Shizuko Kobayashi remembers being attacked more than 20 years ago, right after she moved to Santa Fe. The Japanese native was walking down Alto Street when a couple of children threw rocks at her and yelled, "Chinos, go home!"

Kobayashi took it as a misunderstanding. She said she didn't get mad; she assumed the kids couldn't tell a Chinese person from a Japanese.

"It all came down to those kids not understanding or not knowing the Japanese culture," Kobayashi said.

The "not knowing" is something Kobayashi is trying to change. It's one reason why Santa Fe JIN was created three years ago.

Santa Fe JIN is a Santa Fe-based nonprofit organization that shares all the aspects of the Japanese culture with Santa Feans. JIN is an English acronym for Japanese Intercultural Network, but it also means "person" in Japanese.

Kobayashi realized her own children and the children of her friends didn't know much about the Japanese culture.

"They are being raised in an American culture, so how could they know?" asked Kobayashi, the organization's president. "They know how to speak Japanese, and they have been to Japan several times, but they don't know their culture."

Kobayashi's efforts to organize JIN were joined by Michael Smith, whose ancestry is one-fourth Japanese. Smith's family traveled to the U.S. more than 60 years ago and settled in Colorado, where they could buy farmland.

Smith never knew the culture of his ancestors growing up. He approached Kobayashi with the idea of uniting the Japanese in Santa Fe.

"I wanted to meet the Japanese in town," said Smith, Santa Fe JIN's vice president. "Because they really assimilate in Santa Fe, they don't really group together."

The pair came up with the idea of holding a matsuri, or festival. The 2005 festival was held at Toby Roybal Gymnasium on the Santa Fe High School campus. The next festival is April 14 at the Santa Fe Rodeo grounds.

"We wanted to show our children and the city of Santa Fe our culture, so that there is a mutual understanding," Kobayashi said.

Along with the festival, Santa Fe JIN sponsors several other projects and fundraisers throughout the year. The organization, which is open to the public, meets once a month at Santa Fe Wild Oats' community room. The monthly meetings consist of free conversational Japanese classes, Japanese cooking classes and Japanese storytelling for younger members.

"We have had all kinds of Japanese art available at the festival," Smith said. "At the last festival, we had several vendors who made Japanese pottery, drawings, clothing and ceramics."

Last year's event included Zen archery, traditional dances and a performance by Smoking Bachi, a local Japanese-style drum group.

The organization also has a silent auction at the festival to fund an exchange program. A scholarship fund was set up allowing American students to travel to Japan for about two weeks to learn more about the culture. Japanese children come to the U.S. through the same program.

Kobayashi said the exchange is through Santa Fe's sister community of Tsuyama, Japan.

"The students would come and stay with families here for 10 days," Smith said. "At the end of their stay, we'll put on a party and the children will perform songs for us. The American students who go to Japan also get the opportunity to study and learn more about Japanese culture firsthand."

Santa Fe JIN wants to set up a network to allow Japanese artists to present their work in Santa Fe.

"We want to build a bridge between Japanese artists and people and Santa Fe," Kobayashi said. "We want to be supportive of the artists that we bring, get the word out about when they have gallery openings and get them some exposure."

There are long-range plans for Santa Fe JIN to have its own building to serve as a cultural center full of books and videos on Japanese culture.

"Hopefully, we can make that happen," Kobayashi said. "But it takes money and it takes time."

To learn more about Santa Fe JIN, go online to www.santafejin.org or call 471-9022.

Contact Todd Bailey at 986-3088 or at tbailey@sfnewmexican.com.

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By Todd Bailey, The Santa Fe New Mexican, copyright 2006
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