Interviews

1. Nikkei means fusion (Spanish)

2. History of her family's immigration (Spanish)

3. Jobs for Japanese Argentines (Spanish)

4. Nihongo gakko - Preserving Japanese culture (Spanish)

5. Identity crisis (Spanish)

6. Easier to be a foreigner in Japan (Spanish)

Kogiso,Mónica

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

Easier to be a foreigner in Japan (Spanish)

(Spanish) In my case, when I was younger, I felt like…I felt…in Japan I felt very much a foreigner. Or I tried to feel very much a foreigner so that Japanese people wouldn’t…if Japanese people…let’s see, how can I explain this…if Japanese people see me as Japanese, in a way it’s like they treat me badly because I don’t…there are certain things that I don’t understand, which they feel I ought to understand. So then it’s much easier for me to try and be foreign than Japanese. But in the long run, over time, it’s like I’ve learned to understand them too and by understanding them I think it’s much easier, and now in Japan sometimes I don’t feel like a foreigner, though nor do I feel…you know, maybe I don’t feel that discrimination.

Date: October 7, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Ann Kaneko

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

Interviewee Bio

Monica Kogiso is a Nikkei Nisei Argentinian, born in Buenos Aires in the city of Escobar where the Japanese community thrives on floristry. She is licensed in tourism, currently working as a resource, tourism and event coordinator for Japan, serving as bridge between both Argentina and Japan. She is the former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino, a Nikkei organization located in Buenos Aires and is a representative for the Panamerican Nikkei Association. (January 23, 2007)