Interviews

1. What does Nikkei mean to you? (Spanish)

2. Japanese vs. Peruvian identity (Spanish)

3. Peru Shimpo for the Nikkei community (Spanish)

4. Escaping to a small village in the mountains during the World War II (Spanish)

5. Post-war experiences in Lima (Spanish)

6. Stereotypes about Japanese: past and present (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

Escaping to a small village in the mountains during the World War II (Spanish)

(Spanish) At that time, my dad lived in Cañete, which is a town a little ways outside the capital, Lima. When the war broke out, my dad decided it was safest to flee with us, at least with me, being the oldest, and go further into the mountains, to a village called Lunahuana. The persecution didn’t make it that far, so my dad managed to get by as best he could. He had owned a shop in Cañete, but had to survive in Lunahuana as a barber, cutting hair, which he had to learn to do.

Peru World War II

Date: October 7, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Ann Kaneko

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

Interviewee Bio

Alfredo Kato was born in Cañete, Peru, on November 12, 1937. During World War II, his family lived in Cañete, but his father moved them to a mountainous region called Lunaguara. In 1947, they returned to Lima. At that time, Nikkei were not allowed to gather in public, so he attended Japanese school clandestinely.

He studied at la Universidad Católica and has been a journalist for 44 years. Currently, he is director of the Japanese Peruvian newspaper, Perú Shimpo and professor at the Universidad de San Martín de Porres. (October 7, 2005)

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