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)

Takashio,Akira

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

Immigration ship Brazil-maru (Japanese)

(Japanese) Well, yes. We the youngsters gathered and partied, which made the captain mad. And those who were going to emigrate, the ones from Okinawa, they were learning Portuguese and were accompanied by government officials. They looked quite different from us, you know. I had fun with festivals like a line-crossing ceremony.

We arrived at Long Beach. Well, we went to Hawaii first, went through the immigration process in Hawaii and then arrived at Long Beach. Since it was the second time for me, I took the role of getting everyone together. That was back in 1970 or 1971. I gathered up the young ones on the ship and made a group called Senyu-kai (gathering of friends on a ship). Of them, I think that about three have remained now in America. The rest have all returned to Japan. These people, they all worked very hard in their youth, doing many kinds of things like finding apartments or jobs for others.

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)