Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/714/

The various realities of Nikkei in Latin America (Spanish)

(Spanish) I think that the development of this thing called Nikkei has been somewhat distinct from country to country. I’m referring to Latin America in general. Through the Pan-American Association of Nikkei, I’ve had the opportunity to come into contact with various Nikkei realities, and yes, there are some common roots, however there are also certain differences. Perhaps the greatest difference I see comes from the number of Japanese that settled in a given place. In places where there are a lot of Japanese, there are obviously Japanese schools. There are Japanese clubs, Japanese churches, or Buddhist temples – whatever, I don’t know! By contrast, in countries like Chile, there was none of that. Therefore, in the development of countries where there were a lot of Japanese, maybe the customs, the culture lasted longer. Maybe it wasn’t growing, but it lasted longer in those places. In the case of Chile, in my case, I think we drifted quite a bit towards adapting to Chilean society, and as fast as possible in order to get by as best we could. So, for example, within this context you see that in religion, for example, in Chile there’s no…uh…the majority religion is Catholicism, and perhaps therefore all of us ended up embracing that religion. Something else, for example, is that since the nucleus of Japanese and Nikkei was so small, weddings, marriages to locals was much greater than in other places. Naturally, this led to, among other things, a very rapid loss of the language.


Chile communities culture immigration

Date: October 7, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Ann Kaneko

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

Interviewee Bio

Roberto Hirose was born in Quillota, Chile on August 8, 1950. He spent his childhood in an agricultural environment where he met a variety of the local Japanese in Chile. He attended school in Quillota and later in Copiapó. In Copiapó, he had the opportunity to meet people from Japan who had come to the mining area of Chile for work. He studied electrical engineering at La Universidad de Chile, in Santiago (1968-1973). Subsequently, he was awarded a six month scholarship by the Ministerio de Educación de Japón to study Japanese at the University of Foreign Languages in Osaka, and research electrical engineering at the University of Hiroshima for one year. For over a decade, Roberto worked in the machinery department at Mitsui Chile Ltda. In 1986, he worked at Industrias Vinycon (as a manufacturer of industrial fishing materials). In 2002, he managed the diversification of Vinycon in northern Chile, specifically in Caldera, where he directed an agricultural center for the cultivation of abalone. In regards to Nikkei activities in Chile, Roberto actively participated in the Sociedad Japonesa de Beneficencia from 1968 to 1986. Afterwards, he became involved with the Corporación Nikkei de la Región de Valparaíso (formerly the Agrupación Nikkei de Valparaíso) of which he is still a part of today. (May 2, 2007)

Etsuo Hongo
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Hongo,Etsuo

The reason he came to the United States (Japanese)

(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California

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Roger Shimomura
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Shimomura,Roger

Grandfather's arrival in the U.S., experiencing discrimination

(b. 1939) Japanese American painter, printmaker & professor

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Roger Shimomura
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Shimomura,Roger

Japanese American community life

(b. 1939) Japanese American painter, printmaker & professor

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Frank Yamasaki
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Yamasaki,Frank

Starting over after the war: denial of all things Japanese

(b. 1923) Nisei from Washington. Resisted draft during WWII.

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Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
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Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Mother's immigration to U.S. as a treaty merchant

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

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Rose Kutsukake
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Kutsukake,Rose

Why her parents came to Canada

(1918-2004) Interned in Slocan during World War II. Active member of the Japanese Canadian community.

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Fred Sasaki
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Sasaki,Fred

Family background of Fredrick Yoshihide Sasaki

(b. 1918) Issei businessman in Canada

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Kimi Wakabayashi
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Wakabayashi,Kimi

Arranged marriage

(b.1912) Japanese Canadian Issei. Immigrated with husband to Canada in 1931

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Kimi Wakabayashi
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Wakabayashi,Kimi

Her early life in Canada

(b.1912) Japanese Canadian Issei. Immigrated with husband to Canada in 1931

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Seiichi Tanaka
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Tanaka,Seiichi

Coming to America

(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.

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Enson Inoue
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Inoue,Enson

The reason for coming to Japan

(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan

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George Azumano
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Azumano,George

Downtown in Portland, Oregon

(b. 1918) Founder Azumano Travel

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Kip Fulbeck
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Fulbeck,Kip

Lessons learned from The Hapa Project

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Alfredo Kato
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Kato,Alfredo

Peru Shimpo for the Nikkei community (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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Bill Hashizume
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Hashizume,Bill

Yobiyose system in Canada

(b. 1922) Canadian Nisei who was unable to return to Canada from Japan until 1952

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