‘It’s happening again’: Shofuso vandalism awakened generational trauma, community support

It was a typical Wednesday morning when members of the nonprofit JapanAmerica Society of Greater Philadelphia (JASGP) started their day at the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden three months ago. But amid the traditional Japanese architecture and blossoming garden that typically greet the group in Fairmount Park was destruction: Wooden panels were pried off their hinges, the sliding fusuma interior doors were kicked in, and the stunning mural — valued at $2 million — inside the house was damaged.

It was hard for the group’s thoughts to not immediately jump to conclusions. With a surge in anti-Asian discrimination and violence over the past few years, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, this seemed to be yet another unfortunate incident — targeting the only physical space in Philadelphia rooted in Japanese culture and tradition.

» READ MORE: Shofuso House reopens Friday after closing because of vandalism, and reports a new theft incident

“We have no evidence to suggest that it was hate-related,” said Rob Buscher, associate director of organizational culture at JASGP. “But you can see how it would still have the effect of making a community feel targeted in a moment like this.”

After the initial shock wore off, the group’s focus became the future: How do they garner support from the community and the city as they restore this historic space? How do they share knowledge about the significance of Shofuso? And how do they make sure this doesn’t happen again?

The coronavirus pandemic is just the latest in a long history of incidents that have sparked a wave of hate crimes targeting the AAPI community — particularly the Japanese community.

During World War II, the U.S. government began a roundup of people of Japanese descent, ultimately incarcerating roughly 120,000 people — two-thirds of whom were American citizens — in camps the community refers to as American concentration camps, rejecting the term internment camp. In the aftermath of their forced removal, thousands of Japanese Americans began moving from the West Coast to resettle in Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: More than 9,000 anti-Asian incidents have been reported in the U.S. since the pandemic began, group says

“From the very beginning, I think people saw Shofuso as an important piece of culture that in many ways had been forcibly stripped from them during those war years,” Buscher said.

The Shofuso house was designed by Japanese architect Junzo Yoshimura in 1953 for an exhibit of modern architecture at the Museum of Modern Art — Yoshimura argued at the time that traditional Japanese architecture was in and of itself modern, and designed the 17th-century home for the exhibit.

But reassembled in Philadelphia in 1957, challenges plagued the building.

A series of vandalism incidents targeted Shofuso in the ‘60s and ‘70s, exacerbated by a lack of resources devoted by the city, which owned the property. It wasn’t until the Japanese government threatened to take the Shofuso house back that the city finally worked with the local Japanese American community to fundraise for restoration work on the house. Friends of the House and Garden was established as a 501(c)(3) by the ‘80s, and over the next two decades many community members who had themselves experienced wartime incarceration got involved with Shofuso — offering a way to explore, embrace, and celebrate their culture in an active reclamation of what had been taken from them.

“This is the place you can feel and experience Japan, you come to the house and look at the garden, you feel like you are in Kyoto.”

“The Japanese American community saw Shofuso, especially in that era, as a really necessary part of their movement for redress and for recognition as American citizens who had gone through that very racist ordeal during World War II,” Buscher said.

But the house and garden have continued to serve that purpose for following generations of Japanese descendants, and more recent immigrants from Japan. Shofuso has provided a space for the children and grandchildren of immigrants to be proud of being Japanese, and for immigrants themselves to feel more at home.

“Suppose I just came from Japan for a business assignment, or relocated here as a student,” said Kazumi Teune, executive director of JASGP. “This is the place you can feel and experience Japan, you come to the house and look at the garden, you feel like you are in Kyoto.”

Generations of trauma in the Japanese American community were unlocked when the vandalism was discovered at Shofuso in June.

“There’s always been a sort of fear among Japanese Americans that somehow our community is going to be blamed again for something,” said Buscher.

When Shofuso got vandalized, thoughts immediately went to that space, particularly among the elders: “Oh no, it’s happening again.”

“We want to be recognized as the integral fabric of this nation and this city.”

For some, that constant fear led them to distance themselves from the culture, bringing on a wave of assimilation where the language ceased to be spoken even at home, to avoid putting a target on their backs.

“There’s a push and pull between those who have been here for generations and want to be seen as American, and have a history of radicalized trauma from how this U.S. government treated them,” said Romana Lee-Akiyama. “We want to be recognized as the integral fabric of this nation and this city.”

In some ways, Shofuso offers exactly that by encouraging cross-cultural connection. But Lee-Akiyama also stressed the importance of getting the community to understand the deeper history of the AAPI community in America without being limited to cultural iconic institutions.

The initial responses to the vandalism also contributed to feelings of othering. The police took seven hours to show up to Shofuso after the vandalism report was made — they were told that one officer drove by and thought it was a restaurant.

While the city has offered Friends of the House and Garden a one-time $26,000 grant for security, the group will need to have sustained support for security over multiple years. On top of that, the estimated cost of restoring and securing Shofuso is another $75,000. A crowdfunding campaign has so far garnered support from 330 people, raising just over $27,000 for the historic site.

“The good news about this negative instance is that we realized how supportive other organizations are, including the City of Philadelphia and other Japan-related organizations,” said Teune. “They all helped us and asked their members to help us. That was very moving and I’m truly grateful about their support.”