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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/334/

Difficulties understanding different Japanese dialects

I am familiar with Hiroshima because everybody talked like that and I grew up with that so I learned, I thought it was part of a standard Japanese until go to school, went to school and then there was local dialects and the book, my nephew just made it; it's all this Japanese slang and especially local slang. I don't think anybody other than Hiroshima people understand that and not the standard Japanese, with mixed Japanese and that's somewhat familiar to me. Some of 'em I just learned, new things and that's what older people talk about. So, go different places, there different people talk but I didn't pay much attention to. But most of 'em here it was like a Kyushu dialect such as Fukushi-, I mean as Fukuoka, Saga and some Nagasaki and some Kumamoto and I have experience with Kuma-, I mean, Kagoshima, Mr. Yamaguchi was a Kagoshima and they talk I don't completely understand so I don't even care to write it down because they strictly different even though same island, Kyushu. But when they spoke in standard Japanese, very nice and I appreciated.


dialects Hiroshima (city) Hiroshima Prefecture Japan languages

Date: December 17 & 18, 2003

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Alice Ito, Tom Ikeda

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Hiroshi Roy Matsumoto was born on May 1, 1913 in Laguna, CA, a rural area on the outskirts of Los Angeles. His family was from the Hiroshima prefecture in Japan. As a young child, he went to Japan to live with his grandparents where he attended elementary and middle school.

Upon his return to the United States, he worked a variety of jobs, while also graduating from Long Beach Polytechnic High School. During World War II, he was sent to the Santa Anita Assembly Center. From there, he was sent to the Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas where he stayed for six months before volunteering for the Military Intelligence Service.

Mr. Matsumoto was in the first MIS class at Camp Savage. For his heroism as a member of Merrill's Marauders, he was later awarded the Legion of Merit and inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame. (December 18, 2003)

Henry Suto
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Didn’t speak Japanese until moving to Japan

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

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Henry Suto
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Experiences in Hiroshima after the A-bomb

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

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Cedrick Shimo
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Growing up with both Japanese and American influences

(1919-2020) Member of the 1800th Engineering Battalion. Promoted Japan-U.S. trade while working for Honda's export division.

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Henry Suto
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The horror of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing (Japanese)

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

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Henry Suto
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Working tirelessly after the war (Japanese)

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

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Miyoko Amano
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An Opportunity to Learn more Japanese (Japanese)

(b. 1929) President of Amano Museum

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Miyoko Amano
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A Lifestyle Using Both Japanese and Spanish (Japanese)

(b. 1929) President of Amano Museum

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Masakatsu Jaime Ashimine Oshiro
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The Power of Language: Japanese Identity Constructed in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Spanish)

(1958-2014) Former Bolivian Ambassador to Japan

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Jimmy Murakami
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Teaching English in Japan

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Harry Schneider
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Learning Japanese with the MIS

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Jean Hamako Schneider
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Respecting the will of a five-year-old daughter (Japanese)

(1925-2024) War bride

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Paulo Issamu Hirano
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Facing hardships in Japan (Japanese)

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Antonio Shinkiti Shikota
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Not too concerned about learning Japanese when he was growing up in Brazil (Portuguese)

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Sawako Ashizawa Uchimura
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Kindergarten in Davao, Philippines

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Robert T. Fujioka
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