‘A Borrowed Land’: untold stories of a people without a country

The recently-launched book A Borrowed Land by author Siñot Peter Onedera holds the untold stories of Guam’s nikkei - people of Japanese descent.  The master storyteller reveals a tapestry of resilience and struggle, weaving together threads of heritage and history that have long been overlooked. 

In the book, Onedera interweaves forgotten tales of those caught between history and heritage from the impacts of World War II. The 203-page book tells the untold stories of Guam’s nikkei population. 

"The Nikkei community was accused of being on borrowed land. And quite honestly those  Japanese-CHamorus in those days of the war, considered themselves to be a people without a country because the Japanese soldiers and military officials looked down on them," Onedera explained.

The project spans decades and stitches together 14 personal accounts before, during and after the Japanese occupation. It started as a class project at the University of Guam back in 1987, when there were still many issei - first generation Japanese - like Guam Association of Nikkei president Monica Guzman’s grandfather. 

"It might be uncomfortable for some people to read. As I also read it, I felt hurt and the anger," she stated. "But I also felt the love the Nikkei community felt for each other in bonding together."

Unraveling the threads of their experiences wasn’t easy as Onedera was often turned away, saying, "There were a lot of hesitation and tear jerking moments when I was actually talking to the 14 individuals that ended up being my sole source of information."

The story also unveils the discrimination he and many nikkei faced decades after the war ended. He says when he was six years old, a drunk man would throw rocks at his Sinajana home and curse at his family everyday. 

"The words I remember to this very day: hamyo ni’ ManCHapanes mañåsaga hamyo gi iya Guam gi inayao tåno’ ni en sakke ha’, which meant that 'You Japs are living on Guam on borrowed land that you stole.' And I never forgot that."

Though he was hesitant to publish the book as many continue to heal, it's the first time this perspective of the war is being told during Guam’s 80th liberation. 

"There's no written document of what the Japanese-CHamorus have gone through. You have Japanese heritage and you’re invaded by the Japanese. What does that say? How do you act during that time. I just want to congratulate Peter for actually putting it down and it's a good book," Guzman noted.

The result revealing a tapestry of struggle and resilience waiting to be discovered. 

A Borrowed Land is published by the University of Guam Press and is now available for purchase.

For more information check out https://uogpress.com/products/a-borrowed-land.