Eriko Yamamoto
Eriko Yamamoto is a historian specializing in Japanese American history and currently a professor at Aichi Mizuho College. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa and an MA from Claremont Graduate University History Department. Her past affiliations include the East-West Center (EWC grantee), Sugiyama Jogakuen University (professor of American Studies), the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (1998-99 Fulbright Visiting Scholar), and the Japanese American National Museum (Nikkei Legacy Project manager). She is a life member of Oral History Association (U.S.) and one of the founders of Japan Oral History Association.
Updated January 2016
Stories from This Author
Memories of the 1932 Olympics: A Page in Japanese American History
Feb. 10, 2016 • Eriko Yamamoto
Nisshoki gaSutadiamu no men masuto ni agattaIma dewa yume de nakunatta.Kakkoku tokutenhyo niNihon wa gungun nobotte yuki.Rosanjerusu no aozora niSanran to, jitsuni sanran toHirugaette iruNisshoki no ikuhon.Kangeki no kiwami de, mi wa furueru.Kanki no namida ga mazu otsuru.Yushowa yushowo gekisan suru. The flag of the rising sun Went up the main mast. It is no longer a dream. On the scoreboards for each nation Japan’s points are rising fast. Gloriously, truly gloriously …
The Heritage of an Issei Lady: Yonako Abiko’s Vision for Global Connections (1880-1944)
Jan. 19, 2010 • Eriko Yamamoto
For the early Issei in this country, Meiji-era Japan and the U.S. were worlds-apart culturally, linguistically, and politically. Some, however, believed their role and their children’s future role was to be “bridges.” Yonako Abiko (1880-1944) [安孫子 餘奈子]—a San Francisco-based Issei and a distinguished woman leader—envisioned Japanese Americans as “bridges of understanding” to connect the United States and Japan during a time of rising hostilities between the two nation. In many ways, she herself played important roles as a bridge between …
