TOMODACHI Generation: Priscilla Torres
Priscilla Torres
Junior, Loyola Marymount University
TOMODACHI Inouye Scholar Program
During the summer of 2015 I had the opportunity to travel to Japan as a TOMODACHI Inouye Scholar. For a Mexican-American first generation college student, the experience was something that was far beyond anything I could have imagined myself doing.
The TOMODACHI experience enhanced a deep value and appreciation I have had for education since I was a child. When I was young, my mom and I would visit my grandmother in East Los Angeles every Sunday. Every Sunday, without fail, my grandmother would point out a few articles from the Los Angeles Times for me to read. We would then engage in a discussion about the pieces she had set aside from the paper. The topics were usually centered on current events, presumably contributing to my future interest in politics and international relations, and instilling a deep curiosity within me.
My family as a whole has always been incredibly supportive of my education. When I told them I was going to Japan for two weeks they were shocked, but also incredibly proud. For many first generation college students such as myself, your accomplishments are not only your own, they are the culmination of years of hard work and the sacrifice of generations upon generations of individuals. The experiences leading up to a college graduation are not merely your own, they are shared amongst your relatives, both past and present. During my TOMODACHI experience I metaphorically carried the stories, struggles, and triumphs of my entire family with me.
The TOMODACHI program at Loyola Marymount has an emphasis placed on leadership and diversity, making the group of students in our program some of the most unique individuals around. I traveled for two weeks to Japan with students from my university who would become some of my closest friends, and two professors, Dr. Curtis Rooks and Dr. Maria Grandone, who would become two of the most influential figures of my college career. Together, we would undergo experiences that are difficult to explain, yet transformative all the same. I had no preconceived notions about what to expect upon arrival. I have always been an individual who has sought out opportunities, but the TOMODACHI experience pushed me well beyond my boundaries and broadened my worldview in an entirely new way.
While in Tokyo my fellow TOMODACHI and I had the honor of going to the Japanese Diet and meeting Representative Karen Makishima. She spoke with us about being a woman in Japanese politics and the difficulties she has had to endure as a female representative. Her decision to run for office stemmed from her feeling responsibility to Japanese women to represent them in an effort to have their voices be heard. Keeping in mind the difficulties U.S. Senator Inouye had to endure, his incredible service in the military, his family’s internment, and his eventual decision to run for political office in order to continue to give back to his country, I was floored by the courage and resilience of both politicians. After World War II, Senator Inouye claimed that because he survived the war his life was no longer his own, it belonged to forces much greater than himself alone, the American people, in particular the Japanese-American community. He believed that it was his duty to represent Japanese-American interests and serve his country in political office. The common thread of having a responsibility to their common man is something that would be repeated throughout my time in Japan, and would serve as an inspiration to me.
While in Hiroshima, we visited a Japanese-American museum in the hills overlooking the city. The museum is run by an older man, his wife, and his two daughters. He told us stories of the war and explained Japanese migration to Hawaii. He showed us memorabilia from the 1940’s, showcasing what life was like during that period. His wife and daughters put on a Japanese tea ceremony for us as well. The group grew incredibly close to this man and his family. We called him our “grandfather” and told him that we would be back to visit again one day. After this we had dinner at a restaurant where I had the most amazing Katsudon I think I will ever have in my whole life. For the chef, the dish was a piece of art, each plate as vibrant as the last. At the end of the meal he spoke with us about the dish and introduced our group to his wife and son. That day we met two families who treated us all as an extension of their own family. Their hospitality and the responsibility they took upon themselves to present us with their culture was incredibly humbling.
A few days later we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. By this time, my fellow TOMODACHI and I had come to know and love the Japanese people. We grew incredibly close to not only the two families we had met, but also countless students we met at Sophia University and the students from Yasuda Women’s University who showed us around Miyajima. As I walked around the museum, I was humbled and shocked. I could not comprehend what would compel such a nation to commit such a grave act. I could not take pictures. I could only question and feel emotions that were completely foreign to me, a sense of guilt for something I had absolutely no part in, a sense of disbelief for something my country did not once, but twice. I had never felt more American in my entire life.
After our visit to the memorial we met with an atomic bomb survivor. She told us her story, about how she was a school girl when the bomb dropped, about the scars she endured, about the family and friends she lost, about how she has never and would never be more frightened in her entire life. A translator was present, but even without the translation or a remote understanding of the words she was speaking, the room was in tears. The emotion she conveyed was unlike anything I have ever witnessed before. At the end of her talk she said something I will never forget, that we, as the next generation of leaders, have a responsibility to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
I am currently writing this from Washington, D.C. while participating in an internship on Capitol Hill. I believe that my experience through TOMODACHI and the influences of Representative Makishima and Senator Inouye led me to this point. It pushed my curiosity further, and it forced me to invite the unknown into my life in an attempt to understand a culture and relations between two countries that is incredibly complex. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about the responsibility the atomic bomb survivor placed on us. I do not know where the world will take me. I do not know where my sacrifices, victories, and struggles will take the next generation of my family, but I do know that no matter what I do in this world, the TOMODACHI experience served as the most transformative experience of my life, instilling a deep fascination of Japanese culture within me, prompting my curiosity that much further, and providing me with an experience that has taught me the importance of Japanese and American relations, the significance of supporting Japanese-Americans, and the responsibility we all have to protect one another by virtue of being human.
