Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/754/

To think in one language and live in another (Spanish)

(Spanish) I believe that my grandfather thought in Japanese but had to speak in another language…And that is a mark of being a permanent foreigner. To think in one language and to live in another is something that marks you. I believe that he was able, in some ways, to make the two things compatible; he was reserved but he had something of a certain quality, [that] I don’t know how the Japanese are, a certain quality that was half Argentine…I don’t know if you know what I mean. Quality -- I don’t know if the word I want to use is quality -- or like winking to your granddaughters [like us], the small girls with whom he could have been more distant or cold…but he wasn’t at all. Do you understand? Perhaps I would have liked to have had known him, like I told you before, in a more adult [context, which] was not to be because he died when I was very young. But for example, now, I began to study Japanese many years after his death. Something that would have given me so much joy if it had happened [would have been if] the two of us could have spoken to each other in Japanese even if it was only five words. It is something that would have given me joy if it had happened, but it was not to be.


identity languages racially mixed people

Date: July 12, 2006

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Interviewer: Takeshi Nishimura, Ricardo Hokama

Contributed by: Centro Nikkei Argentino

Interviewee Bio

Paula Hoyos Hattori is a sansei born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a student of letters and dance. Her father is a descendant of Argentine Indians, while her mother is a Nisei, a daughter of Japanese parents. Paula’s particular profile (half Argentine, half Japanese) provides a distinctive vision because of the fusion of these two cultures. (July 12, 2006)

Ann K. Nakamura
en
ja
es
pt
Nakamura,Ann K.

Image of Americans

Sansei from Hawaii living in Japan. Teacher and businesswoman.

en
ja
es
pt
Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
en
ja
es
pt
Okasaki,Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi

Japanese influence growing up

(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.

en
ja
es
pt
PJ Hirabayashi
en
ja
es
pt
Hirabayashi,PJ

Diverse membership in San Jose Taiko

Co-founder and creative director of San Jose Taiko

en
ja
es
pt
Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
en
ja
es
pt
Okasaki,Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi

Looking at your country from the outside

(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.

en
ja
es
pt
Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
en
ja
es
pt
Okasaki,Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi

Wife's family in Japan

(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.

en
ja
es
pt
Yukio Takeshita
en
ja
es
pt
Takeshita,Yukio

Lack of notion of citizenship in Japan

(b.1935) American born Japanese. Retired businessman.

en
ja
es
pt
Byron Glaser
en
ja
es
pt
Glaser,Byron

Growing up in a Japanese American community

Illustrator and designer

en
ja
es
pt
Jane Aiko Yamano
en
ja
es
pt
Yamano,Jane Aiko

Lack of language skills

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

en
ja
es
pt
Jane Aiko Yamano
en
ja
es
pt
Yamano,Jane Aiko

Preserving traditional Japanese culture

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

en
ja
es
pt
Jane Aiko Yamano
en
ja
es
pt
Yamano,Jane Aiko

Having patience in Japan, being both

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

en
ja
es
pt
Byron Glaser
en
ja
es
pt
Glaser,Byron

Supporting art because it's essential

Illustrator and designer

en
ja
es
pt
Jane Aiko Yamano
en
ja
es
pt
Yamano,Jane Aiko

New Year's food

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

en
ja
es
pt
Wayne Shigeto Yokoyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yokoyama,Wayne Shigeto

Being on the outside

(b.1948) Nikkei from Southern California living in Japan.

en
ja
es
pt
Wayne Shigeto Yokoyama
en
ja
es
pt
Yokoyama,Wayne Shigeto

Working at the magazine

(b.1948) Nikkei from Southern California living in Japan.

en
ja
es
pt
Wally Kaname Yonamine
en
ja
es
pt
Yonamine,Wally Kaname

His parents' experience with Japanese resistance toward intermarriage with Okinawans

(b.1925) Nisei of Okinawan descent. Had a 38-year career in Japan as a baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.

en
ja
es
pt