Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/893/

Not wanting to stand out as a foreigner

I always had this dream of living abroad in a foreign country since I was in junior high school. And then when I was…originally, I wanted to live in Europe. Then I went to Europe when I was 19. I went for a summer. But I originally intended to go for 3 months. I ended up staying for 6 months. I had a one-year open ticket. I met some people in Germany. They were working for the military and I got a job as a janitor, just running wild – drinking…and they were…one guy was Canadian, two guys from America and I just kind of slept wherever – on the floor in their apartment. I didn’t have a room. I was kind of a bum. That was fun. I had a great time.

But living in Europe for a short time, I realized I didn’t want to live…I wasn’t comfortable in Europe because you stand out. I didn’t like being…like being in America. I don’t like standing out, being targeted with racial epithets and things. So I don’t need that in my life. So living in Japan was much more comfortable when I first came here. It’s that whole point of not standing out, I think, which makes my life comfortable here.


Finding Home (film) identity migration

Date: November 11, 2003

Location: Kyoto, Japan

Interviewer: Art Nomura

Contributed by: Art Nomura, Finding Home.

Interviewee Bio

Peter Mizuki, a Sansei, was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. As a child he helped in his family’s lumber business and was involved with the Japanese martial art of kendo. Later, while a student at the University of Washington, he was one of the founding members of the Kendo Club. As his interest in Japanese culture developed, he traveled to Japan on a cultural visa to learn Japanese and continue his study of kendo. There, he met his wife in Kyoto. He now has two sons, is a permanent resident of Japan, and continues to practice kendo and teach English part-time at universities. In his interview, Peter shares his experiences of being a Japanese American in Japan and the struggles he’s endured to be accepted by Japanese society. (2005)

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

Nikkei Sansei

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Enson Inoue
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Inoue,Enson

Sudden acceptance in Japanese society

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

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Enson Inoue
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Inoue,Enson

Tracing my family crest

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

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Enson Inoue
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Inoue,Enson

Ring name: "Yamato Damashi"

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

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

Getting on Kohaku (Japanese)

(b. 1981) Enka Singer

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Enson Inoue
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Inoue,Enson

Citizenship and identity

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

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Terumi Hisamatsu Calloway
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Calloway,Terumi Hisamatsu

Missing Home (Japanese)

(b. 1937) A war bride from Yokohama

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Kip Fulbeck
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Fulbeck,Kip

Early consciousness of identity

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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William Hohri
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Hohri,William

Importance of self-representation in legislation

(1927-2010) Political Activist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Fulbeck,Kip

Finding parallels through art

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Fulbeck,Kip

The Hapa Project

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Francis Y. Sogi
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Sogi,Francis Y.

Defining the term Nikkei

(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation

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Kip Fulbeck
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Fulbeck,Kip

Perceptions of uniqueness

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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Kip Fulbeck
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Fulbeck,Kip

Identity as a conscious ongoing process

(b. 1965) filmmaker and artist

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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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