I’ve been working on identifying myself as Nikkei, just to make it more part of my…the language that I use. But I end up saying…having to explain what Nikkei is and then I end up having to explain that I’m Japanese Peruvian American and Okinawan – or Okinawan I guess.
I consider myself Nikkei because I am of Japanese Okinawan decent outside of Japan. So that’s sort of how I define it for myself.
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Interviewee Bio
Grew up in Gardena, California. Her parents moved to the United States from Lima, Peru where they grew up in the Japanese and Okinawan Peruvian community. Because of this diverse background, she was exposed to a mixing of different cultural traditions. She is involved with the Okinawa Association of America and has visited Okinawa and Peru.
She received her teaching credentials but with an opportunity at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI), she turned to non-profit work and is a volunteer at GVJCI and the Okinawa Association of America. (August 2018)