XI CHEN
<Contributor>
On Monday September 30, the Distinguished Speakers Series (DSSOC) and the Asian Law Students of Osgoode (ALSO) invited Mr. David Tsubouchi, a former Ontario cabinet minister and Osgoode alumnus, to the school to speak about his fascinating life experiences and his recently published memoir. Over the course of two hours, Mr. Tsubouchi shared stories from both his personal past and the more distant memories of his parents and grandparents. Although the narrative spanned half a century, his message was loud and clear: adversity, big and small, must be combated with perseverance. For him, this means with the spirit of Gambatte, a Japanese word meaning to do one’s best in life.
The need to persevere through adversity is of course a universal truth. To live a successful life is to do so with determination and resolve. However, the true value of Mr. Tsubouchi’s message lives in what is lost in translation.
Although Mr.Tsubouchi was never a teacher by trade, 25 years of political experience built upon a successful career in law has made him a natural storyteller. His words flowed as easily in conversation as they did when he read from his memoir. And with his words, he took us to World War II: what we know to be the Japanese Internment, and what that meant for him – the days when his family lost everything. Mr. Tsubouchi told us of his grandmother’s futile attempts to free his grandfather from a mental institution, where he lived out the rest of his days after being transferred from a Prisoner of War (POW) camp. Mr. Tsubouchi’s grandfather was not mentally insane or ever convicted of any crimes. Nevertheless, he died far from home, without his loved ones or the rights owed to him as a Canadian citizen. Mr. Tsubouchi reminded us that his story is not unique. A generation of Japanese-Canadians endured the trials of the Internment and the next generation had to endure the aftermath.
Mr. Tsubouchi spoke of his father as his hero. He referred to an episode in which the senior Mr. Tsubouchi coached a young David facing racism and bullying at school to “go back and punch someone in the nose.” A youthful David, while small in stature, did as he was told but was beaten up for standing up to his bully. The senior Mr. Tsubouchi then told him to “go back and punch someone in the nose.” This cycle of abuse and retaliation continued for two weeks until a battle-ready David finally drew blood. The bullying stopped and a lesson in perseverance was taught and learned.
The nuance in Mr. Tsubouchi’s message lives in the connection between these two stories. Perseverance as defined by Mr. Tsubouchi’s memories cannot simply be captured by “never giving up” or “reaching for the stars.” Instead, Gambatte is a culturalized understanding of the world. It is the experience of three generations of Japanese-Canadians distilled into an unyielding spirit against overwhelming odds. This is why Mr. Tsubouchi began his story with his grandparents. Because the genesis of this maverick of Canadian politics, this champion of unpopular causes, and consummate moral man, is inextricably tied to the Japanese-Canadians who came before him. He reminds us that his story is not unique, but it is precisely the link between the collective memory that shaped him and his personal worldview that makes Gambatte so powerful. In his memoir, Mr. Tsubouchi pays respect to those who gave Gambatte meaning by continuing to urge us to live extraordinary lives with incredible strength, humility, and with the desire to always do one’s best.