began teaching four young Japanese immigrants the Japanese language, continuing the education they had started before coming to America. In 1929, this school became incorporated as the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle with four small classrooms. Gisuke and the community board members started this school with the purpose of promoting the Japanese language and Japanese culture through the people of Sawtelle. 

In the early days of JIS, everyone in the neighborhood went to JIS. Students were the children of the people who immigrated from Japan, and JIS had a huge impact, because it was an important bridge to Japanese culture and language. The students who attended could learn Japanese culture, language, and memories and share it with many others in the community. 

The 1940s were a challenging time for the Japanese American community in Sawtelle. In March of 1942, Sawtelle Japanese Americans gathered at JIS and were forced by the US government to leave by buses to go to Manzanar, the Japanese internment camps. Seeing the photos of people being loaded in buses from the exact location that I attend my Saturday JIS classroom was difficult, but made me appreciate the freedom that I have now and the good relationship that we now have between Japan and the US. 

 Over the years, the Japanese American population in Sawtelle gradually began to shrink. In the 1990s, Sawtelle’s connection to Japan was primarily through JIS, and the Japanese American people who remained in Sawtelle learned and celebrated their culture through JIS. 

Now, there is a revival of Japanese culture happening throughout Sawtelle where we see many Japanese themed restaurants and shops, and events such as the Children’s Day festival. JIS remains as a touchstone of the community, linking the Sawtelle community and connecting it to Japanese traditions.

Beyond the history of JIS, what struck me the most about my interview with Randy was his personal stories and experiences growing up as a 3rd generation Japanese American, and how it helped with his education and career.  

Randy grew up in Sawtelle post World War II, where it was mostly inhabited by Japanese and Mexican immigrants. There was widespread prejudice given that it was populated at the time by low wage workers who did not speak English well. When Randy first went to Webster Middle School, where other students were much more fluent in English, Randy wondered, “Do I belong at this table?” 

At the end of the year, Randy looked back on how much he had grown and realized, “Yes, I do belong at this table.” This self-questioning of whether he belonged at this table repeated when he went to high school where many of the students were from wealthy families who excelled in academics. By the end of school, he knew that even though we all look and think differently, we are all the same and that he belonged at this table.

When Randy attended UC Berkeley to pursue electrical engineering, Randy found out that everyone there was extremely smart. But building off his previous experiences in Sawtelle, Randy had the fortitude to know, “I belong at this table.” He could see himself as a hard working individual, powering through academic challenges from this high level school.  

His confidence and ability to navigate through challenges were anchored in his Japanese American upbringing. He felt that being multicultural is an important part of his self identity because it fosters understanding, respect, and collaboration among people from different backgrounds. Whenever he came across the question, “Do I belong at this table?” in his educational journey, he continued to see the importance of being adaptable, empathetic, hard working and open-minded, which always led the answer to be “Yes, I do belong.”    

This theme was key to Randy’s successful career as an engineer as he moved from entry level to eventually executive level positions. Randy’s strength was to be able to bring people together in multiple ways. His background helped people to see each other as individuals beyond just the work context, and it was instrumental in establishing a common purpose and fostering the spirit of collaboration.  When his team faced complex problems, they were able to solve it together. Randy thinks he was able to get everyone to work together because of his Japanese American background. He knew that working with different people helped him learn. Knowing and bridging two different cultures built his ability to connect people together in other contexts as well. 

My initial goal for Randy’s interview was to learn about JIS history, but I got so much more out of it. I used to wonder what value I brought as a Japanese American and whether it was “worth it” to continue my Japanese education on top of my intensive local school work, but recently I have been feeling pride in being multicultural. I truly believe that I am learning how to bring together diverse perspectives in ways that will eventually build connection and fuel creativity. My journey to learn about JIS history and getting to know someone like Randy has inspired me to continue experimenting in ways to bridge Japanese-Taiwanese-American cultures. I hope to follow in his footsteps and make a lasting difference in the world.