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Interviews

Mitsuo Ito

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

Japanese school

Yes, we went to Japanese school every Saturday morning, about three, four hours Saturday morning.

I*: And what was that like, Japanese school? Who taught these classes?

Mr. and Mrs. Kudo taught Japanese. I think we just went there just to have fun, because we were told, the parents told us to go, so we just went. I don't think we learned very much.

I: What did you do when you were there?

Learned Japanese writing and speaking Japanese.

I: Yeah, that's what you were supposed to do, but what did you really do when you went? [Laughs]

[Laughs] Just to have fun.

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


education Japanese language schools languages language schools

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.

George Ariyoshi
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George Ariyoshi

Teacher who helped with lisp

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James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Little interaction with parents

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

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James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Politics in ethnic studies

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

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James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Center for Japanese American Studies in community

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

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James Hirabayashi
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James Hirabayashi

Involvement with ethnic studies

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

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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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Barbara Kawakami
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Barbara Kawakami

Kids working hard

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

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Barbara Kawakami
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Barbara Kawakami

First day of school

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

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Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki
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Robert (Bob) Kiyoshi Okasaki

Grandmother's influence on decision to go to Japan

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

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Jane Aiko Yamano
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Jane Aiko Yamano

Lack of language skills

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

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Jane Aiko Yamano
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Jane Aiko Yamano

Acculturation

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

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Jane Aiko Yamano
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Jane Aiko Yamano

Japanese are more accustomed to foreigners

(b.1964) California-born business woman in Japan. A successor of her late grandmother, who started a beauty business in Japan.

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Wally Kaname Yonamine
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Wally Kaname Yonamine

Training for football by carrying 100-lb bags of grass over mountains

(b.1925) Nisei of Okinawan descent. Had a 38-year career in Japan as a baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.

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Roy H. Matsumoto
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Roy H. Matsumoto

Difficulties understanding different Japanese dialects

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

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Richard Kosaki
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Richard Kosaki

Teaching at the military language school during World War II

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

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