Discover Nikkei Logo

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1649/

Working together in Okinawa using three languages

When we were in Okinawa, one thing that I think perfectly describes how confusing it can be to have so many cultures and languages, so we did a canoeing activity where we all had to canoe traditional Okinawan boats. And so we had an instructor at the front and they would be shouting out commands in Japanese. And you needed to follow it so that everyone would go the same direction otherwise your boat would tip over. So you’d shout it out in Japanese and the Japanese kids were sitting in the front with the Peruvian kids. So the Japanese kids would hear it and so with the Japanese Peruvian kids. The Japanese Peruvian kids could actually speak Japanese fluently, a lot of Japanese Peruvians can actually do that too, which is interesting. So the Japanese Peruvian kids would tell me that in Spanish, and then I would translate that Spanish to the American kids behind me who could only speak English. So I think that in itself just kind of tells you how confusing it could be, but also how fun that was just to see…we all have different languages, but we work together just as well. And we made it work. And I think that was one of the funniest moments, just trying to pass these down, these instructions down.


culture identity Japan Japanese Americans Japanese Peruvians languages Okinawans Okinawa Prefecture Peru United States

Date: August 30, 2018

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Sharon Yamato

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

Interviewee Bio

Grew up in Gardena, California. Her parents moved to the United States from Lima, Peru where they grew up in the Japanese and Okinawan Peruvian community. Because of this diverse background, she was exposed to a mixing of different cultural traditions. She is involved with the Okinawa Association of America and has visited Okinawa and Peru.

She received her teaching credentials but with an opportunity at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI), she turned to non-profit work and is a volunteer at GVJCI and the Okinawa Association of America. (August 2018)

Evelyn Yoshimura
en
ja
es
pt

Gidra's Content

Community Activist

en
ja
es
pt
Evelyn Yoshimura
en
ja
es
pt

Youth and Gidra

Community Activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Struggle and Activism

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Gidra's Editorial Process

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Gidra - Community Newspaper

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Common Cause

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Content Conflict

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Camp Experiences

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt

Staff and Struggles

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Terry Janzen
en
ja
es
pt

Growing Up in Japan

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

en
ja
es
pt
Terry Janzen
en
ja
es
pt

Postwar school-life

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Ochi
en
ja
es
pt

On Challenging Institutions

(1938-2020) Japanese American attorney and civil rights activist

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Ochi
en
ja
es
pt

Pop and Balls

(1938-2020) Japanese American attorney and civil rights activist

en
ja
es
pt
Tamio Wakayama
en
ja
es
pt

Re-examining Identity

(1941-2018) Japanese Canadian photojournalist and activist

en
ja
es
pt
Francesca Yukari Biller
en
ja
es
pt

Culture is an important part of one's identity

Jewish Japanese American journalist

en
ja
es
pt

Discover Nikkei Updates

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!
PROJECT UPDATES
New Site Design
See exciting new changes to Discover Nikkei. Find out what’s new and what’s coming soon!