New York City is considered a "melting
pot" where immigrants from around the world have created a multi-cultural
society. In the nineteenth century, immigrants coming mostly from
Europe sailed into New York harbor to be welcomed by the Statue
of Liberty. A poem by Emma Lazarus at the base of the statue greets
the newcomers:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…"
When my grandfather sailed into
New York in 1888, most of the immigrants were from Europe. Today,
New York City is also home to Koreans, Haitians, Puerto Ricans,
Vietnamese, Pakistanis, and many others. Former mayor David Dinkins
describes the city as a "gorgeous mosaic." A mosaic is a picture
made from small colored stones. When viewed from a distance, the
different colored stones create a beautiful picture.
New York is a heterogeneous society,
or a society of many elements. Japan is a homogeneous society with
few minority groups. Outsiders number less than one percent of the
Japanese population. A small group Koreans comprise the only significant
group in Japan, and they often complain that they are treated unfairly,
even if their family has lived in Japan for generations. While newcomers
in New York are potential citizens, the Japanese view them as foreigners
who will eventually leave.
The burakumin are a curious exception
to the homogeneity of the Japanese people. The burakumin probably
descended from people who were defeated in war, or from people who
ignored the traditional Buddhist prohibition of working with leather
or butchering animals. The burakumin look like other Japanese, but
they are an underprivileged minority in Japan. Discrimination against
the burakumin has been illegal since 1871, but many Japanese avoid
contact with them, and are careful to check marriage records to
avoid intermarriage.
Japan has borrowed ideas from other
cultures, but they often adjust the ideas to suit their needs. The
Japanese are passionate baseball fans, but Japanese basubol is very
different from its American counterpart. The Japanese believe in
the concept of wa, which prizes team spirit over personal achievement.
Many major leaguers have moved to Japan, but most are uncomfortable
with Japanese baseball. One American player commented that in Japan
a perfect ballgame would end in a tie.
