Oral History Program Tomono Adachi Interviewed by Consuelo Lopez 1 April 2022 Oral History Program Weber State University Stewart Library Ogden, Utah Tomono Adachi Interviewed by Consuelo Lopez 1 April 2022 Copyright © 2025 by Weber State University, Stewart Library Mission Statement The Oral History Program of the Stewart Library was created to preserve the institutional history of Weber State University and the Davis, Ogden and Weber County communities. By conducting carefully researched, recorded, and transcribed interviews, the Oral History Program creates archival oral histories intended for the widest possible use. Interviews are conducted with the goal of eliciting from each participant a full and accurate account of events. The interviews are transcribed, edited for accuracy and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewees (as available), who are encouraged to augment or correct their spoken words. The reviewed and corrected transcripts are indexed, printed, and bound with photographs and illustrative materials as available. The working files, original recording, and archival copies are housed in the University Archives. Project Description The Weber State College/University Student Projects have been created by students working with several different professors on the Weber State campus. The topics are varied and based on the student's interest or task for a specific assignment. These oral history assignments were created to help Weber State students learn the value and importance of recording public history and to benefit the expansion of the Weber State oral history collections. ____________________________________ Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account. It reflects personal opinion offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ____________________________________ Rights Management This work is the property of the Weber State University, Stewart Library Oral History Program. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Adachi, Tomono, an oral history by Consuelo Lopez, 1 April 2022, WSU Stewart Library Oral History Program, University Archives, Stewart Library, Weber State University, Ogden, UT. Abstract: The following is an oral history interview with Tomono Adachi conducted over Zoom by Consuelo Lopez on April 1, 2022. Tomono discusses the differences between Japanese and American culture and how she became a Japanese language teacher. Alexis Stokes is also on the call. Note: Active listening, transitions in dialogue (such as “um,” “so” “you know,” etc.), and false starts in conversations are not included in transcription for ease of reading. All additions to transcript noted with brackets. CL: Okay, I am here on April 1, 2022 at 1:30. We are interviewing Tomono Adachi from where she is and I am at Stewart Library. I'm Consuelo Lopez, and assisting me is Alexis Stokes. To begin, tell us a little bit about when and where you were born, Tomono-Sensei? [Japanese for “teacher”] TA: Okay, I'm from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Did you ask me when? CL: Yeah. TA: Okay. 1982, so about 40 years ago, yes. CL: I see. Why don't you tell us a little bit about growing up and your childhood? TA: So, you know, my name, Tomono. "Tomo" is a friend and "No" is wild. My parents both met in the hiking club. They like hiking and they met each other in the club, so they put my name as friend of the wild. When I grow up, every weekend they took me to the mountain. So like, when they have a big holiday or something, normal classmate went to like Disneyland in Tokyo or those amusement park, but I was in the mountains. I didn't realize it kind of strange or weird or anything, but now it's like, hmm. It's been an interesting childhood life. So yeah, I was in the mountain normally. 1 CL: Growing up in Sapporo, how was that like compared to the rest of Japan? Was it different? TA: I think so, but I didn't grow up in the other area, so it's hard to compare. Sapporo is pretty new, like America, I can say. It’s after the Meiji period. So, everything is modern than other, like Kyoto or Nara or very historic towns. So, the road is wide, like American wide, and since it's a snowy town, we have a more wider road like Utah. So, it's not like the typical Japanese town that other people imagine. It's not like a small, tiny house put in together. We have a backyard, front yard, big road. We can hang out outside a lot when we are kids. I went to kindergarten by myself by foot. But other area I heard, road is very narrow and it's kind of dangerous, so the mom or dad took the kids to the elementary school or junior high school. Yes, so I think I had more freedom in Sapporo. CL: I see. That was interesting. How was school life like? TA: Is this elementary school or junior high or anything? CL: Just in general. TA: Just in general. I cannot compare, but we have wide school property than the other, like the Tokyo area or Kyoto area. We have very big, like a soccer field, track field, the tennis court, so we can do many things outside. In the wintertime, they make a huge snow mountain in the school ground and we can ski there. So, it's very outdoor friendly, I can say. Yeah, and school… I'm not sure about the American school. It's very typical Japanese school, I think. Yeah, I went to the public school up to high school. CL: Okay. Where did you go to high school? 2 TA: Everything is like walking distance from my house. So, the elementary school is three minutes by foot, junior high school five minutes by foot, and high school was like 20 minutes by foot. Because, you know, it's snowy in Sapporo in the wintertime, so if I use bicycle or something to get to school, in wintertime we can't use a bicycle, so it should be close enough to commute. CL: All right. Where did you go to college? TA: After I graduated high school from Sapporo, I applied for the USU. I studied for three years in USU. That time, I already wanted to be a Japanese teacher. That time, I was going to teach elementary school or junior high school here. So, I picked elementary school education, but I found out I didn't know about how to teach Japanese. I did like a tutoring, volunteer thing in USU, and I found out, oh, I didn't know anything. So, I took the entrance exam in foreign language university in Kyoto, then I transferred it to the third grade of the university. Then I spent two years in undergrad, then I entered master program for two years in Kyoto. CL: Oh, okay. Going back a little bit, what made you want to become a Japanese teacher? TA: When? CL: No, why? TA: Why? Okay. It was interesting when I found out why, but the official reason is I went to Australia when I was second grade of junior high school. It was like, two weeks homestaying summer program, I think. Then I just like talking to the foreign people. It was first time visiting overseas, and I picked Australia because 3 it's kinda—you can see, it's just south of Japan, so no time difference. So, it was easy. Then found out Australia has many Japanese-learner population. My host family had three children, and they were studying Japanese. So, I checked their school and I met the Japanese teacher. Then I knew, oh, there is Japanese language teacher. That was first time. So, then I interested in the Japanese teacher. I think since then I say, oh, I want to be a Japanese teacher someday. However, I have a younger brother who has handicap. His brain is about seven, six years old. So, since he was born, I helped him learning like hiragana, katakana, or like easy algebra, saying how to read the clocks, how to count the eggs, something like that. But it was almost like my fundamental of teaching, how to teach Japanese, because he cannot—sometimes he can understand one way, but the other day he can't understand, so I have to switch how to teach. Then I have to try many things. So, it's like, oh, I can use my knowledge experience in the Japanese language teaching field. CL: That's pretty sweet. Okay. How long have you been in America? TA: So, I spent three years in USU, then I went back to Japan, finished master, and I worked in other association stuff. Then I came back to USU to teach for two years, and this is the seventh year here in Weber. So, please calculate [laughs]. Three years undergrad, two years USU, seven years in Weber. CL: I think that's about 12 years. TA: I think so. I didn't calculate. CL: Seven, plus two years, and then the three years... TA: Undergrad. 4 CL: Yeah, so that'd be about 12 years. That’s a long time in the States. About that, what do you think of American culture from what you've seen in your time here in the United States? TA: Oh, in general? CL: In general, yeah. TA: Oh, that's a wide question. Is it like when I came here first time, or like what I feel right now? CL: Let’s do it when you came here the first time and then how you feel right now, how ‘bout that? Sorry, it wasn't a very well [worded] question. TA: You know, in Japan, we watch Disney, or Hollywood movie, and we listen to the American music, so we have some ideas already in Japan. But it's more like Hollywood, or like New York, Los Angeles, those big towns’ culture. It's not like Utah. Especially I was in Logan, so it's a very small country town, so it's not same as what I expected. The college student I saw in the—I watched Beverly Hills when I was high school, so that was my image of the American around 20 years old. Then I went to USU, and I was like, “Hmm, it doesn't look like the same as the Beverly Hills people. The people wears pajamas in the school sometimes if they just woke up.” It's not like good or bad, was just like, oh, what I saw in Japan is not real here. So, there are many surprise at the first year. When I came to USU the first time, that was the year the 9/11 happened. I came to USU May of that year, then September, that happened. That time I was still in ESL, so I couldn't understand. Like first two, three hours I thought it was movie on the TV or something. Before that, I didn't feel anything, but after that, I 5 don't understand what the people said, but I understand some... How to say... The eyes from other people changed, like to the international student in general. So, it was kind of first time I felt, oh, this is the—not like discrimination or anything to me, but it's like, “Oh, there is international, like alien.” Yeah. [Shakes head] Anything scary or anything bad happened to me, but it does like, “Oh, this is America,” I kinda learned. CL: You said that was your first year, right? Your first year in America? TA: Yes. I was living in dorm, and I have two American housemates. They are pretty nice. They explained to me about the 9/11, and they mention that maybe you should be careful a little bit, but I didn't understand why or how. So, yeah. Then past two, three years we had pandemic, right? And I almost forgot about those things after the 9/11. Then like two years ago the pandemic happened, then it was towards the more Asian people specifically. So, yeah, it was kind of tough. Yeah, I don't know it's about culture, but yeah, I felt it all very American. CL: Sorry, give me a minute, I'm writing notes. So, going back to a little bit more culture, we’re going to shift more on the Japanese side. This is almost kind of same question as with the American culture, but what are your impressions of Japanese culture? What do you think of it so far? You can take your time, you're fine. TA: So, you know, people don't think about their own culture until you leave the culture. Yeah, because it is like, always like that. Then once you leave and when you come back to Japan, or think about Japanese culture like, oh, it's kind of 6 interesting. I have a lot those moment after I came to U.S. Then I kind of found out my family is not very typical family, either. You know, Japan is island, small island, so everything is close together, everyone living really close, so they have to be very polite, think about each other always. Sometimes it's very good, people are very nice, quiet, nice and not stinky, something like that. But here, people care, but not same. So, like, at the school, the people, sometimes they are standing at the stairs talking, then they don't move, even [though] you are going up or down, right. Sometimes you have to say, “Excuse me,” or something. In Japan we can't, because it's narrow. We have to, like, “Oh, we shouldn't be here. Let's talk over here,” or something like that. But here you don't have to, and it's okay because it's wide enough. Those kind of small things I noticed after like several times of going back and coming back and, I was like, “Oh, it's not the same.” And... what was the question? CL: Oh, just like— TA: The Japanese culture? CL: Yeah. Then like the second part, like, how you think it is, like… I'm trying to formulate how to put the question, sorry. TA: Yeah, so they think about other people a lot in Japan. That's good. However, people care too much sometimes. For example, my husband is in Japan, and the close family, like his sister or mom or dad, of course they know I'm here. But they don't tell I'm here teaching by myself to the other relatives, because they are afraid of what other people might think. It's not very common saying—in Japan, 7 typical married couple, the woman is at the house, and even the woman is walking outside, of course they should be together. It's very rare situation for my case, so they don't want to tell the fact I'm here to other people, then they will talk about, “Oh, the family's wife is—" Then they have hard time to live in the area, especially they are living countryside. Those ones sometimes I like, “Who cares?” But here, we have many types of living. It's not very common, but yeah, we have many professors living kind of separately, or like a temporary living here in Salt Lake and husband is in a tenure track living overseas or something. So, sometimes Japanese culture feels very narrow, too narrow for me, and hard to express what I'm doing. It's sometimes even like taking—I have a master degree; it's very hard to say, because it's like, “Why you need a master degree if you get married?” It's not the same thing, right? Yeah, working at USA is... Yeah. CL: I'm gonna go back just a little bit to what you were saying that Japanese care a lot. I just want to ask, kind of along the lines of that question, like how—and we all saw this when it happened, but how was Japanese society affected by the Tohoku earthquake? Do you have any thoughts about that, or did you see anything about that? TA: Yeah, it's not only about the Tohoku earthquake, but when we get big disaster things, people take care each other very well. That's very nice thing, because they knew around your house very well. People knows, “Oh, that person living alone by herself, she's 80,” or something like that. They can easy to go there to ask if they are fine. Sometimes they don't lock the door. Especially older people, 8 they open the door for the neighbors, in case the person gets sick or something. Then the local people come and help her easily. Those trust and like taking care of each other are very good. I think that helps in the disaster situation a lot. Those cases, I think it's very good. Yes. CL: I know, I was just jotting down some notes about this. I think I just have a few more questions. This next question, feel free to just kind of be free with this question, but do you remember when the new era was announced, the new Reiwa Jidai [Japanese for “era”]? TA: [Speaking at same time] Oh, Reiwa? CL: Yeah. TA: Yes and no, because I was here. So, I saw the news and I saw the announcement too, but I didn't feel the era changed that much. Like driver's license, passport, those things we used… how to say, the regular year system, the Western system. Yeah, so I don't feel much difference, but my friends who are in Japan, they said it's very complicated because the government official papers still use the Reiwa and stuff, and not the Western year system. So, they are like counting the things sometimes. Yeah, only though, I think, the paper things, like bank account, those things people think, “Oh, the period changed.” But like emperor, he didn't die. We just changed it, so it's not like big. Normally we change the period name because the emperor died before, but not this time, so it was not like very sad or anything like that. It’s just, “Oh, he retired, and we just changed the period name.” So, it's [not] anything crazy. It's just more on the paper thing than the last time. 9 CL: Right. So, this next question again is a little bit general, but when did you learn like proper etiquette in Japan, like to be polite and everything? TA: I think it's very Japanese thing. We think it's the things family has to teach to kids. So, I think before five or four, they start to teach you how to, like, fold your clothes, or how to wash at least your dishes, and around the five or six, I start helping cooking. Yeah, we cut the things, we like do the stir-fry or something, but not like deep fry or something very dangerous. It’s very common thing in Japanese school, like cleaning bedrooms, toilet, hallway by themselves. Since we were kids we [were] taught how to clean the rooms by myself or with classmate. And if it's not clean enough, we have to do it again. We didn't think it's education or like etiquette education, but I'm sure it was. Maybe go outside with my family. I think here is the same, but the parents said, “You have to greet to the neighbors.” So, we have to say, "Ohaiyou goziamasu" [Japanese greeting for “Good morning”]. When we get something from other people, Mom said, "Say thank you" right? Those things, yeah, we have a lot, so we learned. Again, standing in the middle of the street or hallway, the parents or other—like, even stranger will say, “You shouldn't be there.” So, it's like more community things to tell the etiquette to the young kids. If they are too noisy outside after like 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. they come and tell the kids to be quiet or go home. Yeah, and sometimes it's very scary, because old gentleman came up and, "You guys are noisy.” 10 It's like, "Oh, I'm so sorry." But everything, I think it's education. CL: Right. I think that's all the questions I have for you today, actually. I know we finished a little early. TA: Good. Did I answer enough? AS: Tomono, I'm sorry, could I ask you a few questions? You started in 2015 at Weber State when you were teaching, is that right? TA: I think so. AS: Okay. Could I ask, what made you want to teach at Weber State? TA: I started teaching at the USU first, because when I was a student in USU, I helped the Japanese program there. The teacher at USU remembered me and once she has the adjunct position open, she called me and I got the position in USU for two years. Then, after two years, they made fulltime position instead of the adjunct position, and they had a new teacher. So, I was looking for the other school I can teach. Then that time I saw the Weber position, then I applied and I got the adjunct position for the two years, I think. Yes. AS: Awesome, thank you. Another question I have, were you encouraged to pursue an education as a child? TA: So, it's if I want to be a teacher? AS: Yeah, like university and then like master's program. TA: I think so. Yeah, just Japanese teacher. I didn't think about becoming a teacher in university, but… 11 AS: Gotcha. Then just for the record, just because we're going to house this in the University Archives, a question about the pandemic: what do you remember when the pandemic first started while you were teaching at Weber state? TA: So, the class, I didn't feel any big changes, except the in-person classes changed to the Zoom class, of course. But my student the same, and we didn't decrease the number of the student very much. But like in the life, we had it quite changed. Like, can I talk about those things? Yeah, so I had five housemate, they are from Japan or Taiwan or China, that time. Then, we are living near the campus. It's one of the university property that time. Then, pandemic happened, our neighbor came to our house and told our housemate to go back to China. So, that was like a shocking things. I don't know if the neighbor recognized me as a Japanese or university faculty, so she didn't tell me, but I'm not sure. But she specifically picked the Chinese student to go back to China today. Then we had to move out, because it's kind of dangerous situation. Yeah. So, we kicked out, and that was a little tough. AS: Yeah. Do you have any other questions, Connie? CL: I do not. I think I got all that I can, and I will use the information that you gave me in this paper to help me out. If you'd like, I can also give you a copy once it's done. TA: Yes, I want to. CL: I think that's it. Thank you again, Tomono-Sensei. 12