Interviews
Try to be a bridge between both countries
Being a Libra, I’m always wondering…want harmony, I hate conflict. And even, like I say, well gee, Japan is being misinterpreted. I guess one of my mission is to be a bridge; to explain and also to explain to the Japanese, hey you know, you’re not all perfect either, you know… and to serve as a bridge. I still remember, you know, Issei people saying, hey, you know Niseis should become a bridge between Japan and the United States. And that was in the back of my mind all the time, and hey I gotta explain Japan’s side of it and explain well, my speeches to the American sides, I’ll present…I mean to the Japanese I’ll try to explain the U.S. side, why the U.S. is angry, you know and so forth. So, I guess it's just nature in me that I hate conflict.
Date: March 25, 2005
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Sojin Kim
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Explore More Videos
Looking at your country from the outside
(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.
Wife's family in Japan
(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.
Lack of notion of citizenship in Japan
(b.1935) American born Japanese. Retired businessman.
Lack of language skills
(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.
Preserving traditional Japanese culture
(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.
Having patience in Japan, being both
(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.
Being on the outside
(b.1948) Nikkei from Southern California living in Japan.
His parents' experience with Japanese resistance toward intermarriage with Okinawans
(b.1925) Nisei of Okinawan descent. Had a 38-year career in Japan as a baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.
Working in cane fields as teenager, and how it helped in his athletic training (Japanese)
(b.1925) Nisei of Okinawan descent. Had a 38-year career in Japan as a baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.
Nickname
(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.
Mixed emotions after declaration of war on Japan
(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.
Growing up in Waikiki
(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i
The philosophy of playing Taiko
(b.1951) Co-founder and managing director of San Jose Taiko.
Learning Japanese traditions by observing his mother and grandmother
(b. 1981) Enka Singer