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)

Bashi,Kishi

His Shin-Issei parents

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

Yamashiro,Michelle

Parents identification as Peruvian Okinawan

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

Yamashiro,Michelle

Okinawan cultural appreciation

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

Yamashiro,Michelle

Prejudice against Okinawans from mainland folks

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

Yamashiro,Michelle

American values she aligns with

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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

Yamada,Mitsuye

Expressing herself through poetry

(b. 1923) Japanese American poet, activist

Fujie,Holly J.

Her grandfather was pressured to teach Japanese

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

Matsumoto,Juan Alberto

About Escobar (Spanish)

(b. 1962) Nisei Japanese Argentinian, currently residing in Japan

Teisher,Monica

Her definition of Nikkei

(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States

McKenna,Sabrina Shizue

Impact of Coming Out on Her Family

(b. 1957) Jusice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.