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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/754/

To think in one language and live in another (Spanish)

(Spanish) I believe that my grandfather thought in Japanese but had to speak in another language…And that is a mark of being a permanent foreigner. To think in one language and to live in another is something that marks you. I believe that he was able, in some ways, to make the two things compatible; he was reserved but he had something of a certain quality, [that] I don’t know how the Japanese are, a certain quality that was half Argentine…I don’t know if you know what I mean. Quality -- I don’t know if the word I want to use is quality -- or like winking to your granddaughters [like us], the small girls with whom he could have been more distant or cold…but he wasn’t at all. Do you understand? Perhaps I would have liked to have had known him, like I told you before, in a more adult [context, which] was not to be because he died when I was very young. But for example, now, I began to study Japanese many years after his death. Something that would have given me so much joy if it had happened [would have been if] the two of us could have spoken to each other in Japanese even if it was only five words. It is something that would have given me joy if it had happened, but it was not to be.


identity languages racially mixed people

Date: July 12, 2006

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Interviewer: Takeshi Nishimura, Ricardo Hokama

Contributed by: Centro Nikkei Argentino

Interviewee Bio

Paula Hoyos Hattori is a sansei born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a student of letters and dance. Her father is a descendant of Argentine Indians, while her mother is a Nisei, a daughter of Japanese parents. Paula’s particular profile (half Argentine, half Japanese) provides a distinctive vision because of the fusion of these two cultures. (July 12, 2006)

Sawako Ashizawa Uchimura
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Sawako Ashizawa Uchimura

Unique Identity from Having Multiple Backgrounds

(b. 1938) Philipines-born hikiagesha who later migrated to the United States.

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Robert T. Fujioka
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Robert T. Fujioka

Growing up Japanese in Hawaii

(b. 1952) Former banking executive, born in Hawaii

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Kishi Bashi
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Kishi Bashi

On being Japanese and American

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

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Kishi Bashi
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Kishi Bashi

His Shin-Issei parents

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Parents identification as Peruvian Okinawan

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Okinawan cultural appreciation

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Prejudice against Okinawans from mainland folks

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

American values she aligns with

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Working together in Okinawa using three languages

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Fumiko Hachiya Wasserman
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Fumiko Hachiya Wasserman

Mother founded Japanese language school in neighbors’ backyard

Sansei judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

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Mitsuye Yamada
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Mitsuye Yamada

Expressing herself through poetry

(b. 1923) Japanese American poet, activist

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Holly J. Fujie
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Holly J. Fujie

Her grandfather was pressured to teach Japanese

Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

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Juan Alberto Matsumoto
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Juan Alberto Matsumoto

About Escobar (Spanish)

(b. 1962) Nisei Japanese Argentinian, currently residing in Japan

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Monica Teisher
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Monica Teisher

Her definition of Nikkei

(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States

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Sabrina Shizue McKenna
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Sabrina Shizue McKenna

Impact of Coming Out on Her Family

(b. 1957) Justice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

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