Later on, I was working at an apparel store in Japan, and suddenly, I felt I wanted to change something. So, I decided to come to the States. This was when I was twenty-seven. I didn’t choose to come to San Francisco, though. I wanted to go to San Diego because I thought the city was warm and fun. I couldn’t find a host family there, so ended up coming to this city, which ultimately I believe was destiny. I didn’t even know about the Castro, actually. When I went to the Castro for the first time, I saw what I had never seen — or could ever see – in Japan; the different shapes of love and the people who don’t give a f**k about what others think and are who are proud of being themselves. In a second, the weird feeling that had been haunting me since youth dissipated. San Francisco helped me realize there is no need to have to have any boundaries and I can be who I choose to be. No one really judges you here, and I love that. I’m comfortable and confident with myself in this city. Since then, I’ve established this sense of self-love; it’s like I have an orgasm every day. That’s the best explanation of my feeling! Plus, as a Star Wars otaku, living in San Francisco is like living in a paradise.
I wish my mom could be a little bit more open-minded. She has an old-fashioned, “stereotypical” Japanese mind. She doesn’t even like me living away from Japan with a so-called “untypical” family–with a straight male husband and kids. Many people are like still like this. They judge you when you aren’t married yet after thirty, when you aren’t dating anyone, and when you aren’t heterosexual. Much of Japanese culture likes to judge people who are not doing what they are supposed to do. I just tell my friends to be supportive, understanding adults to their kids, friends, and anyone around them. It is not very easy to change an entire society, but I want more open-minded people. I want more equality to be spread around the world. Because of this, I love to share my story.”
// As told to Megumi Hiramoto, photography by Alora King.
