Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/419/

Interviews

Ito,Mitsuo

(b.1924) Japanese Canadian Nisei. Interpreter for British Army in Japan after WWII. Active in Japanese Canadian community

Chose to go back to Japan

And the war ended, and the Canadian government said, You can't go back to Mission or B.C. You'll either go to, east to Ontario, or we'll give you a free boat ride back to Japan. So my father wanted to go back to Japan to see the son that was living in Japan, 'cause he hadn't been back for a long time. So he took the offer of going back to Japan. And there were quite a few other people that took the offer to go back to Japan.

I*: And did you go, too?

And we all went.

I: You all went?

Yeah. That way we could all stick together, so we all went back. That was in 1946.

* "I" indicates an interviewer (Mary Ito).


Canada migration postwar World War II

Date: March 23, 2005

Location: Toronto, Canada

Interviewer: Mary Ito

Contributed by: Sedai, the Japanese Canadian Legacy Project, Japanese Canadian Cultural Center

Interviewee Bio

Nisei male. Born August 20, 1924, in Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Grew up in Mission, attending school and helping on family farm. Left home to work several jobs, including in a sawmill and on a sugar beet farm. After World War II, moved to Japan, worked as an interpreter for the British Army, and got married. Moved to Toronto, Canada, in the 1950s and raised two sons. Active in Toronto's Japanese Canadian community, and is involved with charitable foundations. (March 23, 2005)

*The full interview is available Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Kazuo Funai
en
ja
es
pt
Funai,Kazuo

First work in America (Japanese)

(1900-2005) Issei businessman

en
ja
es
pt
Kazuo Funai
en
ja
es
pt
Funai,Kazuo

Company in Tokyo burned down (Japanese)

(1900-2005) Issei businessman

en
ja
es
pt
James Hirabayashi
en
ja
es
pt
Hirabayashi,James

Family interrelations between mother and father

(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline

en
ja
es
pt
Steve Kaji
en
ja
es
pt
Kaji,Steve

FOB's

Hawaii born Nikkei living in Japan. English Teacher at YMCA.

en
ja
es
pt
Barbara Kawakami
en
ja
es
pt
Kawakami,Barbara

Going back to Hawaii

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

en
ja
es
pt
Barbara Kawakami
en
ja
es
pt
Kawakami,Barbara

Picture brides and karifufu

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

en
ja
es
pt
Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
en
ja
es
pt
Okasaki,Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi

Grandmother's influence on decision to go to Japan

(b.1942) Japanese American ceramist, who has lived in Japan for over 30 years.

en
ja
es
pt
Yukio Takeshita
en
ja
es
pt
Takeshita,Yukio

Impression of Japan upon arrival

(b.1935) American born Japanese. Retired businessman.

en
ja
es
pt
Roy H. Matsumoto
en
ja
es
pt
Matsumoto,Roy H.

Kibei schoolchildren in Hiroshima, Japan

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

en
ja
es
pt
Etsuo Hongo
en
ja
es
pt
Hongo,Etsuo

The reason he came to the United States (Japanese)

(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California

en
ja
es
pt
Richard Kosaki
en
ja
es
pt
Kosaki,Richard

Devastation in Tokyo after World War II

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

en
ja
es
pt
Roger Shimomura
en
ja
es
pt
Shimomura,Roger

Grandfather's arrival in the U.S., experiencing discrimination

(b. 1939) Japanese American painter, printmaker & professor

en
ja
es
pt
Marion Tsutakawa Kanemoto
en
ja
es
pt
Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Mother's immigration to U.S. as a treaty merchant

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Kutsukake
en
ja
es
pt
Kutsukake,Rose

Why her parents came to Canada

(1918-2004) Interned in Slocan during World War II. Active member of the Japanese Canadian community.

en
ja
es
pt
Rose Kutsukake
en
ja
es
pt
Kutsukake,Rose

Experiences during World War II

(1918-2004) Interned in Slocan during World War II. Active member of the Japanese Canadian community.

en
ja
es
pt