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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.

James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Not bringing shame to family

(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline

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James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Past ties to present situation in Middle East

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Yuri Kochiyama
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Yuri Kochiyama

Didn't have rights that whites had

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Yuri Kochiyama
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Yuri Kochiyama

Californians didn't know about evacuation

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

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Yuri Kochiyama
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Yuri Kochiyama

Idealism before war, being red, white and blue

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

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Wakako Nakamura Yamauchi
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Wakako Nakamura Yamauchi

Her experience as a Japanese-American schoolchild in Oceanside, California, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor

(1924-2018) Artist and playwright.

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Richard Kosaki
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Richard Kosaki

Change in attitudes after World War II

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

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Art Shibayama
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Art Shibayama

Thoughts on the post-9/11 atmosphere in the U.S.

(1930-2018) Nisei born in Peru. Taken to the United States during WWII.

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Frank Yamasaki
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Frank Yamasaki

Making the decision to resist the draft

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

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Sam Naito
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Sam Naito

Difficulty getting work during World War II

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

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Alfredo Kato
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Alfredo Kato

Post-war experiences in Lima (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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Alfredo Kato
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Alfredo Kato

Stereotypes about Japanese: past and present (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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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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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

The only Japanese family in Ocean Park

(b. 1934) Writer

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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

Trick in developing the film

(b. 1934) Writer

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