February 23, 2025
JACCC Aratani Theater
When I asked Julie if she wanted to see an opera about a Japanese family in an internment camp, she said, “Hisato is in it. It will be good.” And it was good…once I got over the weirdness of an opera in English.
The theater is located in the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo. I have spent a fair amount of time Downtown, but not much time in Little Tokyo. I debated driving and parking but in the end, I decided to have an adventure and take the train. With the opening of the K line, I have a train stop relatively close to my house. I could walk there if I had to, but it would be a long walk past some less than ideal areas. Luckily, my husband was willing to drop me off. In anticipation of this trip, I bought a digital TAP card and managed to add it to my watch. If you have an Apple Watch I highly recommend doing this. It just makes it so easy to tap – you don’t have to get your phone out or hunt for a card – it’s just there on your wrist ready to go. There was a CicLAvia event in West Adams that day and it seemed like most of the people on the K line were going to it. I had to change to the E line at the end of the K line and for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to take the stairs rather than the escalator. I regretted it almost immediately, but I made it. The transition was easy and I exited that train in Little Tokyo and got on an A train for one stop to Union Station (singing Take The A Train to myself the whole way). The hardest part of the trip was figuring out how to get out of Union Station. I eventually managed it and even made it to Olvera Street before Julie. Yes, we wanted Olvera Street taquitos on a day we were going to see an opera in Little Tokyo. And yes, they were very good.
After lunch we hopped back on the A train for the quick trip back to Little Tokyo and had a little time to wander and grab mochi. Even still we were early for the opera. Better too early than too late, am I right? We waited in the lobby until they opened the house and found our seats easily. The Aratani is a fairly good sized theater, but not huge.
The set was sparse and unfinished looking. It worked. The story begins in the home of the Shimono family as they are being evacuated to a camp (in the program they explain the difference between relocation centers and concentration or incarceration camps and choose the stronger language to reflect what actually happened to the Japanese Americans force into them). The father is arrested on suspicion of spying so the rest of the family must go to the camp without him. In the next scene, some time has passed and the family has settled into their new life and then the father returns. There is some drama about missing sugar and the trials and tribulations in the camp. The older daughter meets a boy who wants to join the military and the father disapproves. Meanwhile the younger daughter catches a cough that gets worse and worse (you can see where that’s going – it’s an opera). The story bounces between the difficulties the father faces at work, the mother trying to curl her hair and look pretty, the older daughter’s romance and the younger daughter’s illness (and eventual death). There is a “commentator” who introduces each scene, but since it’s in English, it’s pretty easy to follow along. The cast was wonderful. All were accomplished singers and actors. Habin Kim, who played the younger doomed daughter was especially wonderful. The music was a nice blend of what you would expect from an opera and traditional Japanese music. If there was a weakness, it was with the libretto which could have used some polishing. Since it was presented in conjunction with the JACCC, they made it as educational as possible with information and resources to learn more about the camps in the program and a post show conversation with a concentration camp survivor. We did not stay for the post show conversation because I wanted to get home before dark. Who wants to be on a train in L.A. after dark?