Interviews

1. Japanese Culture and the crafting Sushi in the States (Japanese)

2. The Road to Success As a Sushi Chef (Japanese)

3. Making Sushi and Enjoying Life (Japanese)

4. Raising a Golden Egg (Japanese)

(n. 1962) Sushi Chef

Making Sushi and Enjoying Life (Japanese)

(Japanese) My grandfather was an oil painting artist in Japan. As I make sushi, I wonder if I might have inherited his artistic sense of color. When I’m making sushi it’s interesting, but also really thrilling. I enjoy making sushi, anticipating how the end result will look.

food Japanese food sushi United States

Date: September 10, 2009

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Izumi Tanaka

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

Interviewee Bio

Born 1962 in Tokyo. Moved to America in 1981. Initially worked in a San Diego restaurant making sushi and helping in the kitchen. Moved to the East Coast in 1987 after receiving notice of a job opening in New York. He then moved to Connecticut in 1990 to support a friend opening a new restaurant. He became opened his own restaurant in 1997, and as his business grew, it became the top-rated restaurant in the New England area by ZAGAT. In 2006, he decided to return to Los Angeles for his wife in child, and started a sushi catering business while also working as a sushi chef for other restaurants. He has also taken the grand prize at several sushi competitions. In 2008 he opened “Toshi Sushi” in Little Tokyo. (December 2009)

Explore More Videos

Interviewee

Tag

Keywords

New Year's food

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

Food growing up

(b.1948) Nikkei from Southern California living in Japan.

Learning American cooking

(b.1909) Nisei from Washington. Incarcerated at Tule Lake and Minidoka during WWII. Resettled in Chicago after WWII

Life after internment in Slocan

(1918-2004) Interned in Slocan during World War II. Active member of the Japanese Canadian community.

Little contact with Asians growing up on the east coast

Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan

Memories of family dinners

(1925 - 2018) Nisei educator from Hawai‘i

Symbolic New Year’s foods prepared from scratch

(1925 - 2018) Nisei educator from Hawai‘i

Suffering in World War II (Spanish)

(b. 1929) Nisei Argentinean

Appreciation of Japanese food

Sansei Japanese American living in Japan and Kendo practioner

Childhood shame for being Nikkei in Enumclaw, Washington

Judge, only Japanese American to serve on CWRIC.