Interviews
Discomfort at being labeled by others
I don’t really like other labels put on me. When you self-identify, that’s your choice, and that’s the great thing, if you want to identify as whatever it is you do…I mean.
I remember I got a ticket the other day for having my dog on the beach and I got the “you people”. And I was like—‘cause whenever you get “you people” you’re now the minority, and “you people” can mean anything. When you’re, like, “You people,” you’re like—“Okay, I know where this conversation is.” So the guy’s like “I’ve been telling you people about this for a long time,” and I thought, “Okay, is ‘you people’ dog guys on the beach? Or is ‘you people’ surfers or brown guys or tattoo people or long-hair people?” or whatever it is, and I’m like—I asked, “What do you mean, ‘you people’?” And he just kept writing the ticket, he wouldn’t tell me.
And that’s when I realized there’s some label in his head he’s got going on. Maybe his “you people” is “you scofflaws who ignore the laws of our great country or city or whatever,” and maybe it’s something else going on. And so I choose to try to identify myself my way as much as I can.
Date: May 3, 2006
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Jim Bower
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum.
Explore More Videos
Nihongo gakko - Preserving Japanese culture (Spanish)
(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.
Not wanting to stand out as a foreigner
Sansei Japanese American living in Japan and Kendo practioner
Have compassion for all of humanity
(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.
Identity crisis (Spanish)
(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.
Never sang Enka outside the family
(b. 1981) Enka Singer
Both Japanese and American identities though Japanese dance
(1918-2023) Nisei Japanese kabuki dancer
Results of being more American than Japanese
(1924-2018) Researcher, Activist
Trying to convey the meaning of the songs
(b. 1981) Enka Singer
Internship on a Native American reservation in Arizona
(b.1952) Master drummer, artistic director of the Taiko Center of the Pacific
Different tension between East Coast and Los Angeles
Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan
Differences between American and Japanese taiko
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Meeting Japanese Americans from the mainland in MIS
(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation
Sudden acceptance in Japanese society
(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan