Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/594/

Nihongo gakko - Preserving Japanese culture (Spanish)

(Spanish) It’s very difficult to preserve Japanese culture within what is Argentina because on the one hand it’s true that the number of Nikkei in Argentina is not…it’s not a lot. There are approximately 35,000 of us. I think that, until recently, until about 10 years ago, it was easier to preserve a bit more of what was in a certain way Japanese culture. I think through the nihongo gakko (Japanese school)…In every city where there are groups of Japanese families, there’s always a nihongo gakko and a Japanese social club, a nihonjin-kai (Japanese people’s association). There they teach Japanese and then, you know, they hold different events throughout the year.

But it seems like just recently all of that started disappearing, the events that they would do during the year. Maybe because young people aren’t so interested in following those events, or because those same young people have other interests that are more…that motivate them more than being within a community of Nikkei.

So, currently in Argentina, in a way it’s like we’re losing that identity or all those things that make up Japanese culture. But on the other hand it’s like there’s a return, there’s a sense of…a sense of and an interest in…not among everyone, but among certain people…But generally they’re Sansei, they’re…not Nisei, but rather from subsequent generations, they might be Sansei or Yonsei, that are more interested in everything about Japan. Maybe because of their grandparents.

And there are also a lot of Argentine people that are interested in Japanese culture as well. Perhaps the Nisei are more…they have a lot of reluctance and it’s harder for them to preserve the culture. For them it’s easier, or maybe it seems more worthwhile, to teach their children English instead of Japanese. I think that maybe they’re more interested in further integrating into Argentine society rather than preserving one’s own.


Argentina culture education identity Japanese language schools language schools

Date: October 7, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Ann Kaneko

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Monica Kogiso is a Nikkei Nisei Argentinian, born in Buenos Aires in the city of Escobar where the Japanese community thrives on floristry. She is licensed in tourism, currently working as a resource, tourism and event coordinator for Japan, serving as bridge between both Argentina and Japan. She is the former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino, a Nikkei organization located in Buenos Aires and is a representative for the Panamerican Nikkei Association. (January 23, 2007)

Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt
Murase,Mike

Gidra's Editorial Process

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt
Murase,Mike

Gidra - Community Newspaper

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt
Murase,Mike

Common Cause

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt
Murase,Mike

Content Conflict

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt
Murase,Mike

Camp Experiences

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Mike Murase
en
ja
es
pt
Murase,Mike

Staff and Struggles

Community activist

en
ja
es
pt
Terry Janzen
en
ja
es
pt
Janzen,Terry

Postwar school-life

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Ochi
en
ja
es
pt
Ochi,Rose

On Challenging Institutions

(1938-2020) Japanese American attorney and civil rights activist

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Ochi
en
ja
es
pt
Ochi,Rose

Pop and Balls

(1938-2020) Japanese American attorney and civil rights activist

en
ja
es
pt
Tamio Wakayama
en
ja
es
pt
Wakayama,Tamio

Re-examining Identity

(1941-2018) Japanese Canadian photojournalist and activist

en
ja
es
pt
Francesca Yukari Biller
en
ja
es
pt
Biller,Francesca Yukari

Culture is an important part of one's identity

Jewish Japanese American journalist

en
ja
es
pt
Jean Hamako Schneider
en
ja
es
pt
Schneider,Jean Hamako

On international marriages (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

en
ja
es
pt
Jean Hamako Schneider
en
ja
es
pt
Schneider,Jean Hamako

Masao-san (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

en
ja
es
pt
Jean Hamako Schneider
en
ja
es
pt
Schneider,Jean Hamako

Conflicted about immigrating to America (Japanese)

(b. 1925) War bride

en
ja
es
pt
Tamio Wakayama
en
ja
es
pt
Wakayama,Tamio

Defining "Nikkei"

(1941-2018) Japanese Canadian photojournalist and activist

en
ja
es
pt