Kazuko Yamasaki wears a kimono and obi. The traditional Japanese dress
appeals to Yamasaki, who has an interest in preserving Japanese history
and culture, all the while making it accessible and relevant to modern
Americans. She's here on behalf of an exchange program through the
Halifax County school system. For talks or demonstrations, she may be
reached at (434) 471-1059 or kyamasaki@halifax.k12.va.us.


Kazuko Yamasaki is here to BE Japanese, which, fortunately for her,
comes easily.
Over the next two years, Yamasaki will be out and about doing things
like serving sushi, demonstrating calligraphy and folding paper
origami-style.
She'll be easy to recognize: Not only is hers among the few Asian faces
in Halifax County, she's probably the only lady in a kimono. (Yamasaki
has plenty of contemporary clothes but a soft spot for the traditional
Japanese robe.)
All of which begs the question, What is Yamasaki DOING here?
She's the Japanese Outreach Initiative coordinator for Virginia, based
within the Halifax County Public Schools with an office in the new
South Boston Elementary.
The Outreach is designed and funded by The Laurasian Institution and
the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. The former is a
private group based in Seattle ("Opening doors to international
education and understanding"); the latter is a function of the Japanese
government ("to promote mutual understanding between the United States
and Japan on contemporary social issues"). She's here thanks to a grant
won by the school system, and she's the first Japanese Outreach person
to work primarily within a school.
Now, Yamasaki has no Japanese industry success secrets to share, no
cutting-edge high-tech skills to impart - she's just here to introduce
those of us in this part of the world to her fascinating country and
its language.
With a warm personality and a bright smile,
she's sure to win fans for the Land of the Rising Sun - the country
that gave the world cultured pearls, Honda, Sony and Pokémon.
And it helps that she doesn't mind being stared at in a kimono.
Yamasaki laughs a lilting laugh, remembering the kitschy Disney World
ride, It's A Small World - "And getting smaller and smaller," she says.
"I want them to know that people are the same, everywhere; most of the
things we do are the same," she says. At the same time, she'd like us
to know the rich history and traditions of Japan - some of it developed
through years of self-imposed isolation.
"To be honest, I would like to share this kind of knowledge with the
Japanese, too," she said, with another laugh.
Prosperity and western influences have led modern Japanese to forget
their heritage.
Back to the kimono.
"In daily life, everyday, this is not how we're dressing," she insists.
But, "it's a pity, 95 percent of kimono-related industries are lost"
due to changing styles.
The aftermath of World War II saw a precipitous drop in kimono-wearing.
The 1970s brought a small revival, and today a faint second revival is
underway. It's Yamasaki's way of keeping history and culture alive in a
single, visual statement.
If the past is one interest, the future is another: Environmentalism is
an equal passion.
Already, at the home of her hosts, Logan and Carolyn Young, she's
folded, origami-style, plastic shopping bags into small triangles to be
tucked into a purse or pocket for re-use.
In a small island-nation like Japan, "we see the results of what we
have done to nature," she says.
Indeed, Japan's energy consumption is quite frugal for a first-world
country, according to the International Energy Agency. All this without
a domestic oil supply and without sacrificing its prosperous standard
of living.
But the wide-open spaces of the U.S. give Americans the luxury of not
seeing the toll their profligacy takes. "You have such a huge land and
such a huge amount of green and trees that it's hard for you to notice
the damage," she says.
Back home in Otsu, a city of about 300,000, she and her husband founded
a group that preserves a nearby forest.
And about that husband so far away?
She laughs sweetly again.
"He's pretty busy," she says, in retirement. "And the expected lifetime
is getting longer."
There's also the issue of Japanese patriarchy: Japanese guys just don't
lift a finger around the house, her husband included.
In fact, that's one several surprises she's encountered since her
arrival in August: One is that husbands here share domestic chores.
In her host family, "Logan really works hard with the housekeeping,"
she says, eyes large. "Without being asked."
(When her own son, now grown, was tall enough to scoop his own rice out
of a central bowl, her husband reprimanded him, "You are a boy; you
can't do that.")
Other American surprises: spray butter, the number of Japanese autos
and space: big beds, big rooms, "Everything is big," she says.
In the school, her agenda has yet to be determined. She hopes to teach
Japanese phrases and customs, and she adores children.
"Even a little thing like Christmas is really different," she says.
Yamasaki, who is in her early 60s, has a resume that includes years of
work for the Osaka Chamber of Commerce (often dealing with visitors
from overseas), work for the British Consulate and as a teacher of
English and Japanese to kids and adults.
Since her arrival, Yamasaki has charmed the Youngs, who are currently
providing her with accommodations.
Carolyn Young's best story is of serving a Southside summertime staple:
the tomato sandwich. So mesmerized was Yamasaki that she ran upstairs
to get her camera.
Yamasaki may turn the tables when she presents her hosts with a
Japanese delicacy: sushi, better known as raw fish.
Yamasaki is eager to speak to groups and classes.
"I should be very happy; that's what I'm here for," she says. She may
be reached at (434) 471-1059 or kyamasaki@halifax.k12.va.us.