Discover Nikkei Logo

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/853/

Iron discipline at home (Spanish)

(Spanish) My mother walked in the shadow of my father; she always had to do what he said. At times this bothered me, but it was his way. I remember…look at how the Japanese were at that time. Fathers were like that with their wives and with their children. Did the children eat with the adults? You could not eat with your parents in the dining room, nor be a nuisance. You had to eat somewhere else with the other children and with the employees, but the adults sat around the main table. This dreadful tradition that…

But I remember that afternoon when my father was dying, he said, “Filo, Filo,” calling my mother. “I want to entrust you with something, remember” – he said so tiredly – “that Venancio must always stay in school, he should always study.” Why did he say such a thing? (Venancio cries while remembering) I recall…please forgive my show of emotion…I have many things, these things, I am very sentimental, they shock me and [then] it makes me cry, I get angry but I am like that, now more than ever…all right, I want to continue.

I remember when my father said that I should finish school, my mother went to the side of the bed and said, “Listen here, what are you thinking? This child is mine too. Of course, he is going to finish his studies; you don’t have to tell me.” It was the first time in my life that I heard my mother answer my father in that way. I didn’t know how to react. I was in the main room and she was over here, and my father’s body was there, and my mother was shouting. I said, “Wow, what happened to my mother!?” A few hours later my father died.


families

Date: September 6, 2007

Location: Lima, Peru

Interviewer: Harumi Nako

Contributed by: Asociación Peruano Japonesa (APJ)

Interviewee Bio

Venancio Shinki (born 1932 in Supe, Lima, Peru) is one of the most outstanding Peruvian painters. The son of a Japanese father (Kitsuke Shinki of Hiroshima Ken) and a Peruvian mother (Filomena Huamán), Venancio was raised on the San Nicolás hacienda in Supe, north of Lima, an area with a large concentration of Japanese immigrants in the early years. He studied at the National School of Fine Arts of Peru, and graduated with the best grade in his class in 1962.

His paintings recall Eastern, Western, and Andean traditions, with a distinctive surrealism that shows an unknown and intriguing universe, set off by a purified technique and a renovated figuration, which links Venancio with other great Latin American artists. Venancio has received many accolades and has participated in a variety of individual and group exhibits in Peru, Japan, Italy, United States, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Panama, and Mexico, among others. In 1999, the year of the centenary marking Japanese migration to Peru, Venacio was invited to exhibit his work in the Museum of Man in Nagoya, Japan. His most recent works were displayed in November 2006 during the 34th Annual Japanese Cultural Week in Lima, Peru. He passed away in 2016. (October 2017)

Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
en
ja
es
pt

Wife's family in Japan

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

en
ja
es
pt
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
en
ja
es
pt

Impact of Pearl Harbor on her family

(1934 -2024) Writer

en
ja
es
pt
Jane Aiko Yamano
en
ja
es
pt

New Year's food

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

en
ja
es
pt
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
en
ja
es
pt

Initial impact on life at camp

(1934 -2024) Writer

en
ja
es
pt
Wally Kaname Yonamine
en
ja
es
pt

His parents' experience with Japanese resistance toward intermarriage with Okinawans

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

en
ja
es
pt
Wally Kaname Yonamine
en
ja
es
pt

Working in cane fields as teenager to supplement family income

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

en
ja
es
pt
Roy Hirabayashi
en
ja
es
pt

Celebrating traditional Japanese New Years with family

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

en
ja
es
pt
Aiko Yoshinaga Herzig
en
ja
es
pt

Results of being more American than Japanese

(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist

en
ja
es
pt
Francis Y. Sogi
en
ja
es
pt

Visiting family in Japan

(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation

en
ja
es
pt
Enson Inoue
en
ja
es
pt

Tracing my family crest

(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Toshio Inahara
en
ja
es
pt

Family background

(b. 1921) Vascular surgeon

en
ja
es
pt
Toshio Inahara
en
ja
es
pt

Driving 1930 Ford at age 12

(b. 1921) Vascular surgeon

en
ja
es
pt
Kristi Yamaguchi
en
ja
es
pt

Grandparent's unspoken past

(b.1971) Professional figure skater and Olympic gold medalist.

en
ja
es
pt
Johnnie Morton
en
ja
es
pt

Talking with Grandmother

(b.1971) Professional football player.

en
ja
es
pt
George Yoshida
en
ja
es
pt

Introduction to Jazz

(b. 1922) Musician

en
ja
es
pt

Discover Nikkei Updates

DISCOVER NIKKEI PROGRAM
July 12 • Burnaby, British Columbia
Join us for a book talk, reception, and panel discussion on Japanese Canadian history. The panel discussion will also be live-streamed via Zoom!
NIKKEI CHRONICLES #14
Nikkei Family 2: Remembering Roots, Leaving Legacies
Baachan, grandpa, tía, irmão… what does Nikkei family mean to you? Submit your story!
SUPPORT THE PROJECT
Discover Nikkei’s 20 for 20 campaign celebrates our first 20 years and jumpstarts our next 20. Learn more and donate!