Interviews
Japanese language education for Paraguayan Nisei (Spanish)
(Spanish) So with us, the Paraguayan Nisei, most of us speak Japanese. Maybe because we were new here or because our parents brought us up that way, and there was probably a big drive among Issei to instill Japanese education in the settlements and in Asuncion. So to a certain extent we receive a Japanese education, even if it’s just at the elementary level. Now more recently it goes through high school, and then there are also, for example, big conferences with lectures in Japanese, the famous Benron Taikai as they’re called, where they have excellent Japanese lecturers, but not so many in Spanish, and that’s the unusual part. So a lot of people say that the Paraguayan Nisei are a lot like the Japanese, even though it’s not that way in other countries. They are much more integrated into the general or local population. Nevertheless, Sansei are already quite different, as well as the Yonsei, who are still children. I think that’s the main characteristic of the Japanese, of the Nisei in Paraguay.
Date: October 7, 2005
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Ann Kaneko
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Explore More Videos
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
Activities growing up in Peru
(1930-2018) Nisei born in Peru. Taken to the United States during WWII.
Nihongo gakko - Preserving Japanese culture (Spanish)
(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.
Not wanting to stand out as a foreigner
Sansei Japanese American living in Japan and Kendo practioner
Have compassion for all of humanity
(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.
Identity crisis (Spanish)
(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.
Never sang Enka outside the family
(b. 1981) Enka Singer
Both Japanese and American identities though Japanese dance
(1918-2023) Nisei Japanese kabuki dancer
Results of being more American than Japanese
(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist
Trying to convey the meaning of the songs
(b. 1981) Enka Singer
Internship on a Native American reservation in Arizona
(b.1952) Master drummer, artistic director of the Taiko Center of the Pacific
Different tension between East Coast and Los Angeles
Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan
Differences between American and Japanese taiko
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.