Interviews
Didn’t speak Japanese until moving to Japan
At the time I never, never spoke Japanese in Minot, I don’t remember talking, yeah in Japanese, or…we always conversed in English and so until we landed in Yokohama and then even then you know, I don’t know, I was looking at my brother and, you know I think I remember saying something like, oh my! Oh my! Hunk of baloney or something. [laughs] Yeah, and then at the boat, my uncle came up to the deck, you know came up, and then he asked, I guess he asked in Japanese, are you Suto? And I remember I answering yes, and you know that’s [laughs] yeah, that the first conversation, yeah, that I had in [with] Japanese people we had, in Japanese.
Date: June 17, 2008
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Janice Tanaka
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
Explore More Videos
The reason for coming to Japan
(b. 1967) Hawai`i-born professional fighter in Japan
Treatment of Japanese Paraguayans during World War II (Spanish)
Nisei Paraguayan, Researcher
Reason to come back to Canada in 1954
(b. 1922) Canadian Nisei who was unable to return to Canada from Japan until 1952
Learning Japanese at school and at home with family
(b.1951) Co-founder and managing director of San Jose Taiko.
Going to Japanese school
(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation
Feeling closer to Japan as a Japanese American
(1923-2011) Lawyer, MIS veteran, founder of Francis and Sarah Sogi Foundation
Avoiding the Japanese military
(1914-2004) Nisei Bonsai master in the United States
Tango makes him to stay in Argentina (Spanish)
(1925-2014) La Plata Hochi, Journalist
To think in one language and live in another (Spanish)
Sansei Argentinean
Initial struggles with the language barrier (Japanese)
(b. 1917) Okinawan, Issei Argentinean
Government urged Japanese Canadians to go to Japan
(b. 1928) Doctor. Former Chair of the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation.