Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/312/

Interviews

Yamano,Jane Aiko

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

Lack of language skills

At that time, I think Japan was still used to “Foreigners just cannot speak Japanese.” And anybody that looked Japanese should speak Japanese. So if I go out with friends, say, five of us are sitting at the table, basically I’m usually the only one that can’t speak Japanese and everybody else can. And so I’m sitting there, but the waiter is looking at me, and talking to me, and I’m like, “Uh, what’d he say?” And after a while, I got used to it, so it’s like I just…he’s looking at me and let everybody else order. You know, then finally…one time we went to…I think it was a little vegetable market and my sister and I were with my mother and we were talking and I think the man was trying to talk to us and we didn’t know what he was saying. All of a sudden, he started getting mad at my mother. Get that, getting mad at my mother. And later, we were like, “What was he so mad about?” She goes, “Oh, it’s because you girls didn’t speak Japanese” and he was getting mad at her, like, “Why don’t you teach your kids how to speak Japanese? They don’t understand Japanese? Why are you in Japan?” You know, they couldn’t relate. “You look Japanese but you don’t speak it. Now something must be wrong.”


Finding Home (film) identity languages prejudices racially mixed people

Date: September 3, 2003

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Interviewer: Art Nomura

Contributed by: Art Nomura, Finding Home.

Interviewee Bio

Jane Aiko Yamano, 38-year-old Nisei-Yonsei, was born in Los Angeles and moved to Japan at age 12 with her Japanese father and Sansei mother. At the time that her family moved to Japan, Jane’s Japanese was minimal, even though she attended Saturday Japanese school in Los Angeles. She was enrolled in the American School in Tokyo, which was largely English-speaking. She then graduated from Sophia University and went to beauty college, after which she went into business.

Ms. Yamano is now fluent in speaking, but limited in reading and writing Japanese. She recognizes the restrictions placed upon women in Japan, but her position as head of a beauty college gives her more authority than usual for a woman. She is a Japanese citizen, having been registered by her father, and is also a U.S. citizen, holding passports from both countries. She has now lived in Japan for over 25 years. (September 3, 2003)

Jero  (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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(Jerome Charles White Jr.),Jero

Considers Pittsburg his home, but always wanted to live in Japan

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Jero  (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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(Jerome Charles White Jr.),Jero

Singing the way I sing (Japanese)

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Jero  (Jerome Charles White Jr.)
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(Jerome Charles White Jr.),Jero

The first concert in the United States (Japanese)

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Robert A. Nakamura
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Nakamura,Robert A.

Creating Culture

(b. 1936) Filmmaker

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Stan Sakai
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Sakai,Stan

Cultural influences

(b. 1953) Cartoonist

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Robert A. Nakamura
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Nakamura,Robert A.

Formula for Freedom

(b. 1936) Filmmaker

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Evelyn Yoshimura
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Yoshimura,Evelyn

Commonalities

Community Activist

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Evelyn Yoshimura
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Yoshimura,Evelyn

Understanding Gidra's Context

Community Activist

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Evelyn Yoshimura
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Yoshimura,Evelyn

Gidra's Content

Community Activist

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Evelyn Yoshimura
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Yoshimura,Evelyn

Youth and Gidra

Community Activist

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Mike Murase
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Murase,Mike

Struggle and Activism

Community activist

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Mike Murase
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Murase,Mike

Gidra's Editorial Process

Community activist

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Mike Murase
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Murase,Mike

Gidra - Community Newspaper

Community activist

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Mike Murase
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Murase,Mike

Common Cause

Community activist

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Mike Murase
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Murase,Mike

Content Conflict

Community activist

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