Discover Nikkei Logo

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/220/

Influence of veterans

The World War II, I think that made it possible for many of the AJAs in America, in the United States, here in Hawaii…to be able to rise to the cause, that made it possible for them to prove their loyalty to their country. And they did it in very superlative fashion. The way it impacted me was, I was too young to become part of that group. But, I got impacted by what they tried to do when they returned. They not only fought in the battlefield, but they came back and wanted to fight as civilians—wanted to have a better life, a more fair life, for every person in the United States. And as a result, I became part of that group. And I think I was greatly helped by the efforts of those veterans who had come back to want to create a more fair and more just society.


armed forces retired military personnel veterans World War II

Date: December 15, 2003

Location: Hawai`i, US

Interviewer: Art Hansen

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

Interviewee Bio

George Ariyoshi was born in Honolulu in 1926. He overcame a childhood speech defect to enter the Military Intelligence Service language school after World War II and served the United States in Tokyo’s ruins. Returning home from occupied Japan, he moved to Michigan where he received undergraduate and law degrees.

He married Jean Hayashi in Hawai`i and, between 1954 and 1986, held elective offices there as a Democrat. He served three terms as Hawai`i’s governor, the first Japanese American nationwide to govern a state. By his own definition, Governor Ariyoshi was “a social liberal and a fiscal conservative.” The title of his 1997 memoir, With Obligation to All, summed up his personal and political philosophies. (December 2003)

Mitsuye Yamada
en
ja
es
pt
Mitsuye Yamada

Her brother’s reasons as a No-No Boy

(b. 1923) Japanese American poet, activist

en
ja
es
pt
Holly J. Fujie
en
ja
es
pt
Holly J. Fujie

Her grandfather was pressured to teach Japanese

Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

en
ja
es
pt
Holly J. Fujie
en
ja
es
pt
Holly J. Fujie

Neighbor took care of her mother after grandfather was taken by FBI

Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita
en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita

Immediately after the bombing

(b. 1938) Japanese American. Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor

en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita
en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita

Other family members not as lucky

(b. 1938) Japanese American. Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor

en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita
en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita

His parents had little hope that he had survived the atomic bomb

(b. 1938) Japanese American. Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor

en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita
en
ja
es
pt
Howard Kakita

His views on nuclear weapons

(b. 1938) Japanese American. Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor

en
ja
es
pt
Iwao Takamoto
en
ja
es
pt
Iwao Takamoto

Loss When Leaving for Manzanar

Japanese American animator for Walt Disney and Hanna Barbera (1925-2007)

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Naganuma
en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Naganuma

Forcibly deported to the U.S. from Peru

(b. 1936) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

en
ja
es
pt
Monica Teisher
en
ja
es
pt
Monica Teisher

Stories of Grandfather at a concentration camp in Fusagasuga

(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States

en
ja
es
pt
Monica Teisher
en
ja
es
pt
Monica Teisher

Her grandfather in a concentration camp in Fusagasuga (Spanish)

(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Naganuma
en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Naganuma

Family welcomed at Crystal City

(b. 1936) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Naganuma
en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Naganuma

First meal at Crystal City

(b. 1936) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

en
ja
es
pt
Kazumu Naganuma
en
ja
es
pt
Kazumu Naganuma

His sister Kiyo was like a second mother to him

(b. 1942) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

en
ja
es
pt
Mia Yamamoto
en
ja
es
pt
Mia Yamamoto

Impact of her father

(b. 1943) Japanese American transgender attorney

en
ja
es
pt

Discover Nikkei Updates

SUMMER INTERNSHIP
Discover Nikkei is hosting a summer intern through the Nikkei Community Internship. College students, apply by April 4!
SUPPORT THE PROJECT
Discover Nikkei’s 20 for 20 campaign celebrates our first 20 years and jumpstarts our next 20. Learn more and donate!
PROJECT UPDATES
New Site Design
See exciting new changes to Discover Nikkei. Find out what’s new and what’s coming soon!