Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/772/

To feel uncomfortable in Japan (Spanish)

(Spanish) I go to Japan, and it is very disciplined. I admire it, but here [in Argentina] it is more subdued. I feel more at home here. Japanese society is very busy. If I do something, because when I was very young, my mother would challenge me instead of saying, “Don’t do that,” she would say, “What is the family going to say, what are the people going to say?” Ever since I was a little boy, therefore, I thought: I have to keep in mind what some other person might think of what I’m doing. And it can’t be [that way]. I am free. I want to do as I want to do, and in Japan that is difficult, very difficult. I have to watch my behavior. Good, that’s o.k. Here no one controls me. For me, Argentina is much better than Japan.


Argentina identity

Date: February 23, 2007

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Interviewer: Takeshi Nishimura, Ricardo Hokama

Contributed by: Centro Nikkei Argentino

Interviewee Bio

Takagi Kazuomi was born in Japan on March 27, 1925, in the Mie province. He arrived in Argentina as a tourist and never returned to Japan. By chance he started out in journalism, a profession that provided employment for more than fifty years on radio and in the graphic arts. Today, at eighty-one years old, he continues to fervently work as a journalist for the newspaper of the Japanese collectivity, La Plata Hochi (Japanese Section), including acting stints in various forms of publicity. He passed away on November 10, 2014 at age 89. (January 2021)

Terry Janzen
en
ja
es
pt
Janzen,Terry

Postwar school-life

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Ochi
en
ja
es
pt
Ochi,Rose

On Challenging Institutions

(1938-2020) Japanese American attorney and civil rights activist

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Ochi
en
ja
es
pt
Ochi,Rose

Pop and Balls

(1938-2020) Japanese American attorney and civil rights activist

en
ja
es
pt
Tamio Wakayama
en
ja
es
pt
Wakayama,Tamio

Re-examining Identity

(1941-2018) Japanese Canadian photojournalist and activist

en
ja
es
pt
Jean Hamako Schneider
en
ja
es
pt
Schneider,Jean Hamako

On international marriages (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

en
ja
es
pt
Jean Hamako Schneider
en
ja
es
pt
Schneider,Jean Hamako

Masao-san (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

en
ja
es
pt
Jean Hamako Schneider
en
ja
es
pt
Schneider,Jean Hamako

Conflicted about immigrating to America (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

en
ja
es
pt
Tamio Wakayama
en
ja
es
pt
Wakayama,Tamio

Defining "Nikkei"

(1941-2018) Japanese Canadian photojournalist and activist

en
ja
es
pt
Sawako Ashizawa Uchimura
en
ja
es
pt
Uchimura,Sawako Ashizawa

Unique Identity from Having Multiple Backgrounds

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

en
ja
es
pt
Robert T. Fujioka
en
ja
es
pt
Fujioka,Robert T.

Growing up Japanese in Hawaii

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

en
ja
es
pt
Kishi Bashi
en
ja
es
pt
Bashi,Kishi

On being Japanese and American

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

en
ja
es
pt
Kishi Bashi
en
ja
es
pt
Bashi,Kishi

His Shin-Issei parents

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

en
ja
es
pt
Michelle Yamashiro
en
ja
es
pt
Yamashiro,Michelle

Parents identification as Peruvian Okinawan

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

en
ja
es
pt
Michelle Yamashiro
en
ja
es
pt
Yamashiro,Michelle

Okinawan cultural appreciation

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

en
ja
es
pt
Michelle Yamashiro
en
ja
es
pt
Yamashiro,Michelle

Prejudice against Okinawans from mainland folks

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

en
ja
es
pt