日本へ始めたの1982年1月1日まで1982年1月23日ホ―ムへ帰ってより日記
Original by Emiko Montoya
A Creative Translation, from the English, by Lyra and David Montoya
通信費 （昭和56年12月23日、国際コ―ル）
6分 ¥ 6,480
お返し 365
Journal
日本へ始めたの1982年1月1日まで1982年1月23日ホ―ムへ帰ってより日記
◊ ◊ ◊
葬式費用 お返し365
オコーデン 12/24 ¥ 1,338,500
（金景品） 12/25 ¥ 615,000 以
上
生花 や 花輪 ¥ 14,4,000
（４） (12)
果物，茶
(1) （1－¥12,000）
米国生花の一本
¥7,000
葬式費用 ¥ 870,688
（食品 ¥170,000）
（お寺 ¥150,000）
お祈り ¥130,000）
タクシ－料金も ¥20,000
慰霊祭
7日
14日
21日
35
49－忌日
100
1年
3年
7 ”
13 ”
17 ”
23 ”
37 ”
◊ ◊ ◊
Father died Showa year 26, September 7
Mother died Showa year 56, December 23
一月7日
一月7日1982年
オサムとタカシにとって、今日は休みの最終日。朝ごはんの皿を掃除して後で藤棚に行った、手帳を買った（¥300）（わあ！）、書物を四冊買った（アスカ、コノコ－ノコシテ、等々）。全く寒くて風が強くなかった。帰る時にスミコはお母さんいれば「アメリカに買って行ったかなあ?」と言われますよ。来てからに髪を初回に洗いました。 気持ちいい、もう許せなかった。
1月15日、1982年
今日は「成人の日」という国民の祝日。八時ぐらいに起きました。音を作りたくないけど、私が洗ってやスミコは階下へ来てに香を焚いていました。
朝ごはんの後、スミコはキヨコを見舞いに行きました。スミコはヒロジもキヨコを見舞いに行って分かったけど、ヒロジと買って行ってや帰りました。ヒロジとケンジはお返しの票を書き込みために会いました。ケンジのものを家に持ち帰って、ヒロジは八時十五分後で働きました。スミコはヒロジにここへ食べてをオファさせたでも飲み物の必要あれば家に帰らなければならないけどヒロジが出ました。焼き牡蠣と海老をスミコは夕食に料理しました。美味しかった。キヨコは明日から週末に帰ります。
ヒロジの午後八時二十分ぐらいに出る時に車の上に氷がありました。
1月17日、1982年
昨日へ私とスミコとミトコは四時半過ぎに話しました。ミトコとキヨコと寝ました。七時ぐらいに起きました。一緒に朝ごはんを食べた後でスミコを手伝だいました。十二時半ぐらい私たちはがお寺に行ったでも、ヤスカワさんや子供たちが歩きました。葬儀はとても悲しくて短かった。キヨコはオショ―ッコにもやったけど私が泣きました。そこで、墓地に行った、ヒロジは運転しなければいけなかっただから、私はお母さんの遺骨を持ちました。葬儀屋さんは石の下にお母さんの遺骨を置いたが悲し過ぎました。本当にお母さんが消えたのが分かります。スミコは葬儀の食品を盛って作って手伝うのためにグル―プ前に来ました。ジョニは電話を連絡しないを言われた、午後の全部お寿司
等々を食べましたから私たちは十時半ぐらい寝ました。ジョニが連絡したのでスミコは零時半ぐらいに私を起こしました。ジョニはサンニの家へ連絡しました。
お母さんの遺骨は墓地に置きました。
スミコはお母さんの形見小皿をくれました。
1月22日、1982年
今日はキヨコを見舞いをつもりでしたでもスミコも来るを言われたので私たちは午後へ行ってを決めました。台所を掃除している間にスミコは朝ごはんの後でテ―ボルの側で昼寝しました。後で眠くなったので私も同じようにやりました。
私たちは高島屋に行ったとオコ―デンとキクオやタエものお茶を買った。 餅菓子や干し柿も買いました（家に帰る間に藤棚へ）。そこから地下鉄でキヨコを訪れました。次の来る時まで今回が最終の見ることのでとても苦しかった。回復だけをお願いいたします。
スミコは零時にほとんど私の商品を詰めました。
オサムとタカシはジョ―とスティ－ブンにテ―プの箱をくれました。
1月23日、1982年
♦ ♦ ♦
Phone bill (International call on Dec 23, 1981)
6 min
Return Gifts 365
日記帳
Diary I started in Japan on Jan. 1st 1982 till I returned home on Jan 23, 1982
◊ ◊ ◊
Funeral Expense Return Gifts 365
OKOHDEN 12/24 ¥ 1,338,500
(Monetary Gift) 12/25 ¥ 615,000 Plus
more
Fresh Flower or Wreath ¥ 14,4,000
(4) (12)
Fruits, Tea
(1) (1- ¥12,000)
1 Fresh Flower From us
¥7,000
Funeral Expense ¥ 870,688
(Food ¥170,000)
(Temple ¥150,000)
Prayer ¥130,000)
Plus taxi fee ¥20,000
memorial service
7th day
14th day
21 day
35
49— end of mourning
100
1 year
3rd year
7 “
13 “
17 “
23 “
37 “
◊ ◊ ◊
お父さん 昭和26年9月7日死亡
お母さん 昭和56年12月23日死亡
Jan. 7th
Jan 7th 1982
For Osamu and Takashi, it was their last day of their vacation. After I cleaned breakfast dishes I went to Fujidana, bought a writing pad (¥300) (wow!), bought 4 books. (ASUKA, KONOKOO NOKOSHITE, ETC). It was real windy and cold. I bought some ready made cutlets, etc for lunch. When I returned Sumiko said mother always complained about me going so long, if she is here she would say “I wonder if she went to America for shopping?” about you. Washed my hair for the first time since I came. Sure feel good as I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Jan 15th, 1982
It was “Seijin-no-hi” so it was national holiday. I woke up about 8. I didn’t want to make noise so I washed up and I was burning incense stick when Sumiko came down.
After breakfast she went to see Kiyoko. She knew Hiroji will come to see Kiyoko as she did shopping too and came back with him. Hiroji and Kenji got together to fill up lables for return gifts. Kenji took his home, Hiroji worked till after 8:15. Sumiko offered for him to eat here but he said that he has to go home as he need drink so he left. Sumiko made fried oyster and shrimp for supper. It was delicious. Kiyoko will come home tomorrow for week-end.
When Hiroji was leaving about 8:20 P.M. There was ice on top of his car.
Jan. 17th, 1982
Last night Sumiko, Mitoko and I talked until after 4:30. I slept with Mitoko and Kiyoko. I got up about 7:00. After we ate breakfast I helped Sumiko. We went to Otera about 12:30, we all went by car but Yasukawasan and kids walked. The service was very sad and short. Kiyoko even did Oshohke which made me cry. Then we went to graveyard – I carried my mother’s ashes since Hiroji had to drive. It was really sad to see care taker place her ashes under stone. I really realize she is gone. I came before the group so I can help Sumiko to ser prepare any service food. Johnnie said he won’t call so we went to bed about 10:30. Since we ate Osushi, etc, etc, all afternoon. Sumiko woke me up around 12:30 AM because Johnnie called. He called from Sonny’s house.
We placed my mother’s ashes into grave yard.
Sumiko gave me KOZARA’s used to belong my mother as KATAMI
Jan 22, 1982
Today I had planned to go see Kiyoko early but Sumiko said she will also go so we decided to go in the afternoon. While I was cleaning kitchen Sumiko was asleep sitting by table after breakfast. Later I got real sleepy and I did same thing.
We went to Takashimaya and I bought green teas’ for the one gave Okohden, also Kikuo and and Tae’s. Plus I picked some mochigashi and hoshigaki (at Fujidana on our way home) From there we went to see Kiyoko by subway. It was really hard for me as I knew it was the last time I see her till next time I come back. I just pray for her recovery.
Sumiko packed my stuffs for me till almost mid-nite.
Osamu and Takashi gave Joe and Steven a pkg of tapes.
Jan 23, 1982
Emiko Montoya (1931-2021), born Emiko Ogawa (小川 恵美子), was a first generation (issei/一世) Japanese American immigrant. She met Johnnie Montoya in Okinawa during the US occupation after WWII. They wed in 1956 and moved to the United States shortly after. At some point, she came to consider the United States “home”, and trips to return to Japan to see her extended family were visits as opposed to a return home. She was an avid reader, and collected an extensive body of Japanese and English literature. After spending over ten years moving across the United States to various military bases that her husband Johnny was stationed at, she settled in Seaside, California with her husband and children, where she remained for the rest of her days.
David Montoya is a student studying media, design and Japanese. He is strongly interested in connecting his language studies with his heritage and the arts. He wants to learn more about his family history as he has been largely disconnected from them other than his grandmother. He has worked with classmates to create Japanese language instructional videos on cooking Japanese cuisine and analyzed the usage of role language in manga with Kyoko Masuda, head professor of the Japanese program at Georgia Tech. David is currently at Georgia Institute of Technology in the Ivan Allen School of Liberal Arts. In his free time he rock climbs.
Lyra Montoya is a performance artist whose practice explores fragmentation and breakage of the artistic medium in performance via improvisation and open form sound art. Her work explores queer and mixed identity as parallel performances of the diaspora and anaphora of sociocultural convention. The associated breakage of these forms of performance in identity and art and the artistic medium are emphasized through mixed/ inter/ transmedia forms of writing, visual arts, and sound art mixed media in the sites of translation and poetics. She is currently a Ph.D student in the Integrative Studies program at UC San Diego.
Translator’s Note This is a translation of our late grandmother Emiko’s journal from a return visit to Japan for her mother’s (our great grandmother’s) funeral in 1982. She wrote this journal in English, despite Japanese being her first language, as well as the only language of many of the family members she mentions that she was in contact and dialogue with during the duration of this visit. With that in mind, the quotations and dialogue that she transcribes in English are already translations from Japanese into English in her journaling process. We have then translated our grandmother’s journal back into Japanese. It is not fully clear who her intended audience is for the journal. Even if English at some point became her primary language, explanations of “Seijin no Hi” as a national holiday are unnecessary if she herself is also the intended audience. We speculate that this journal was intended for her husband and children back in the United States, explaining both the use of English language, as well as explanation of Japanese cultural elements.
We have minimal materials of her writing in Japanese to reference for style, and neither of us are fully fluent in Japanese. As a result, this translation is a speculative and fabulative account of how she may have written in Japanese. This fictive account and retranslation explores the similarly imaginative nature of diasporic connection to a given heritage, especially when said heritage is effaced and ablated through the promised melting pot of the American Dream™. The translation process was also a method of connecting with this diasporic heritage through further learning and familiarization with the Japanese language. Specific words and nuances became apparent during the translation process, and numerous lessons on Japanese grammar were consulted for the de/reconstruction of the sentences. Google translate and word editing software were used to check translations and grammar of sentences, and accordingly, the models for conventional Japanese make themselves apparent in these translations. To the extent that our memory is trustworthy, our grandmother Emiko spoke in a more archaic fashion than what is commonplace now. We knowingly present an anachronistic translation of her diary as we are incapable of doing otherwise. Algorithmic processes of language correction through word processors and translation are ubiquitous and seemingly saturate the medium of writing in the form of word processors. Their influence is apparent across all languages, but Japanese in particular finds itself bound to algorithmic expectation through the method of input that moves from phonetic sound to common and likely combinations of kana and kanji characters (ex. aoi →あおい → 青い) making it so that the input methods demonstrate their (statistically founded) biases and expectations in a more overt manner than input in English.
The journal itself is a small notebook, and each journal entry is confined (mostly) to a single page within the notebook. We first transcribed the text from the cursive text upon the journal pages to a word document, after which selected diary entries were translated from English into Japanese. One of the most curious features in the notebook is in its disjointed use of English writing (read horizontally left to right, lines proceeding top to bottom) in a notebook designed for Japanese text (read vertically top to bottom, lines proceeding from right to left). On the first page, this tension comes to a head: Emiko initially writes in the orientation of the page (the two lines detailing dates of both of her parents’ deaths and the incomplete date of Jan. 7th) before turning the book counterclockwise to orient it horizontally, with the cover opening upwards so that the vertical lines are now oriented horizontally for her to write in English. This is not something we attempted to convey in the text document. We similarly made no attempt to fully and faithfully recreate the formatting of side notes above and to the left of the main body of text for the archived days or how she scrunches lines together to keep lengthening journal entries to fit onto a single page. Our father (Joseph Montoya) has made scans of the journal that show these qualities, but that archival medium also fails in other ways: the imprint of the pen upon the paper is lost, as is the loosening of the sewn binding of the journal itself in the scanned image. Emiko chose to write this journal in English, and the English language as well as her American citizenry and in/enculturation were central to her concept of connecting and communicating with her family, and us as her grandchildren by extension in the uninstantiated nonexistence we occupied over a decade prior to our births. Our attempt to translate this journal into Japanese is a similar attempt to connect and communicate back with her.