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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/387/

A conversation with a farmer in Kansas

And there was this farmer standing next to me. And I still remember him. And he was wearing these blue coveralls and he kept nudging closer to me. And finally, during a break in the auction, he said, Excuse me, sir, he said, I was overhearing you speak the language, and I was wondering how you come to speaking it so good. Where are you from? And I said, I'm from Seattle. And he says, No, he says, Where are your parents from? And I said, Well, my mother was born in Idaho, and my father was born in Seattle. And I knew what he was after, but I had just decided, since these were questions that I'd probably answered half-a-dozen times prior to this conversation, that I would only answer him truthfully, and give him what he asked. And he said, Well, what's your ancestry? or something like that. I says, Well, I'm Japanese, Japanese American. And he says, Well, konnichi wa (hello). And I kind of looked at him, and he said, The little lady and I lived in Japan. And he said, We used to buy them pictures of 'gishi' girls wearin' them kimonos. And he says, Do you do pictures like that? And I just kind of shrugged my shoulders and just sort of said, Yeah. And my friend that was with me was just laughing hysterically. And I just wanted to get away from this guy.


racism stereotypes

Date: March 18 & 20, 2003

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Alice Ito and Mayumi Tsutakawa

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Roger Shimomura's paintings, prints, and theater pieces address sociopolitical issues of Asian America. Many of his works are inspired by the diaries kept by his late immigrant grandmother for fifty-six years. Shimomura has had more than 100 solo exhibitions of his paintings and prints, and has presented his experimental theater pieces at such venues as the Franklin Furnace, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Widely honored as an educator, he was designated a University Distinguished Professor by the University of Kansas. In 2001 the College Art Association presented him with the Artist Award for Most Distinguished Body of Work in recognition of his four-year, twelve-museum national tour of the painting exhibition An American Diary. He retired from teaching in 2004.

Shimomura's personal papers are being collected by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. He is represented by galleries in New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Miami, and Seattle.

*The full interview is available Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Trick in developing the film

(b. 1934) Writer

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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Racism doesn't end

(b. 1934) Writer

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Mónica Kogiso
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Mónica Kogiso

Identity crisis (Spanish)

(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.

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Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig
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Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig

World War II hysteria against Japanese in New York City

(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist

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Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig
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Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig

Positive experiences with Asian Americans for Action

(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist

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Jack Herzig
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Jack Herzig

His testimony has more credibility because of his race

(1922 - 2005) Former U.S. Army counterintelligence officer

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Vince Ota
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Vince Ota

Different tension between East Coast and Los Angeles

Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan

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Francis Y. Sogi
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Francis Y. Sogi

Being an American soldier and an "enemy alien"

(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation

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Francis Y. Sogi
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Francis Y. Sogi

Not relating to Japan Americans' experiences on the mainland

(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation

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Bert A. Kobayashi
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Bert A. Kobayashi

Postwar discrimination

(b.1944) Founder of Kobayashi Group, LLC

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Bert A. Kobayashi
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Bert A. Kobayashi

Less information about Hawai‘i in mainland

(b.1944) Founder of Kobayashi Group, LLC

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Lorraine Bannai
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Lorraine Bannai

Avoiding the pigeonhole of stereotypes during school years

(b. 1955) Lawyer

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Lorraine Bannai
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Lorraine Bannai

Feeling angry upon reading of Supreme Court case, 'Korematsu v. United States'

(b. 1955) Lawyer

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Dale Minami
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Dale Minami

Reasons for conformity and competitiveness in Gardena, California

(b. 1946) Lawyer

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Dale Minami
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Dale Minami

Reflections on the importance of history

(b. 1946) Lawyer

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Presented in Spanish