Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1358/

Teaching English in Japan

There's I know...there were two Americans. Soldiers I guess.  They were dressed as civilians but I think they were soldiers.  I'd sit at the bar and the, um, the bartender I mean the lady, -- the girl said, You know Jerry-san.  I really like that one guy.  You know he keeps coming in looking at me.  And It makes me nervous but you know I really like him, you know.  So I say, Oh. Then why don't you go over and tell him.  I been teaching her all this English, you know?  She says, "Yeah but I'm kind of shy.  So she says would you please tell him for me," you know?  So I went up to him.  

That was the first time I used my so-called full, long sentences.  I says, excuse me but... It took me some time but I said, "I'm American."  And he says, "Yeah, what do you want buddy?"  And I says, I'm American.  And you are American.  I want to tell you something.  And he says, "Yeah, what?"  I says, "See that girl over there?  Sachiko, or whatever her name was.  Sachiko...or Sayuko... Anyway, I said she likes, she likes you.  He says, "Oh is that right?  God so many of the guys thinks she's fabulous.  So I really like her a lot too."  Out of them, they were too, both of them were too shy to say anything, you know. So basically what I did was fix them up. my.

So Sayuko came over and they start chatting and I was translating and all that kinda stuff and, and sitting there.  And kinda made friends with them in a way, you know.  And my English starting coming back again.  But, uh, then I went back and did my classes and she, uh disappeared.  She took...after that she never came back.  And I went to the bar and she wasn't there, so I asked one of the girls, and she was new there, you know.  So she said I think, I think she went to America.


Japanese languages

Date: June 29, 2012

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Chris Komai, John Esaki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Jimmy Murakami (1933 – 2014) was inspired as a child to become a film animator by watching the Disney cartoons that were shown to Japanese Americans confined at the Tule Lake concentration camp during WWII. After attending Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, he worked as an animator for UPA. He later founded Murakami Wolf—a company that produced many well-known commercials in the 1960s and 70s—and became a feature film director of When the Wind Blows and The Snowman. After establishing residence in Ireland in recent years, he passed away in February of 2014 at age 80.  (June 2014)

Hokama,Ryoko

Initial struggles with the language barrier (Japanese)

(b. 1917) Okinawan, Issei Argentinean

Takagi,Kazuomi

Learning Spanish (Spanish)

(1925-2014) La Plata Hochi, Journalist

Uyeda,Clifford

Japanese Language School

(1917 - 2004) Political activist

Suto,Henry

Being enlisted into the Japanese Army

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

Suto,Henry

Working tirelessly after the war (Japanese)

(1928 - 2008) Drafted into both the Japanese Imperial Army and the U.S. Army.

Amano,Miyoko

A Lifestyle Using Both Japanese and Spanish (Japanese)

(b. 1929) President of Amano Museum

Biller,Francesca Yukari

Fitting in to both sides of her family

Jewish Japanese American journalist

Horikiri,Edward Toru

(Japanese) My children’s education

(b. 1929) Kibei Nisei

Hirano,Paulo Issamu

The term Nikkei (Japanese)

(b. 1979) Sansei Nikkei Brazilian who lives in Oizumi-machi in Gunma prefecture. He runs his own design studio.

Yamashiro,Michelle

Working together in Okinawa using three languages

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

Wasserman,Fumiko Hachiya

Mother founded Japanese language school in neighbors’ backyard

Sansei judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

Fujie,Holly J.

Her grandfather was pressured to teach Japanese

Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

Ninomiya,Masato

Foreign language education was severely restricted during the war

Professor of Law, University of Sao Paulo, Lawyer, Translator (b. 1948)