Nikkei Chronicles #8—Nikkei Heroes: Trailblazers, Role Models, and Inspirations
The word “hero” can mean different things to different people. For this series, we have explored the idea of a Nikkei hero and what it means to a variety of people. Who is your hero? What is their story? How have they influenced your Nikkei identity or your connection to your Nikkei heritage?
We solicited stories from May to September of 2019, and voting closed on November 15, 2019. We received 32 stories (16 English; 2 Japanese; 11 Spanish; and 3 Portuguese) from individuals in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.
Here are the selected favorite stories by our Editorial Committee and the Nima-kai.
Editorial Committee’s Favorites
- ENGLISH:
Mine Okubo
By Edna Horiuchi - JAPANESE:
My Roots—The Legacy of Matsugoro Ohto
By Naori Shiraishi - SPANISH:
My Hero: Kiyoshi Kuwahara
By Fuyiko Kuwahara - PORTUGUESE:
Miyoko Fujisaka, 95 years old – Our Heroine
By Iraci Megumi Nagoshi
Nima-kai selection:
- 48 stars:
My Father Was A Tule Lake Resister
By Keiko Moriyama
Stories from this series
Hakujin Heroes
Aug. 26, 2019 • Michael Hosokawa
“Nikkei Heroes,” the theme of the JANM's Discover NIkkei project, to capture stories about Japanese American trailblazers, role models, and inspirations has featured many Nikkei heroes from the Issei to current generations. Many of the stories are about people who would never consider themselves as trailblazers or role models. I previously wrote about some of my heroes such as Senator Daniel Inouye, George “Joe” Sakata, and my father, Bill Hosokawa. While searching my memories of my childhood at Heart Mountain Relocation …
An exemplary hibakusha and nikkei at 80 years of age
Aug. 19, 2019 • Sergio Hernández Galindo
Yasuaki Yamashita would probably not be among us now if his mother had not hugged him and protected him with her body at the moment the atomic bomb exploded over the city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. This Japanese city, in the first days of August of that year, had already been the target of North American bombings that partially destroyed the port shipyards, the city hospital and the Mitsubishi factory. But Fat Man , the name by which …
A short history of Japanese immigration
Aug. 7, 2019 • Roberto Oshiro Teruya
April 3, 2019 is a very important date for us, we celebrate 120 years of Japanese Immigration to Peru, during this time immigrants crossed the Pacific who made a common history of these two nations. There are many important stories that represent it, they are well known to everyone, but there are others that were part of it almost anonymously, people who fought, worked and suffered until finally being part of this great country that welcomed them and all their …
Kohatsu's Elena Yoshida: a heroine among heroes
Aug. 2, 2019 • Milagros Tsukayama Shinzato
“By her works you will know her.” And because of their virtues, I think we can even come to admire a person. I was really surprised when I met Elena Yoshida from Kohatsu, the only woman who has directed almost all the institutions of the Peruvian-Nikkei community, such as the Peruvian Japanese Association. But I have never met her in person; But that happened when he read books, listened to testimonies and memories and saw the commemorative plaques that perpetuate …
Brigadier General Kendall J. Fielder: Champion of the Nisei in World War II
July 29, 2019 • Dwight H. Gates
A few years ago, my wife and I visited the Punchbowl Cemetery in Hawaii in search of her grandparents’ grave. At the visitor’s center, we were met by two Japanese American (JA) World War II veterans. When I mentioned we were searching for Brigadier General Kendall Jordan Fielder’s grave, one of them responded, “Oh! He saved our bacon several times during World War II.” Without Fielder’s influence in the early days of World War II, the fate of nearly 160,000 …
Medal of Honor Heroes: Daniel Inouye and Joe Sakato
July 19, 2019 • Michael Hosokawa
Heart Mountain, Wyoming, 1943. My uncle Kenney Miyake visited us. Uncle Kenney is my mother’s brother. They were born in Portland, Oregon. He wore the uniform of the 442nd Infantry Battalion. He reached into his travel bag and showed me his Army 45, a monster gun in my little hands. On his uniform was a medal, a Purple Heart because he was wounded in Italy. I wanted to wear a uniform just like my Uncle Kenney. I wanted to be …