Even though Asian Pacific American Heritage Month is in May, WSU celebrates it in April due to the semester schedule. The Asian/Hispanic/Native American Center will host a variety of events for students and faculty to attend. There will be lectures about gender and Onnagata in the Kabuki Theater and immigration and illegality in the American Historical Immigration.
According to Director of the Asian/Hispanic/Native-American Center Mai Nguyen, these issues raise concern in the Asian community because female impersonation (onnagata) has been an important aspect of the kabuki dramaturgy and has shaped the concept of feminism and the economy of gender construction in Japan.
The month of events will also include a documentary film “China’s Lost Girls,” explaining how China limits most families to one child and how that affects the country’s gender gap.
A student showcase will take place Wednesday April 17 through Tuesday April 23. WSU students in the Chinese Writing Course will showcase their artwork in Chinese calligraphy and brush painting. On Saturday April 6 in the Apollo, there will be an Asian Culture Night, featuring “Kabuki and Onnagata: the Making of a Woman.”
“We are very fortunate to have partial funding from the Japan Foundation of New York so everyone can understand the very fascinating story and history of Japan,” Nguyen said. “In Japan, there are few actors that are women, so young men used to play their parts, this lead many to become gay which the government banned.”
“So now older men play roles of women, similar to a geisha,” Nguyen said. “During Asian Culture night there will be a performance that’s very interesting about the making of a women with a story behind it that’s dramatic and will keep you entertained, as well as other activities throughout the night.”
Member of the House of Representatives Frank Horton and Norman Mineta introduced the idea of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week in 1977.
By the following year, President Jimmy Carter signed the bill and it was passed. However, the celebration was not made into a month-long celebration until 1992 under the authority of President George Bush.
“Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity to share Asian cultures with friends, students and staff,” Nguyen said. “Asia is a big continent. It has 42 countries, each with different languages, religions and customs.”
In the 1800’s Chinese immigrants moved to the U.S. because pioneers found gold in California, attracting thousands of miners. Japanese immigrants also moved because of work in agriculture in California and Hawaii.
After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. controlled the Philippines, increasing immigration to America.
During WWII many Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps because they were seen as threats.
By 1988, Congress gave $20,000 to Japanese Americans who had been interned.
Today, the U.S. continues to increase the number of Asian immigrants and residents, and many have come into political power.
Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii was elected to the U.S. House in 1964 and became the first Asian American woman in Congress.
All of the events are free and open to the public. For more information about Asian Heritage Month or these events contact the Asian/Hispanic/Native American Center at 937-775-2798.
