Buckley blog: Ohio gozai masu (Good morning in Japanese)
5:28 AM May 30, 2008
On Sunday, a group of Japanese American news anchors, reporters and a sports anchor will receive Ambassador awards from the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC).
The recipients and their names are Japanese American. The recipients are David Ono and Rob Fukuzaki from KABC, Gordon Tokumatsu from KNBC and Susan Hirasuna from KTTV. And, me, Frank Buckley. Buckley?
I know. Buckley isn't exactly a traditional Japanese name. But yes, my mom is Japanese and I am proud of that part of my heritage. To be recognized by such an important institution in the Japanese American community is something I appreciate a great deal.
I haven't worn the Japanese side of myself on my sleeve and I didn't adopt my mom's Japanese surname as my professional name (as some of my friends have) because the name on my birth certificate, the name I was given, is Frank Buckley.
I am proud of who I am and I believe I'm richer for having two cultures (American and Japanese) in my background. I got to learn the customs and traditions of two countries. I learned two languages. In our home growing up, I enjoyed comfort foods from two countries that ranged from my dad's favorite pinto beans and cornbread to my mom's specialties like tonkatsu and curry rice.
I've been fortunate to be embraced by the Japanese American community in Southern California and I frequently donate my time to various non-profit organizations as a way of giving back.
Still, as a kid, being a person of mixed ethnicity was tough at times because people were always trying to put me into this category or that. At times, it was confusing.
We lived in Japan for a few years during my childhood and my parents like to tell a story that illustrated the confusion I experienced when I was four years old. I spoke Japanese with my mother, my grandmother and other relatives. There were Japanese people all around us. Everyone on TV spoke in Japanese. In my four-year-old mind, I was Japanese.
Back in the late 60s and early 70s, it wasn't nearly as common as it is today for a Japanese child to see westerners from America or Europe in Japan. So frequently, Japanese children upon seeing an American, would yell out: "Gaijin da!" Which, loosely translated, meant: "Foreigner!"
One day when we were out in town, I saw a white guy and I yelled out: "Gaijin da!" Which made my parents and relatives laugh. After all, my dad was a gaijin. I was a gaijiin. I suppose that's when I realized I was a little different--a kid from two different worlds.
As I grew up, I was occasionally asked: "Are you American or Japanese?" Or: "Are you white or Japanese?" It was rarely asked with any ill-intent, but it was a question I hated. Why, I wondered, did I have to define myself as one or the other?
The truth was and is: I am all of the above. I think increasingly many of us are all of the above. We are a bit of this and a bit of that. We bring different cultures (and foods!) to the table. We communicate in several languages. We are proudly Americans by nationality and a mix of things in ethnicity. I think it makes us better as a society. It certainly makes life more interesting to me.
Like I said before, I'm not one of those people who wears my ethnicity on my sleeve and I only share this with you now because I'm receiving an award as part of a group of Japanese American TV news people and I thought I should explain.
The truth is, I would never want my ethnicity or yours to be the first thing we talk about when we meet. I'm more interested in who you are and what you think. But as we're getting to know each other, I wanted you to know that a part of me is Japanese.
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What a wonderful blog...I teared up reading it. I felt your pride. WTG, Frank.
Posted by: Cubby | June 02, 2008 at 08:44 PM
Congratulations Frank on your accomplishments!!! I am glad that you have not forgotten your roots and that you share your knowledge of your heritage with others. I too have a mixed heritage, since I'm Dutch Indonesian by birth. What is a Dutch Indo in case you wonder...my heritage is Dutch, Indonesian, French, Chinese, Belgian and German...and yes I still can speak Dutch even though I have lived in this country for almost fifty years.
God Bless,
Axel & Kathie
http://www.wvcch.org
Posted by: Axel LaFontaine | June 04, 2008 at 08:48 AM
Frank, you are my hero. You truly represent the best in television news, especially with KTLA. You are truly one of the most influential Asian-American journalists here in Los Angeles and abroad. I, myself, am a Korean American. Although I have become mostly assimilated to the American culture and lost most of my Korean cultural roots, I am still proud to be who I am. I am a college student pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism because I feel very compassionate about this career field. When we see the amount of diversity in the news media, it is so great to see that so many people of diverse cultural backgrounds can contribute a lot to our society and to this great nation of ours. As America becomes a more diverse nation, I hope that we can all continue to stand together as one without differentiating one another based on someone's race or ethnicity and contribute a lot more to our country than ever before. Keep up the great work, Mr. Buckley, and keep doing what you do best every morning: waking all of us up to where _L.A. lives
Posted by: Simon, Fullerton C-A | June 04, 2008 at 07:55 PM
Frank- i agree that u are bilingual and bicultural but ur stage name -buckley does not assure us viewers of ur culture. why didnt u choose a japenese name or did u have no choice? just curious and a viewer
Posted by: Dianah Perez | June 04, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Dianah Perez, I believe Frank answered that question.
His mother was Japanese and his Father whose name is "Buckley" wasn't Japanese.
Don't most children in America have their father's last name when they are born?
I do, everybody I went to school with did.
Posted by: Jason | June 05, 2008 at 07:18 AM
Frank, Congrats on the Ambassador award. I only recently started watching the morning show and I love it; you are such a genuine person and KTLA is lucky to have you. Thank you for sharing your heritage with us. I have been wondering about that and decided that is why you're so good-looking!
I look forward to watching you every morning. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Jennifer | July 01, 2008 at 11:23 PM
Frank, Congrats on the Ambassador award. I only recently started watching the morning show and I love it; you are such a genuine person and KTLA is lucky to have you. Thank you for sharing your heritage with us. I have been wondering about that and decided that is why you're so good-looking!
I look forward to watching you every morning. Keep up the great work!
Posted by: Jennifer | July 01, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Hi Frank. I know exactly how you feel....watashi no okasan wa nihonjin and my father American. Congrats- its good to see a fellow hapa representing us mixed minorities!
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