IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

In the late 1800s and early 1900s not many people in the United States were familiar with Japanese American people or culture. Misconceptions and misunderstandings of their identities, culture, traditions, and religion led to stereotypes and racism. This ethnography explores a Japanese American family mortuary in Los Angeles, California, United States, the stereotypes associated with working in the mortuary business, and its rigorous work through the COVID-19 pandemic. Through ethnographic methods, this research aims to: 1) examine a site within the Japanese American community where death, ethnicity, nationality and gender intersect; 2) address the stereotypes of Japanese Americans who provide death and bereavement practices in the context of history and in the media; 3) document the perseverance of the Fukui mortuary and its staff during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and through a challenging period of Asian American hate and discrimination in Los Angeles, California. These three areas of focus are all interwoven between stereotypes, the pandemic, and deeper stories of Japanese Americans and their services of death and bereavement practices throughout U.S. history, using the diverse neighborhood of Boyle Heights in Los Angeles as a site where culture has transformed for over a century. This ethnography and its narratives contribute to knowledge about the Japanese American community in Los Angeles, Asian American history, death practices, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring sites where death and culture intersect as well as the stereotypes that emerged through the racism and misconceptions of marginalized groups in the U.S. contributes to the deeper understanding of the challenges, prejudice, and barriers people, such as Japanese Americans, overcame throughout U.S. history. This project documents six generations of a Japanese American family business, the Fukui family, in Los Angeles, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 1880 – 2024.