US MARINES JOIN CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE, HELP EXPAND LOCAL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS /米海兵隊員、異文化交流に参加し地域自治会拡大に貢献

Photo By Yoshie Makiyama | Shoei Uehara, an 88-year-old active jazz drummer, demonstrates stick spinning during a jazz performance.  

OKINAWA, JAPAN

05.01.2023

Story by Yoshie Makiyama 

Marine Corps Installations Pacific

When two communities with different cultures and languages share their borders, the differences in such can create barriers. One of the districts adjacent to two Marine bases in Okinawa has found an effective way to break down those barriers.

The Isa district of Ginowan City is next to Camp Foster and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. On Feb. 5, the district took advantage of its unique environment and held an event with the assistance of Marine volunteers to promote their association to its residents.

"The neighborhood association called us and asked if the Marines could participate in the event,” said Hiroko Tomimura, community relations specialist for Camps Foster and Lester. She immediately sent a notification via the Marine Corps' mass email, not wanting to miss out on this rare opportunity.

According to Tomimura, even before COVID-19, it was rare to receive invitations from the community. Especially after the outbreak, not only did it become more difficult for the Marines to enjoy life in Okinawa to the fullest, but it was even more difficult for them to interact with the local community.

A total of 78 residents, 20 adults and 58 children, attended the event, as well as 18 from the Marine Corps.

The event was organized by the Isa District Neighborhood Association Membership Promotion Committee. According to Makoto Tokashiki of Ginowan City's Civic Collaborations Division, the membership rate of neighborhood associations in Ginowan City has been declining year by year. When the city called for all of its districts to take part in a model project to promote participation in neighborhood associations, the Isa District came forward.

The Civic Collaborations Division and members of the neighborhood association worked together to come up with a plan to make the event special. They wanted a game to be something people of all ages can enjoy, and chose an Okinawan-born game "Dengry."

Dengry is an extension of the traditional game using "menko" which is made of cardboard or paper. It is one of Japan's classic toys and the most common way to play is to hit one's own “menko” against an opponent’s on the ground and to turn it over. According to Moritaka Oshiro, facilitator of dengry competition, a new style menko tournament was organized after being inspired by the problems children in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, faced after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2013. Oshiro and Eisho Higa, the Ishigaki native and the lead vocal of band Begin, developed new rules so to those children that lost places and opportunities for physical exercise can still enjoy, and named it "Dengry" from the town’s dialect "denguri-geru," which means "to turn over.”

Most of the Marines were not familiar with such a game. According to those few, a game called ”Pogs” is similar.

Before the dengry competition, Shoei Uehara, Iha resident, and his group performed Jazz music. As Uehara's drumming reached its climax, the Marines lifted their cell phones high in the air and began filming his performance. Uehara is an 88 year-old active jazz drummer, who has been a driving force of Okinawan jazz.

Hearing that the elderly drummer in front of them was a legend, the Marines' eyes lit up and admiration was expressed.

After the performance, the participants were divided into four blocks, with each block consisting of four teams of four members each. First, the local participants and the Marines worked together on a questionnaire in English that included self-introductions to get to know each other.

Ginko Urasaki, one of the committee members who proposed and carried out the idea of asking the Marines’ participation, said, "We took a survey at the last neighborhood association event and received requests to include English conversation activity. So I asked the Marines if they would volunteer to participate, since the bases are located nearby."

With only one Marine per team, Marine volunteers managed to answer questions from the local participants with their body language and hand gestures.

When the dengry competition began, the Marines looked lost at first since it was their first time seeing such a game. However, once they learned how to play, the Marines unified with their teammates and began to cheer with joy and excitement every time the score changed.

As it is said that the dengry is a game everyone can play a leading role such with small children winning over adults, when an elderly woman who was participating with her grandchildren defeated a Marine on points, everyone came together as one and enjoyed the competition.

Maj. Jacob R. Godby of Task Force 76/3, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, at White Beach, joined the event after receiving the email when he was looking for something to do with the community on a weekend.
He decided to participate because the program was about interacting with children.

Godby’s teammates were three girls. They spoke to him using hand gestures. The girls seemed to understand a little English, but Godby had little knowledge in Japanese language. “The girls were very interactive, and it was easy enough to understand what they were trying to say," said Godby.

“I have three daughters of similar ages. If I had known I could bring my children to this event, I would have. It could have been a good event for them to interact with local children,” Godby said.

The two members of the winning team were from the Ginowan City Oyama elementary school, both 12 years old. They had no idea that Marines would be participating. At first they were nervous, but they gradually got used to it and tried talking to their Marine teammate in Japanese and also using English words they knew, such as "sit down.”

Cpl. Jennifer Galicia, one of the members unable to participate in the dengry tournament due to the allocation of participants, said, "You don't have to participate in the games to interact with people in the community. I walked around the hall while everyone else was playing the games."

Galicia said that an elderly woman, who was watching the event like herself, spoke to her in Japanese, and tried to explain what was going on with gestures. They, then, played a bottle cap stacking game and the elder beat her, Galicia laughed.

"At first, I was very nervous because they could avoid us because we don’t know their culture and language,” Galicia said. “But they were very open and I really felt welcomed in this environment."

After the event, the Marine volunteers commented that it was a great opportunity to interact with a lot of local people and learn about other cultures. They exclaimed that it was something you don't normally get to do, and by working together, they can break down language barriers. They all expressed their appreciation and praise for those who planned and organized the event, saying that it was a simple game, easy to play, but the level of excitement was different.

"Although we asked the Marines to participate, at first we were worried how many Marines would show up or that they might not enjoy the event because they didn't know what the games would be like,” Urasaki said. “But they seemed to be used to volunteering and soon understood their roles and interacted positively with us, which was great." The adults in the local community who attended were surprised by the friendliness of the Marines, which was different from the image they had before, according to Urasaki.

“Today, the scene I envisioned came true. I want to give the children the opportunity to feel the excitement of what English they learned in school is understood by an actual foreigner," said Urasaki. I hope that through this opportunity, everyone will realize that they are people, each and every one of them is unique and different but people are people."

According to the Isa District Neighborhood Association, three families are going to join the association thanks to the Marines contributing to the event’s success.

• Date Taken: 05.01.2023
• Date Posted: 05.18.2023 00:02
• Story ID: 444908
• Location: OKINAWA, JP