Interviews

1. The origin of name Kishi Bashi

2. His Shin-Issei parents

3. On being Japanese and American

4. On his songfilm Omoiyari

5. The reason for creating the songflim Omoiyari

6. On music

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

The reason for creating the songflim Omoiyari

The initial impetus was obviously the election. And then there’s that guy who’s talking about the Muslim ban and how the executive order, the incarceration, was precedent and that kind of really activated me in a way that, it was like I felt threatened as a minority in this country for the first time. I always kind of believed this country was a melting pot, it was open for everybody, and that’s when I started to really try to understand the incarceration.

This film serves two parts in that one is to kind of show this history and to develop empathy and kind of confront privilege to have my viewers take a step back and really understand how to help their community, or how to help underprivileged people or to help minorities – to get that perspective.

And I like to encourage minorities to have hope, that this is just a turning point. And then also for white people to be, hey this is really not just your country anymore. And all these advantages you’ve had, you should really acknowledge them and take a step back and share.

emotions empathy equality identity minorities music musicians Omoiyari (song) privilege sympathy United States

Date: August 21, 2018

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Sharon Yamato

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

Interviewee Bio

Kaoru Ishibashi, who performs as Kishi Bashi, is a Shin-Nisei musician, composer, and songwriter, born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. He attended Berklee College of Music and became a renowned violinist.

His film project, Omoiyari (Empathy), led him to places such as Manzanar, Tule Lake, the Japanese American National Museum, and Japan to learn about Japanese American and Japanese World War II history. Omoiyari explores how empathy and the lack of it has played key roles in our modern quest for social equality. (March 2019)

Explore More Videos

Interviewee

Tag

Keywords

Taiko philosophy (Japanese)

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

Identifies as Japanese, but home is San Francisco

Shishimai (Lion dance) and Taiko player with San Francisco Taiko Dojo.

First taiko performance in the United States (Japanese)

(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California

Promoting group identity through taiko contests (Japanese)

(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California

Taiko's sounds as Japanese cultural tradition (Japanese)

(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California

Growing up in Waikiki

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Depicting issues of ethnic identity through childhood artwork

(b. 1939) Japanese American painter, printmaker & professor

Starting over after the war: denial of all things Japanese

(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.

Have compassion for all of humanity

(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.

Thoughts on post-9/11 atmosphere: what it means to be American

(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.

Growing up outside of Portland’s Japanese community

(b. 1921) Nisei businessman. Established "Made in Oregon" retail stores

Internship on a Native American reservation in Arizona

(b.1952) Master drummer, artistic director of the Taiko Center of the Pacific

Differences between American-born Japanese and Japanese from Japan

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

Reasons for starting taiko in America

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

Meeting Kinnara Taiko

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

Discover Nikkei Updates

NIKKEI CHRONICLES #14

Nikkei Family 2: Remembering Roots, Leaving Legacies
Baachan, grandpa, tía, irmão… what does Nikkei family mean to you? Submit your story!

SUPPORT THE PROJECT

Discover Nikkei’s 20 for 20 campaign celebrates our first 20 years and jumpstarts our next 20. Learn more and donate!

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES

We are collecting our community’s reflections on the first 20 years of Discover Nikkei. Check out this month’s prompt and send us your response!

Interviews

Watch more clips

The reason for creating the songflim Omoiyari

Explore More Videos

Discover Nikkei Updates