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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/596/

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.


culture Japan

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)

Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
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Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki

Wife's family in Japan

(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.

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Yukio Takeshita
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Yukio Takeshita

Impression of Japan upon arrival

(b.1935) American born Japanese. Retired businessman.

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Jane Aiko Yamano
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Jane Aiko Yamano

Preserving traditional Japanese culture

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

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Wayne Shigeto Yokoyama
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Wayne Shigeto Yokoyama

Food growing up

(b.1948) Nikkei from Southern California living in Japan.

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Wayne Shigeto Yokoyama
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Wayne Shigeto Yokoyama

Being on the outside

(b.1948) Nikkei from Southern California living in Japan.

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Seiichi Tanaka
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Seiichi Tanaka

Understanding Sansei taiko (Japanese)

(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.

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Nosuke Akiyama
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Nosuke Akiyama

Rediscovery of Japanese culture through taiko (Japanese)

Shishimai (Lion dance) and Taiko player with San Francisco Taiko Dojo.

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Richard Kosaki
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Richard Kosaki

Devastation in Tokyo after World War II

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

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Roger Shimomura
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Roger Shimomura

Japanese American community life

(b. 1939) Japanese American painter, printmaker & professor

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Frank Yamasaki
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Frank Yamasaki

Starting over after the war: denial of all things Japanese

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

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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto

Living in Japan during the war, preparing for U.S. bombings

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto

Participating in military drills in school in Japan during the war

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto

Hearing anti-American war propaganda from a teacher

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto

The hardships of life in Japan during World War II

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

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Shizuko Kadoguchi
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Shizuko Kadoguchi

Strict school policy of separating boys and girls in Japan

(b.1920) Japanese Canadian Nisei. Established the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Toronto

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