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Her motto came from her mother

I do, because it’s from my mother again, “Do unto others as you would have them to unto you.” I think if you keep that in mind you will treat people with respect, with dignity, not judge them by how they look, not judge them by their education level, their socioeconomic standard, that’s not how you determine a person’s character. Her other favorite was, “Do not judge a book by it’s cover,” so I think although I have very strong Japanese roots, it in no way affected how I approach people from different backgrounds, because of this overall broader view of the world and other people. It was not limited to only the people in the community where I lived, it was not limited only to the Japanese American community, of which we were active. Eventually I was part of the Japan America Society, so I’m – I have kept in touch with my roots.


aesthetics Japanese Americans judges metaphysics psychology respect theory of knowledge values

Date: July 27, 2018

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Kiya Matsuno

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

Interviewee Bio

Judge Fumiko Hachiya Wasserman is a Sansei judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California. She was born in Torrance, California and grew up in Harbor City, California. She was the first Asian American female hired by the US Attorney’s office in the Civil Division, the first minority elected official in the Torrance School Board, and the first judge to ever serve on the LA Biomedical Research Institute. She currently serves in the Los Padrinos Courthouse as the site judge. She grew up in a diverse and welcoming neighborhood and felt secure in being Japanese American. She is involved with the Japanese American community, works to promote diversity, and she mentors lawyers and judges. (June 2018)

*This is one of the main projects completed by The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) Program intern each summer, which the Japanese American Bar Association and the Japanese American National Museum have co-hosted.

James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Testing assumptions of Japanese scholars

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

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Vince Ota
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Vince Ota

Main differences between Japanese and Japanese Americans

Japanese American Creative designer living in Japan

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Toshio Inahara
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Toshio Inahara

Identified as Japanese ancestry

(b. 1921) Vascular surgeon

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Edward Toru Horikiri
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Edward Toru Horikiri

Luckiest Issei

(b. 1929) Kibei Nisei

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Tamio Wakayama
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Tamio Wakayama

Defining "Nikkei"

(1941-2018) Japanese Canadian photojournalist and activist

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Fred Y. Hoshiyama
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Fred Y. Hoshiyama

Becoming head of the family at age 8

(1914–2015) Nisei YMCA and Japanese American community leader

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Fred Y. Hoshiyama
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Fred Y. Hoshiyama

Advice from his mother

(1914–2015) Nisei YMCA and Japanese American community leader

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Kishi Bashi
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Kishi Bashi

On being Japanese and American

(b. 1975) Musician, composer, and songwriter

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Reflections on childhood

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Okinawan cultural appreciation

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

On Nikkei identity

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Michelle Yamashiro
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Michelle Yamashiro

Working together in Okinawa using three languages

Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.

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Takayo Fischer
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Takayo Fischer

Takayo Fischer on Her First Time Expressing Outward Affection to Her Parents

(b. 1932) Nisei American stage, film, and TV actress

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Mitsuru "Mits" Kataoka
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Mitsuru "Mits" Kataoka

Father lost everything during World War II

(1934–2018) Japanese American designer, educator, and pioneer of media technologies

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Holly J. Fujie
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Holly J. Fujie

Japanese American identity

Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

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