Growing up Japanese

Naomi Hirahara can claim an unusual birthright: She is the child of two survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.

Her father, Isamu, was born to Japanese immigrants in the United States, making him a U.S. citizen. His family moved back to Hiroshima shortly after his birth. As a teenager, he witnessed the destruction of his home by his homeland.

Mayumi, Hirahara’s mother, was far enough away to escape injury in the infamous bombing. Mayumi’s father, however, was near the epicenter and was never found.

Growing up in the United States, Naomi was uniquely positioned to observe Japanese-American culture. The impact of Japanese culture on California has been her passion.

“A lot of people find it hard to walk through Japanese-American culture.” Hirahara said. “I try to make it more open.”

Armed with her cultural experience, and a wealth of writing experience, Hirahara will speak at this month’s Friends of the Huntington Beach luncheon Saturday.

Hirahara earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations, and worked for years as a reporter and editor for bilingual newspaper The Rafu Shimpo. She has taken up the task of showing Japanese culture to the masses.

Hirahara has written a number of nonfiction books on the impacts of Japanese Americans on seminal Californian industries, and has written extensively on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Her catalog also includes books on Japanese farmers who were instrumental in organizing flower and produce markets in the early 20th century.

“In Japan, there was a concept of cooperatives for growing. They were experienced in the marketing and distribution,” Hirahara said.

It wasn’t until 2004 that she published her first mystery, “Summer of the Big Bachi.” The fiction introduced readers to Mas Arai, a survivor of the Hiroshima blast working as a gardener in California. In the story, Arai must sort through his repressed memories of World War II to solve a mystery and save his own life.

Arai’s adventures are further chronicled in “Gasa-Gasa Girl” and most recently “Snakeskin Shamisen.” The books take readers into a world of intrigue centered around Japanese traditions.

“Mysteries I would say, out of any genre, is one of the best ways to convey and explore social history,” Hirahara said.

The shamisen, for instance, is a Japanese instrument similar in design to a banjo. It has three strings and a tone distinctive in Japanese folk music. In Arai’s latest adventure a worn shamisen is the MacGuffin that sparks the action.

Hirahara’s book also explores a bit of the Japanese mindset. Arai is loosely based on her father, and Hirahara uses that perspective to get into the experiences of a Japanese immigrant.

“[Readers] can really enter his head and get to know him,” Hirahara said. “It kind of tests what is an American. What does it mean to be a Japanese American?”

Hirahara said fiction is a valuable tool in teaching people about cultures because it allows a reader to become emotionally invested in the characters.

“It’s more from the heart out instead of some history you have to learn in school.”

IF YOU GO

What: Naomi Hirahara will be the guest speaker at the Friends of the Library Luncheon

Where: Huntington Beach Central Library, 7111 Talbert Ave., rooms C/D

When: 11:30 a.m., Friday

Cost: $18

Information: Call (714) 375-8429 or visit www.hbpl.org.