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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)

Wally Kaname Yonamine
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Wally Kaname Yonamine

Working in cane fields as teenager, and how it helped in his athletic training (Japanese)

(b.1925) Nisei of Okinawan descent. Had a 38-year career in Japan as a baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.

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Roy H. Matsumoto
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Roy H. Matsumoto

Nickname

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

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Roy H. Matsumoto
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Roy H. Matsumoto

Difficulties understanding different Japanese dialects

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

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Roy H. Matsumoto
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Roy H. Matsumoto

Mixed emotions after declaration of war on Japan

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

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Richard Kosaki
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Richard Kosaki

Growing up in Waikiki

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

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Roy Hirabayashi
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Roy Hirabayashi

The philosophy of playing Taiko

(b.1951) Co-founder and managing director of San Jose Taiko.

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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)

Learning Japanese traditions by observing his mother and grandmother

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Art Shibayama
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Art Shibayama

Playing baseball along with American Nisei and Kibei

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

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Peter Mizuki
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Peter Mizuki

Japanese wife with American citizenship

Sansei Japanese American living in Japan and Kendo practioner

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Mónica Kogiso
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Mónica Kogiso

Nihongo gakko - Preserving Japanese culture (Spanish)

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

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Peter Mizuki
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Peter Mizuki

Not wanting to stand out as a foreigner

Sansei Japanese American living in Japan and Kendo practioner

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Frank Yamasaki
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Frank Yamasaki

Have compassion for all of humanity

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

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Mónica Kogiso
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Mónica Kogiso

Identity crisis (Spanish)

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

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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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Jero (Jerome Charles White Jr.)

Never sang Enka outside the family

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Fujima Kansuma
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Fujima Kansuma

Both Japanese and American identities though Japanese dance

(1918-2023) Nisei Japanese kabuki dancer

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