Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1169/

Father became trilingual to practice medicine

Well, he couldn't practice medicine, 'cause he had to take the state board. And he couldn't take the state board 'cause his English wasn't fluent enough. So he, his English was self-taught, but somehow or another he passed the state board in a year or so. And back in those days, to go to medical school in Japan, aside from Nihongo, you had to know German, 'cause most of the professors were German. And so my dad was quite proud that his German was quite good. And he'd spout out things to us, his kids, you know, never heard that kind of language before. But he was quite... of course, being Issei, your hatsuon, your pronunciation didn't have to be that sharp like in English. You could mumble something in German. Anyhow...

I*: But he was trilingual, so he was Japanese, German, and English.

Eventually, yeah. So all the Issei doctors had to take the test in English. In fact, my youngest son, when he was doing some research, he found, came across, there used to be a doctor named Isamu Sekiyama. My youngest son came across his papers for the state board, and it was all in English, beautiful handwriting. And so I guess they all made an effort to pass the state board. If they were alive now, it'd be a piece of cake, I'm sure.

* "I" indicates an interviewer (Tom Ikeda)


generations immigrants immigration Issei Japan Japanese hospitals medicine migration

Date: September 21, 2009

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Tom Ikeda, Martha Nakagawa

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei female. Born April 30, 1928, in Los Angeles, California. She grew up in Gardena and her father was a prominent medical physician in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. During World War II, removed to the Poston incarceration camp, Arizona. Left camp with family to work on a sugar beet farm in Colorado, and eventually returned to Los Angeles, where father reestablished medical practice. She passed away in November 2016 at the age of 88. (April 2020)

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