Interviews

1. First impression of America (Japanese)

2. Permanent residency for 10,000 dollars (Japanese)

3. Longing for a life abroad and getting a chef’s license (Japanese)

4. Life upon arrival (Japanese)

5. Support from Nikkei (Japanese)

6. Tough life at boarding house (Japanese)

7. Business for gays (Japanese)

8. Immigration ship Brazil-maru (Japanese)

Shin Issei – owner of izakaya (Japanese-style tavern) and kappo (small Japanese diner) restaurant, Honda-Ya

First impression of America (Japanese)

(Japanese) I came to America in mid-May, 1969. It was a period when we were so eager to see the world, you know, the time of hippies, and I myself left Japan for two years when I was in the third year of college. I lived in Los Angeles for a year and a half and traveled to the South Pacific and stayed in Australia for about half a year and went back to Japan, after two years of living abroad. But at that time, I was already captivated by cultures so different from Japan’s, so I soon started saving money again and came back to Los Angeles, America.

In those days, a dollar was worth 360 yen, and I was just amazed by everything I saw. For instance, when I went to supermarkets like Ralphs, just the smell of it excited me, making me go, Wow, this is amazing, and it was just an eye-opening experience for me. I came here with a tourist visa, and back then things around visas were not that complicated, and so I really wanted to come back. I went back to Japan once, saved up and came back here on a ship called Brazil-maru.

California generations immigrants immigration Issei Japan Los Angeles migration postwar Shin-Issei United States World War II

Date: August 4, 2015

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Mitsue Watanabe

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

Interviewee Bio

In 1969, he arrived in America for the first time. He lived in Los Angeles for a year and a half, traveled to various places around the world for about six months and went back to Japan. As he was deeply inspired by the life in a foreign country, however, he decided to go back and moved to America with a tourist visa. He had a job as a helper for gardeners for about two years at first, and then started working on his own. With an official visa, he got a foot in the restaurant industry. He currently runs a Japanese-style drinking place and diner, Honda-Ya, a restaurant chain in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. (August 2018)

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