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ournal

Cupboard Section

By Kate Eglan-Garton

THE

JAPANESE

WAY

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pride

ourselves

in

having

a

wide

diversification

of

Americancitizensfromallovertheworld.English,

German,AfricanandIrishareamongthemost

popularancestryline.Thisholidayseasonletus

include

another

forgotten

culture

of

people

that

has

been

in

our

land

since

1868.

Quiet

and

subdued,

but

alsohopingforabetterlifeforthefutureoftheirchildren,theJapaneseare

rarelyspokenoforevenacknowledgedasAmericancitizens.

TravelingbyboatacrossthewidePacificOcean

and

landing

on

the

island

of

Hawaii

and

also,

what

is

nowthestateofCalifornia,theJapanesemigrants

camelookingforworkinthesugarcanefieldsof

prosperousplantationowners.Between1886and

1911,over400,000JapanesehadsetoutforAmericain

searchofabetterlife.

Ournationwasnotacceptingtothisnewand

differentraceofpeople.TheJapanesewere

considerednonwhiteanddespisedbymostsettlers,

andthegovernment.In1907,PresidentTheodore

RooseveltforcedtheSanFranciscoSchoolBoardto

allowJapanesestudentsattendanceinpublicschools

inexchangefortheGentlemansAgreementwiththe

UnitedStates.ThisagreementstatedthatJapan

wouldonlyallowthemosteducatedofJapaneseto

cometoAmerica,whilethelaborersandpeasants

werenotwelcome.

AngelIsland,

the

West

Coasts

mirrored

immigrationcentertoEllisIslandontheEastCoast,

wasresponsibleforallowingpassagetoJapanese

foreigners.Itisestimatedthatover300,000Asians

arrivedatAngelIslandandasmanyasthirtypercent

wereturnedaway.Comparethistimeframeof1910

to1940withEllisIslandwhereover12millionpeople

arrivedandlessthantwopercentwereturnedaway.

WorldWar

II

brought

an

even

stronger

dislike

for

theJapanesethathadmovedtotheUS.Althoughth

Japanese

citizens

considered

the

attack

of

Pearl

Harborastrikeagainsttheirhome,thegovernment

didnotsharetheirfeelings.EveryJapaneseAmeric

citizenwasroundedup,men,womenandchildren,

andplacedinconfinementfor11years,oruntilthe

endofthewar.Still,theystayedandconsidered

themselvesluckytobeAmericans.

OnSeptember11,1956,PresidentDwightD.

EisenhowerannouncedaPeopletoPeopleProgramth

wasdesignedtobringtheworldclosertogether.Th

wasthebeginningofSisterCitiesInternational. Over

time,thisprogramhelpedtoimprovethepast

differencesofwarbetweentheUnitedStatesand

Japan.Today,thereare440Americancitiesthat

participatewithcitiesinJapan.

H

owDoJapaneseCelebrateChristmas?Itmigh

besurprisingtolearnthattheJapanesehavea

betterhandle

on

the

Christmas

spirit

than

mos

Westerners.Thefrillsofdecorating,the

commercialismofshopping,andtheunwrappingo

presentsonChristmasmorningaremoreorless

absentinmanyJapanesehouseholds.Instead,they

focusonthejoyofbeingwithfriendsandfamilyan

enjoyingtheircompany.Thetraditionaldishofthe

JapaneseistheChristmascakeandisenjoyedbyall

thatwant

to

give

of

their

time

and

joy.

However,

th

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ChristmasRecipesofJapaneseOrigin

3-Ingredient Oriental CheesecakeNeversaythatthereisnoroomfordessertwiththis

Japaneseversionofcheesecake.Lightandairy,the

flavorwilltantalizeyourtastebudswithoutgiving

youanoverstuffedfeeling.Betterbringtherecipef

thecrowd.

Ingredients:

1cupswhitechoppedchocolate

8ouncescreamcheese

6largeeggs,yolksseparated

Directions:

Preheatovento350degreesF.

Linebottomandsides8inchroundbakingpanwit

wax

paper.

Continuednextpag

dessertismoreofaholidayfoodsincetheJapanese

donotcelebrateChristmasasanationalholiday.

Inrecentyears,theyoungpeoplehavecometo

treasureChristmasEveasatimeofcelebration,

mainlybecauseAmericadoes.Theydressupintheir

bestclothesandheadtothemostpopularholiday

restaurantintown,KFC.Smallgiftsareexchanged

amongthose

dating

and

this

time

is

considered

a

celebrationofafuturelifetogether.

WhynotbringapieceofJapanesetraditiontoyour

homethisyearbytakingthetimetorememberwhat

theseasonisallabout.Forgetthepastandfocuson

thehereandnow.Timemovestooquicklyanda

celebrationwiththosethatyouloveisworthmore

thanwhatamaterialgiftcouldevermean.Ifthe

Japanesecan

forgive

and

embrace

their

good

fortune,

socanwe.

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Directions:

Preheatovento350degreesF.

Coatan8inchroundcakepanwithbutteroroil.

Whisktogethereggsandsugarinmediumsized

bowl.Placebowlinsidelargebowlthatisfilled

halfwaywithhotwaterandwhiskagain.

Siftflourandbakingpowdertogetherandaddtoeg

mixture.

Meltbutterandaddtomixture. Mixalltogether

gently.

Pourbatterintopreparedcakepanandbakefor25

minutes.

Removecakeandcoolonarack.

Cutthecooledcakeinhalfhorizontally.Setaside

whilemakingthewhippedcream.

Mixcream

and

sugar

together

bowl

and

whip

well.

Slice8strawberriesintothinpiecesandmixwith

creammixture.

Spreadoncenterpieceofcakeandplacethetopbac

on.

Spreadtheremainingwhippedcreamoverthecake

andtopwithremainingwholestrawberries.

Moreonthiscake:www.grouprecipes.com/107024/

japanese

christmas

cake.html.

Warmchocolateuntilmeltedthenstirincream

cheese.

Addeggyolkstothemixtureandstiruntilcreamy.

Inaseparatebowl,whipeggwhitesuntilstiff

peaksareformed.Addaspoonfulofeggwhitesto

chocolatemixtureandstiruntilmixed.Foldin

remainingegg

whites

in

2to

3sections

and

fold

gentlyaftereachaddition.

Pourbatterintolinedpanandplaceinalargerpan

thatisfilledwithwater.Thewaterlevelshouldcome

halfwayupthesidesofthebakingpan.

Bakefor40to45minutes.Turnovenoffandletthe

cakerestinsideoftheoverforanadditional15

minutes.

Remove,cool

and

transfer

to

aplate.

Place

in

the

refrigeratorfor4hours.

Garnishwithfruit,powderedsugar,orchocolate

shavings.

MoreonthisdessertbyKareenLiezE.Datoyat:

www.hngn.com/articles/113826/20150729/easythree

ingredientjapanesecottoncheesecakerecipe

video.htm.

Japanese Christmas CakeThisistheoriginalversionoftheJapaneseChristmas

Cake.Useyourimaginationwithotherfruitpiecesor

decoratethetopwithtraditionalChristmas

confections.

IngredientsforCake:

1/3cupflour

1/3cup

sugar

tspbakingpowder

3eggs

1 tbspbutter

IngredientsforWhippedCream:

2cupsheavycream

4tbspsugar

16wholestrawberries