Our Values & Core Beliefs

pj & roy

“We’re indebted to our Issei ancestors, the first Japanese immigrants from Japan, who brought with them the values we live by today.”

The Values We Live By

Okagesamade

Because of you, I am

We give respect for those who came before us

Shikata ga nai

It can’t be helped

We accept what we cannot change and move on with dignity

Enryo

Exhibit restraint

We hold back in deference and respect for others, we put others before ourselves

Gaman

Persevere

We keep going and follow through with determination like our parents and grandparents taught us, one step at time, never giving up

Isshokenmei

Make the effort and try your best

We don’t take things for granted, we put in the work when there’s work to be done no matter how great or menial

Kodomo no tame ni

For the sake of the children

We are community minded and always thinking about the next generation, passing down what we know for the sake of making sure we’re leaving the world a better place

Itadakimasu

I will humbly accept this delicious meal

What we say before we eat our meals

Gochisousama

Thank you for this meal

What we say at the end of our meals

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu

At the start of a rehearsal, practice, work day or group project, we acknowledge each other with respect and are ready to begin

We leave our assumptions behind and treat everyone with an open heart and open mind

We are here to work and play together as equals

Otsukaresama deshita

Thank you for your hard work

We could not have accomplished our work without everyone’s help and working together as one

We say this to close our work or practice for the day, in unison as one voice

Mottainai

Don’t be wasteful

We respect and value what we have available to us, which allows us to recycle, reuse, and reimagine

Issei Voices Monument

San Jose Japantown

Inspiration from our first-generation Issei.

Issei Voices is a 36-foot horizontal granite monument in the heart of San Jose Japantown that echoes the words and phrases of the first generation Issei pioneers who instilled deep, binding values and traditions in the second generation of Nisei. 

PJ & Roy find lasting inspiration in the values permanently inscribed on this monument and use them as guideposts for how they live their lives every day. They take to heart how these values and core beliefs served to strengthen the determination of their parents and grandparents to endure the hardships of internment and racial unrest.

“The Issei first generation and Nisei second generation really had to persevere because of the internment during WWII and being immigrants in a new world here in California. Gaman was the one word, the one value that really kept them going because they had to struggle through so many different things.”

“We want to pass on these core beliefs and values to the younger generations, to keep the spirit of our elders alive.”