A.C.E.
October 17, 2016
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 13
Allison Wetherington: A story
of soccer, gyoza, and dolphins
Continued from page 11
PRINCIPLED PROTEST. Hold These Truths, Jeanne Sakata’s solo play about civil-rights hero Gordon
Hirabayashi, a Seattle native who was posthumously awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom, is fea-
tured through November 13 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory in northwest Portland. Actor Ryun Yu (pic-
tured), who originated the role of Hirabayashi at East West Players in Los Angeles, plays the role in the Portland
performances. (Photo/Patrick Weishampel/blankeye.tv)
One-man show highlights heroic
story of civil disobedience
By Maileen Hamto
The Asian Reporter
uring one of the darkest periods in
the history of civil rights in the
United States, more than 120,000
people of Japanese descent living on the
west coast were ordered to leave their
homes, farms, and livelihoods. In
declaring war against Japan during World
War II, the U.S. government also essen-
tially declared war against U.S. citizens
and residents by instituting a strict curfew
and eventually, ordering the forced
removal and relocation of people of
Japanese descent to internment camps in
remote areas of the western United States.
Hundreds of thousands followed
Executive Order 9066 out of loyalty to the
U.S. government and fear of further
retaliation, but only a handful defied the
federal order of forced removal, including
Fred Korematsu of Oakland, California;
Minoru Yasui of Hood River, Oregon; and
Gordon Hirabayashi of Seattle, Washing-
ton.
The Supreme Court heard all three
cases and upheld the internment orders,
despite the fact that more than 60 percent
of the internees were U.S. citizens. Many
of those imprisoned died in the camps due
to inadequate medical care, and several
were killed by military guards.
Hirabayashi was only a college student
when he made the principled decision to
defy the curfew and evacuation orders. His
story of civil disobedience and personal
conviction is currently highlighted at the
Gerding Theater at the Armory in
Portland through Ryun Yu’s earnest and
wholehearted performance of Jeanne
Sakata’s debut play Hold These Truths,
formerly known as Dawn’s Light: The
Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi.
Hirabayashi, born and raised in Seattle,
was a senior at the University of
Washington when he violated the strict
curfew imposed on people of Japanese
background. He was jailed when he
refused to submit to the exclusion order.
He spent three-and-a-half years in county
jails and federal prison, all the while
drawing attention to the questionable
military necessity of the federal order. His
case brought together the resources of the
American Friends Service Committee and
the American Civil Liberties Union.
The struggle also resonated with
hundreds of people who opposed the war
and supported his cause from afar.
D
Hirabayashi appealed his case all the way
to the U.S. Supreme Court, which
ultimately affirmed the internment orders
as a necessary restraint on freedom during
a time of war.
For Yu, diving deeply into the role
proved
the
extraordinariness
of
Hirabayashi’s heroic act of defiance
against racism, xenophobia, and injustice.
“He was 20-something years old, he was
going against the wishes of his mother and
his entire community. He was going up
against the entire United States govern-
ment,” Yu said. “It’s a pretty mind-
boggling display of courage.”
Yu, who plays 35 different characters in
the groundbreaking production, said he
has always considered Hirabayashi among
his heroes. Gordon makes an incredibly
heroic choice in the middle of excruciating
circumstances,” he said. “I think we all like
to think that we would be the person who
would stand up for what’s right when it
comes down to it.”
“But not only what he did, the way in
which he did it encompasses so many
things I admire. He acted so many times
out of kindness and a sense of justice. He
consciously tried to stay away from the
anger and hatred,” said Yu, who originated
the role of Hirabayashi at East West
Players in Los Angeles.
Hold These Truths is featured in the
Ellyn Bye Studio at the Gerding Theater at
the Armory, located at 128 N.W. 11th
Avenue in Portland, through November
13. Tickets are available by calling (503)
445-3700 or visiting <www.pcs.org>. The
production is directed by Jessica
Kubzansky, who led the world premiere at
East West Players.
“Gordon Hirabayashi lived his beliefs in
the face of enormous opposition and
adversity, and did so with humility and
grace,” said Kubzansky. “Today, more
than ever, we need people like Gordon
Hirabayashi, who, in the way they conduct
themselves in times of extraordinary
challenge, model courage and integrity for
us.”
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up with, that she continues to learn about
now, when it comes to matters of family
and identity, but she knows her family
well enough to understand she has their
unconditional love and support.
Both her parents, Sally and Gary, used
to drive Allison two hours away from their
home to soccer practices. She said they also
never missed a club game. Back in 2013,
when Allison visited the UP campus and
was in the room with her now-current
coach, Garrett Smith, on the verge of
committing to play on the bluff for the
Pilots, her mother had no idea beforehand
it was something she was seriously
considering.
“I didn’t even consult my parents. When
I was there, I just looked at Garrett and
told him I wanted to go here,” Allison said.
“My mom just turned to look at me and
said ‘okay, that’s fine.’”
Wetherington, who will earn her degree
in general studies with a specialization in
psychology and sociology in the spring,
said she has really enjoyed her time with
the team over the past four years.
Allison Wetherington’s greatest fear is
the ocean. She is still unsure of her own
cultural inheritance, she was uncertain of
moving too far from her parents, and now
as she continues her senior year at the
University of Portland, she is faced with
the unknown that will follow her
impending graduation. But the thing
about Wetherington is that she loves
soccer and her family and her friendships,
and much like dolphins, these things, at
SENIOR YEAR. Allison Wetherington a senior
midfielder at the University of Portland (UP), dribbles
the ball at a soccer match held on the UP campus.
Wetherington will earn her degree in general studies
with a specialization in psychology and sociology in
the spring. (AR Photo/Jody Lim)
least to Allison, seem to be just as
majestic.
The Portland Pilots play two more regular-season
home matches this month. On Friday, October 21 at
7:00pm, the team takes on the University of the Pacific
Tigers, and on Sunday, October 23 at 1:00pm, they
play the Saint Mary’s College Gaels. This year’s
seniors — Wetherington, Hanna de Haan, Alyssa
Edenstrom, Ellie Boon, and Devlyn Jeter — will be
recognized as part of a “Senior Day” ceremony
at the Sunday game. Matches are played at Merlo
Field at the Clive Charles Soccer Complex on
the University of Portland campus, located at
5000 N. Willamette Boulevard. To learn more,
or to buy tickets to a match, call (503) 943-7525
or visit <www.portlandpilots.com>.
Toyota’s tiny robot sells for less than $400, talks, can’t drive
Continued from page 2
said.
But those who like gadgets — and there
are quite a few in Japan — may want one.
Toyota declined to say how many it
planned to ready for preorder, or how
many it planned to sell in the first year.
Toyota remains skeptical about how a
partner robot would fare abroad, although
it remained open to assessing such
interest.
The idea of companion robots is already
widely accepted in Japan.
Japanese technology and telecom
company Softbank Corp. began selling its
198,000-yen ($1,960) Pepper humanoid
last year. The first batch of 1,000 sold out
immediately, and it has sold 10,000 in
Japan so far.
Robo Garage, headed by robot designer
Tomotaka Takahashi, has brought an
array of Kirobo lookalikes, many with
more sophisticated functions at higher
prices, including Robi, which must be
assembled.
Kataoka is hopeful Kirobo will be able to
avoid the fate of the Aibo dog-shaped robot
from Sony Corp., which was discontinued
in 2006, despite outcries from fans. He
cited advances in technology, such as
cloud-based upgrades.
Robotics is widely used in auto-assembly
plants. Toyota has shown other human-
shaped robots before, although this is the
first being offered to consumers.
Honda Motor Co., another Japanese
automaker, makes Asimo, a humanoid,
which can run, pick up objects, and talk.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly a
part of the auto industry in another critical
way — self-driving vehicles. Vehicles are
also increasingly connected online.
Toyota, which manufactures the Prius
hybrid, Camry sedan, and Lexus luxury
models, remained vague about how Kiribo
Mini might work with its autos, an obvious
application.
The only examples it gave were that it
might say, “Oh, oh, oh, oh. Be careful”
when it detects sudden braking, or chirp,
“Let’s take a break” when the drive gets
long.
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