Descubra Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/pt/interviews/clips/1133/

Memories of the Late Yoshitaro Amano (Japanese)

(Japanese) About Mr. Amano…let’s just say you can’t explain what an incredible person he was in just a word or two. If you ask what’s so incredible about him, the answer is everything. What he does. And his guts. His courage. And his intelligence. His human kindness. He was a person who had it all. That’s why it’s so difficult to answer when asked what kind of person he was. He was old when I met him…You know, coming here has been really…the reason I think I really came at the right time was that I was able to meet so many people. To meet Mr. Amano while he was still alive, and share many meals, and hear many stories. That has meant so very much to me.

And, you know, Mr. Amano…once we ate together after he’d had, I don’t know if it was a stroke or cerebral apoplexy, but he’d become somewhat incapacitated. Actually, he’d been stopped from drinking, but when his wife wasn’t looking, you know, he’d put pisco (a liquor distilled from grapes) in a flask. You know he’d take that, and when his wife stepped out for a minute, he’d put it in something called “chicha morada”, purple corn juice. He’d put the pisco in. Then he’d take a big swig and smile. It was really the face of a kid. And I’d think, “I want to be like this guy when I get older.” He was a man who’d seen a lot of things. He was a really pure person.


Data: April 18, 2007

Localização Geográfica: Lima, Peru

Entrevistado: Ann Kaneko

País: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Entrevistados

Nascido em 11 de julho de 1953, ele foi o quarto filho do dono de um conhecido restaurante japonês na cidade de Saito, na província de Miyazaki. Aos 11 anos de idade, depois de passar cinco anos brincando na cozinha, Konishi começou a ser treinado junto com outros candidatos a chef. Em 1971, aos 16 anos, ele foi para Tóquio, onde se tornou chef do restaurante Fumi.

Em 1974, ele se mudou para o Peru com Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, conhecido nos E.U.A., Japão, e outras partes do mundo por sua culinária “mista” no seu restaurante, o NOBU. Depois de trabalhar por dez anos no restaurante japonês Matsuei, Konishi abriu o Toshiro’s e o Wako em um hotel da rede Sheraton em Lima. Em 2002, ele também se tornou gerente do Sushi Bar Toshiro’s no distrito de San Isidro.

Além de cuidar dos restaurantes, ele deu aulas na Universidade San Ignacio de Loyola, participou em festivais culinários em todo o mundo, introduziu a “Fusão Peruana” (uma mistura das cozinhas japonesa e peruana), e recebeu numerosos prêmios. Em 2008, ele se tornou o primeiro japonês residente na América Latina a receber do governo japonês o Prêmio do Ministério da Agricultura, Sivicultura e Pesca. (Outubre de 2009)