School life in Japan (Japanese)

My father’s business in America (Japanese) School life in Japan (Japanese) Identity (Japanese) The horror of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing (Japanese) Feelings upon listening to the imperial rescript (Japanese) Returning to America after the war (Japanese) Enlisting in the U.S. Army (Japanese) Working tirelessly after the war (Japanese) What I wanted to pass down to my children (Japanese) Father owned a café in Minot, North Dakota Japanese in Minot Didn’t speak Japanese until moving to Japan Being enlisted into the Japanese Army Wasn’t told he was being trained for kamikaze bombing Experiences in Hiroshima after the A-bomb Reaction to the Emperor’s surrender Worked for the occupation force in Japan after the war Fitting back into American life Speaking about his wife Comparing basic training of US and Japanese Armies Helping youth in the community

Transcripts available in the following languages:

(Japanese) Those times in elementary school, around First or Second grade, well, of course I’m behind [in the curriculum] compared to the other kids, so yes, I was ridiculed to a certain degree. They’d say, “Hey, America(n)!” and such to make fun of me. They wouldn’t let me be a part of their group… So yeah, there were things like that. But in Third grade, there happened to be this Sumo tournament at school, and for some reason I ended up being the last man standing and actually won the title. After that, my stock immediately rose (laughs). So then they let me in to their groups, and we’d play baseball together, volleyball together, and more friends were made in more groups… I had the most fun after that. Yes. I think it was around Third grade.

Date: June 17, 2008
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Yoko Nishimura
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

education Japan sumo