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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1430/

You can’t be loyal to two countries (Japanese)

(Japanese) It was right when Nakako was born, so…it must have been around 1954, still at the beginning of when people were getting American citizenship, when everyone over here was studying for the citizenship exams and things and making a lot of noise about it. I got mine right away, really quickly. I got citizenship early on.

I told my husband that I didn’t want to lose my Japanese citizenship, and his response was that for the most part people cannot be loyal to two countries. So, he said me, “Do you want to be a real Japanese or do you want to marry me and be an American? Decide on one.” So, I thought about it, and he was right. It would be pretty impossible to hold two citizenships, to be loyal to two countries. So, after thinking about it, I concluded that if that were that case I would get an American citizenship and discard my Japanese one.


citizenship identity

Date: January 26, 2012

Location: California, US

Interviewer: John Esaki, Yoko Nishimura

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

Interviewee Bio

Jean Hamako Schneider (former name: Amano) was born in 1925 in Yokohama.  In 1933, she went with her father, who was to run a business in Latin America, to Panama where she stayed for two years.  Her father remained in Panama after her, but came back to Japan in 1942 on a prisoner of war exchange ship.  While working at a radio station after the war, Hamako met Harry Schneider, who was stationed in Japan with the U.S. Military Intelligence Service (MIS).  In 1948, the two married in Japan, and, in 1950, Hamako left for America as a war bride.  After that, she gave birth to a daughter and quickly acquired American citizenship.  Currently, she lives in Encinitas, California. She passed away in December 2024 at age 99.  (December 2024)

Seiichi Tanaka
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Seiichi Tanaka

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(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.

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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)

Nikkei Sansei

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Enson Inoue
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Enson Inoue

Sudden acceptance in Japanese society

(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan

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Enson Inoue
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Enson Inoue

Ring name: "Yamato Damashi"

(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan

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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)

Getting on Kohaku (Japanese)

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Enson Inoue
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Enson Inoue

Citizenship and identity

(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

Early consciousness of identity

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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William Hohri
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William Hohri

Importance of self-representation in legislation

(1927-2010) Political Activist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

Finding parallels through art

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

The Hapa Project

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Francis Y. Sogi
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Francis Y. Sogi

Defining the term Nikkei

(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

Perceptions of uniqueness

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

Identity as a conscious ongoing process

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

Lessons learned from The Hapa Project

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Kip Fulbeck

Japanese Americans are more aware of their Hapa identity

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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