TIA GOES TO JAPAN
Tia Umeko was born in the suburbs of Chicago, and she always knew that her parents — ethically Japanese and Latvian — had parents who were not from the United States.
She pleaded with her grandparents to take her to Japan, because she was so curious to see where they had come from.
Named for the ancient plum trees on her great-grandmother's umeboshi farm, she discovered a world where she felt that she fit in. "I really get you," she was overheard, talking to the trees. "We have the same name, and that means we're kin!"
Jitsuo Hoashi — a graphic designer and artist from Kobe City, Japan — had emigrated to New York City as a young man in 1964. Returning to his native country with his granddaughter showed him things he had forgotten, with a fresh and clear perspective.
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