Interviews
How he met his wife
I took the entrance exam for the University of Sao Paulo Japanese Language Studies Department and in my year there were two people who were not of Japanese descent. They didn’t understand any Japanese and so on the weekends we would gather at one of their places to teach a bit of Japanese. Well, not before long I began to date one of them. While we were just friends, my parents didn’t say anything. But at one point it got out that we were dating and it turned into a bit of a scandal.
But at that time, you see, I more or less decided to go to Japan. My girlfriend was at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Japanese Language Department for four years, and then did Masters Studies and Doctoral Courses at Tsukuba University. So, she was in Japan for 10 years. I also happened to be in Japan for 10 years. By the time I completed my Doctoral studies, well we were at the age where it was about time to get married.
In Japan, she taught Portuguese to people who would be stationed in Brazil. So, when those people came to Brazil and met my parents they would tell them “I met your son’s fiance, she seems really great”. So even my parents figured there was no other way.
Date: September 19, 2019
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Yoko Nishimura
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
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