Nikkei Manor: Our Partnership with a Japanese Retirement Center

Each fall the 2-3 classes begin a yearlong intergenerational relationship with the Japanese elders who live and gather at Nikkei Manor in Seattle’s International District. Our 2-3 Class began visiting Nikkei Manor two years ago as part of a Community Service and Oral History Project. We have been invited back each year to continue sharing stories, singing songs, and exchanging customs. Nikkei Manor is barely two years old and serves as a retirement home as well as a cultural gathering place for Japanese elders who live in the community.

As part of our 2-3 program we travel to Nikkei Manor every other Monday afternoon, leaving at 1pm and returning before school is over. During the first year of the partnership, we interviewed the elders about their lifetime of Balancing two different cultures while living in America. We also shared in a Japanese tea ceremony, tried the intricate art of origami and learned to count in Japanese and more. Last year, we documented each elder’s lifetime Odyssey—from Japan to America to Seattle. We wrote, photographed and videotaped our visits.