Each summer the museum welcomes a Nikkei Community intern for an eight-week program to foster and connect young leaders to San Jose’s Japantown community. The 2021 NCI intern was Miranda Aochi. Some of you may recognize her name, if not her face, from her years of volunteering at the museum as a minor. Miranda, who is a junior at UC Berkeley majoring in data science with a minor in dance and performance studies, shared some of her special memories for this month’s volunteer spotlight.
Miranda (left) with her family.
Q. Do you remember your first visit to the museum?
Yes. My family visited the museum in late 2013 because my brother was doing his 5th grade Heritage Report and we had heard that our great-grandfather’s suitcase (from my dad’s maternal grandfather) was located there. My dad and his siblings had grown up in the Japantown community, but my brother and I hadn’t been involved in the Japanese American/Japantown community. My parents saw getting involved with the museum as a way to connect us with our Japanese heritage. We started volunteering in early 2014 along with my mom who helped run the Facebook page.
Q. Did you join a craft day event?
Yes! Helping with crafts during Hinamatsuri and Kodomo no Hi was how I first started volunteering for the museum. One year, my whole family stood on the corner of the street to direct people to the JAMsj Winter Boutique. My brother and I were competitive dancers growing up and I remember dancing with the signs and basically doing anything that would capture the attention of the people driving by to get them to come to check out the event. While we were out there, we actually met Congressman Mike Honda, and he took a picture with us!
Miranda with her brother at the Winter Boutique
Once my brother and I were a little older, some of the docents persuaded my family to consider becoming docents ourselves. My dad, brother, and I started docent training and shadowed different docents on the weekends. I later was trained by Rich Saito to also become a receptionist, so I eventually started spending some weekends behind the desk.
Q. The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) was created by the JJCCsj (Japantown Community Congress of San Jose) to connect the three remaining Japantowns and encourage youth to get more involved in the Japanese-American community. Would you share what drew you to this program?
Although I had been loosely involved with the museum throughout middle school and high school, I didn’t feel very connected to the Japanese American community. I really only spent time in Japantown when I was younger when we went to special services at the church, had dinner at one of the many restaurants, or went to Obon. I saw NCI as a way to get more connected to the Japanese American and Japantown communities as well as make connections with people my age who are also interested in learning about the history of the community and looking at ways to preserve the community. Being placed at the museum was a plus!
Q. Compare your childhood impression with your current experiences.
Something that has always struck me is how many people aren’t aware of the Japanese American story and incarceration experience during World War II, so I’m very appreciative of how much visitors are willing to listen and learn when they visit the museum. I’ve truly learned and heard so many impactful stories from other docents and from volunteers. Volunteering with the museum from such a young age, I’ve always felt that I have a responsibility in sharing the history and story of Japanese Americans because it’s not something that is talked about enough. I remember we spent maybe ten minutes on the incarceration during my U.S. history class in high school. Most of the kids in my class didn’t really care about the topic. This need to have these conversations is something that has only been reinforced through my experience as an intern as community members remind us that it is up to us to keep the narrative alive.
I also don’t think I ever realized as a child how powerful the knowledge inside of the museum is and how unique San Jose Japantown is. Throughout all of the different meetings that I got to have with various community leaders this summer, the conversation on what they love about San Jose Japantown almost always talked about how close-knit and supportive the community is. People love that San Jose Japantown is a neighborhood full of family-owned businesses and that it isn’t more commercial like San Francisco and Los Angeles. There’s also been a lot of discussion about ways that the younger generations can support the community. I’ve been inspired to get more involved in the community because I’ve learned that in order to preserve the community, we must adapt and evolve with the community.
I feel like the biggest change that I’ve noticed at the museum might be the people. While a lot of the people who were with the museum when my family first started are still involved, some have moved on. I also realize that means others need to fill in and step up. We’ve gotten to welcome so many new volunteers into the community though!
Q. What influence has the museum had on you and how do you see the museum playing a role in your life in the coming years?
The museum has taught me a lot, not just history and culture-wise. I’ve learned to be a better listener and have more empathy towards others, I’ve gotten much more comfortable with public speaking, and I’ve seen what it means to be a part of a community. Even though I’ll be back in Berkeley this fall for school, I hope to continue applying the knowledge and experiences that I’ve gained through the museum and the NCI internship. I would also love to find ways to stay involved and support the organization remotely.