Interviews

1. How Yoshitaro Amano got to South America (Japanese)

2. Yoshitaro Amano continues his efforts in business in order to pursue his studies (Japanese)

3. On returning to post-war Peru (Japanese)

4. Returning to Japan on a prisoner-of-war exchange boat (Japanese)

5. Yoshitaro Amano chose the Chancay culture (Japanese)

6. The find of the century: Chicras (Japanese)

7. A strong Japanese identity (Japanese)

8. The Nikkei community that didn't support Former President Fujimori's election (Japanese)

9. The differences in attitude of pre-war and post war in terms of the President Fujimori presidency (Japanese)

10. President Fujimori as elected by Peru's general public (Japanese)

11. The Nikkei community's view toward Former President Fujimori (Japanese)

12. On being thought of as a Japanese person (Japanese)

13. Disseminating the excellence of Japan to the world through the Amano Museum (Japanese)

Sakane,Hiroshi

(b. 1948) Executive Director of Amano Museum

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

(Japanese) When the war started, Amano lived in Panama. There was an unobstructed view of the Panama Canal from his house so he often took pictures. At the time, war was unavoidable between the America and Japan; there was already a lot of tension. So Amano, who lived in Panama with an unobstructed view of the Panama Canal visible from his residence and seemed to have lavish life, naturally became a target of American surveillance. He was under surveillance and when the war started; he was captured. Then, he was sent to the U.S., and from the U.S., he was shipped out on the very first prisoner-of-war boat to, I think, Madagascar. Americans in Japan and Japanese in America, if I’m not mistaken, were traded by prisoner-of-war ships in Madagascar* (Note: The exchange actually took place in Singapore), and they were returned to each country. Amano was on the very first ship so he returned to Japan with only the clothes on his back.

exchange ships generations immigrants immigration Issei Japan migration MS Gripsholem (ship) Panama ships World War II Yoshitaro Amano

Date: May 7, 2007

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Yoko Nishimura

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

Interviewee Bio

Born in 1948, originally from Tokyo. Graduated from Waseda University’s Department of Education. Years later, he moved to Lima, Peru. While learning Spanish, he helped the work of his grandfather, Yoshitaro Amano, who founded and operated Amano Museum. He later married a Nikkei Peruvian Nisei. Currently, as a Peruvian cultural researcher, pottery/textile collection expert, and executive director of the Amano Museum, he conducts excavation work and is responsible for the management of the museum. As a Peruvian citizen diplomat, he attends government officials, businessmen, handles media coverage and programming for television. He visits Japan several times a year, makes speeches and leads panel discussions throughout Japan, and remains active in various fields. (May 2007)