The word “Hoshuko” directly translates to “supplementary school”. Though the Japanese community in Flushing may be comparatively small from other Asian communities, this does not stop the Japanese Weekend School of NY from creating a thriving community in Bayside. 

“Initially, our school was created to accommodate the Japanese students that are living in foreign countries temporarily,” said Ms. Yamaguchi, a supervisor from Hoshuko. “That’s why we have the vice principals and principals come in from Japan for a few years at a time. However, our school has most people of permanent American residency, meaning that once you join the program, they stay for a very long time. Along with the parents, they volunteer in the program which helps to build a community.”

Different from the traditional “Hoshuko” system, this Japanese weekend school in Bayside prioritizes building a community as opposed to just the standard Japanese academics. 

“I’ve been working at this school for around 15 years now; even as a parent, taking their own child to this school,” Ms. Yamaguchi said. “I guess the kids that go to this school have either parents as a native Japanese person, or have some sort of involvement in the Japanese community or Japan in general. And if they don’t have many opportunities to be a part of Japanese culture, they eventually forget their culture. So, the important part is to keep their cultural identity.”

Hoshuko plays a crucial role to aid in bringing together a community where people can bond over their similarities in ethnicity and language. It helps students find their personal identities and feel confident knowing they can own up to it.

“It brings up the conversation of personal identity,” Ms. Yamaguchi said. “But for me, I feel like it’s even more important because we’re in New York. There are so many people from many different backgrounds. There isn’t much diversity in Japan where the majority are Japanese. But when you’re in New York, it starts to bring up the conversation of ‘Who are you?’. When that happens, we want our students to be able to confidently say ‘I grew up in America but I’m Japanese or identify with Japanese culture.’”

Building connections through language can be some of the best ways to bring people, and families together. Common in Asian-American households, having a language barrier can be difficult to build relationships in direct families. Through places like Hoshuko, people can find more ways to communicate with one another.

“I speak Japanese with all of my Japanese speaking family members, and I’m really glad that I can talk to my grandparents,” said Sara Ma, a freshman at Bronx Science High School. “Especially since I know some of my friends that can’t talk to their grandparents.” 

Japanese speaking skills can make it easier to communicate with friends and peers of similar backgrounds. On the rare occasion that native Japanese students join the program, the school holds hope to make their students feel a little closer to home. 

“Previously, I wasn’t able to properly communicate with my peers,” said Masaaki Kawamoto, an 8th grader at Louis Pasteur School who had just recently immigrated from Japan in January. “It feels really comforting to have people around me that understand what I’m saying.”

Not only does Hoshuko provide a place for people to learn to communicate in Japanese to their peers;  it can also provide students with more opportunities in the future.

“Hoshuko will probably let colleges see me doing something for a long time which I think is good, especially since I do like no extra curricular,” Ma said. “I also think winning awards in Japanese school helps since that’s what one of the graduates said.” 

Students find Hoshuko as a worthwhile commitment because it can bring their family and community closer as well as allow students to make new friends along the way.  Although it may not be a popular language, it still holds prominence across many industries, regardless of ethnicity. 

“Japan is also one of the largest growing economies so knowing that language is really important,” said Samantha Hashimoto, a freshman at Stuyvesant High School. “It’s also a very popular language.”

These dedicated students are aware of the relevance that their bilingual or even trilingual abilities hold.  Even though they go through a rigorous system at Hoshuko, they understand the importance of attending. 

Samantha Hashimoto includes, “As much as I don’t really like going here every Saturday, ‘I’m so tired I don’t wanna do this,’ but I don’t want to lose my ability to speak Japanese because it’s an important part of me,” Hashimoto said.