Interviews
Childhood shame for being Nikkei in Enumclaw, Washington
Oh, I think there was a great deal of shame, not justified shame. I recall very distinctly not letting the other kids see what I brought to school for lunch. If it were rice with some meat in it, on the side, and tsukemono (Japanese Pickles) or whatever, there was a great deal of pressure not to reveal this kind of information to your hakujin (European American) classmates. I did not want my hakujin classmates to see me eating with chopsticks. I think that begins to tell a little bit of the story of my upbringing within that community, which is predominantly white.
As I grew older and particularly after I finished law school, or even during law school, I actually took pride in using chopsticks, and I would deliberately go out of my way to use chopsticks if my Caucasian friends were around. So it was kind of a complete reversal.
Date: August 27, 1998
Location: Pennsylvania, US
Interviewer: Darcie Iki, Mitchell Maki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Explore More Videos
Thoughts on the term, "Nikkei"
(b. 1949) Musician and arts educator and adminstrator.
Need generational change in Japanese community (Spanish)
(1925-2014) La Plata Hochi, Journalist
Defining the term "Nikkei" (Portuguese)
Former Director, Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil
Brazilian of Japanese descents (Portuguese)
Former Director, Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil
Nikkei community concentrated in São Paulo (Portuguese)
Former Director, Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil
Changing life styles of successive generations (Portuguese)
Former Director, Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa no Brasil
On the Importance of Role Models
(b. 1942) The first Asian American woman judge
Defining "Nikkei" through lineage and community involvement (Spanish)
Nisei Paraguayan, Researcher
The term Nikkei reflects ties to Japan (Spanish)
Nisei Paraguayan, Researcher
The reactions of others when I got my American citizenship (Japanese)
Shin-Issei from Gifu. Recently received U.S. citizenship