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Yoshitaro Amano, who Attempted to Smuggle himself into South America after the War (Japanese)

(Japanese) Amano was in Japan for 10 years, but his heart was in South America. He wanted to go there no matter what, and so he tried his hardest petitioning the U.S. government. But he was being treated as a spy. It seems that he was being followed around by investigators from the U.S. since before. He had been captured, arrested, and sent to Japan, so throughout all this he just couldn’t get the permission. So, he decided on something like smuggling himself in, to put it simply. His job before had been in imports, so he had a deep relationship with ships. Everyone in the business was someone he knew, from captains on.

Through some kind of opportunity, Amano turned up here, but it wasn’t by a Japanese ship. He rode a Swedish ship and came halfway here on that. When he was at open sea, 200 miles from the Japanese coast, the ship met with a huge storm. Miraculously, though, everyone was saved. The whole crew was saved, because the luggage was close to them, although half of them were sank. Then, while they were all floating out there, an American ship came and saved everyone.


illegal immigration Latin America migration postwar World War II Yoshitaro Amano

Date: April 18, 2007

Location: Lima, Peru

Interviewer: Ann Kaneko

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Miyoko Amano (nee: Watanabe) is a Nikkei Nisei born in Lima, Peru. In 1954, she married Yoshitaro Amano, a businessman and a researcher of the Andes Civilization. Taking over the vision of her late husband, she is currently the President of Amano Museum—established from the Yoshitaro’s private collection of artifacts—renowned for its extensive research into the Cancay Culture. (October 2009)

Frank Yamasaki
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Starting over after the war: denial of all things Japanese

(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.

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Henry Shimizu
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Government urged Japanese Canadians to go to Japan

(b. 1928) Doctor. Former Chair of the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation.

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Henry Suto
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Working tirelessly after the war (Japanese)

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

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Hiroshi Sakane
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How Yoshitaro Amano got to South America (Japanese)

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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Hiroshi Sakane
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Yoshitaro Amano continues his efforts in business in order to pursue his studies (Japanese)

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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Hiroshi Sakane
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On returning to post-war Peru (Japanese)

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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Hiroshi Sakane
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Returning to Japan on a prisoner-of-war exchange boat (Japanese)

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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Hiroshi Sakane
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Yoshitaro Amano chose the Chancay culture (Japanese)

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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Hiroshi Sakane
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The find of the century: Chicras (Japanese)

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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Jean Hamako Schneider
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My father who returned by prisoner of war exchange ship (Japanese)

(1925-2024) War bride

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Haruo Kasahara
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Days I spent aching for Japan in tears (Japanese)

(b.1900) Issei plantation worker in Hawai'i.

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Masato Ninomiya
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The Japanese government's mistaken assumptions about Japanese Americans

Professor of Law, University of Sao Paulo, Lawyer, Translator (b. 1948)

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