Interviews
The Kids and Japanese Language (Japanese)
(Japanese) I had 4 children. Girl, boy, girl, boy in that perfect order. I was lucky. Two of them were born in Japan, and the other two were born in California.
I did want them to speak Japanese, so I wrote the Japanese phonetics and put it on the wall to teach them in the beginning. Eventually they forgot, or rather… There was a Japanese language school in Santa Maria. We took the kids there on Saturdays. But back then I was working at a tailor. The owner had moved to Los Angeles and I took over the store, which made it impossible for me to take my kids to Japanese school on Saturdays. My husband helped in the beginning, but they quit eventually. They kind of stopped speaking Japanese, so they can’t really speak.
Date: February 6, 2015
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Izumi Tanaka
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Explore More Videos
Teacher who helped with lisp
(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i
Little interaction with parents
(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline
Politics in ethnic studies
(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline
Center for Japanese American Studies in community
(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline
Involvement with ethnic studies
(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline
Testing assumptions of Japanese scholars
(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline
Kids working hard
An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.
First day of school
An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.
Grandmother's influence on decision to go to Japan
(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.
Training for football by carrying 100-lb bags of grass over mountains
(b.1925) Nisei of Okinawan descent. Had a 38-year career in Japan as a baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.
Teaching at the military language school during World War II
(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i
Lesson learned from community college faculty
(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i
Rewards of teaching
(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i
Japanese school
(b.1924) Japanese Canadian Nisei. Interpreter for British Army in Japan after WWII. Active in Japanese Canadian community
Strict school policy of separating boys and girls in Japan
(b.1920) Japanese Canadian Nisei. Established the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Toronto