Interviews

1. Visiting Japan to study kendo

2. Japanese wife with American citizenship

3. Appreciation of Japanese food

4. Not wanting to stand out as a foreigner

5. Japan vs. Tulsa Oklahoma

Mizuki,Peter

Sansei Japanese American living in Japan and Kendo practioner

Japan vs. Tulsa Oklahoma

One of my professors – I used to visit him quite often. We would talk about things and he told me, “Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable if you were dropped in, say, Tulsa, Oklahoma or in the middle of Japan?” And I would honestly say I would probably feel more comfortable – even if you linguistically can’t communicate – in Japan. At least you would be more familiar with some of the customs than I would be in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I think. And I think…now I feel very comfortable in Japan. I don’t…and when I’m in America, I miss Japan. I miss being in Japan. It’s just much more comfortable, in the sense of my daily life – what I like to eat, what I can buy in the stores…I think I’ve lived maybe too long away from America. I don’t know what’s changed.

Date: November 11, 2003

Location: Kyoto, Japan

Interviewer: Art Nomura

Contributed by: Art Nomura, Finding Home.

Interviewee Bio

Peter Mizuki, a Sansei, was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. As a child he helped in his family’s lumber business and was involved with the Japanese martial art of kendo. Later, while a student at the University of Washington, he was one of the founding members of the Kendo Club. As his interest in Japanese culture developed, he traveled to Japan on a cultural visa to learn Japanese and continue his study of kendo. There, he met his wife in Kyoto. He now has two sons, is a permanent resident of Japan, and continues to practice kendo and teach English part-time at universities. In his interview, Peter shares his experiences of being a Japanese American in Japan and the struggles he’s endured to be accepted by Japanese society. (2005)