Interviews
Nisei Swing Kids
So then in camp, I discovered others who were very much interested in, in this kind of music. As a matter of fact, even the assembly centers -- it's amazing -- for example, at Santa Anita, where there were large groups of kids from LA, they had a dance band at the assembly center, organized and going strong. They even had, had jazz concerts at night, playing records, of course. And discovered, or not -- excuse me -- discussed jazz artists at that time who were very outstanding. And it was kind of neat. So you -- so it kind of made me feel good when I heard this, that, and I realized this, was that among the Niseis, there was a small group of people who are very progressive, very much into music, enjoyed swing, jazz, you know, and, of course, classical music, too.
But because of my interests, to discover youngsters, Japanese Americans, Niseis, digging this kind of music... and in camp, somehow -- I don't know whose idea it was, but a dance band was organized, and the recreation department, which was a part of a, an organized part of the whole system in Poston, helped to sponsor a dance band.
Date: February 18, 2002
Location: Washington, US
Interviewer: Alice Ito, John Pai
Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.
Explore More Videos
Soukou Bayashi: Dedicated to the Issei (Japanese)
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Taiko philosophy (Japanese)
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
First taiko performance in the United States (Japanese)
(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California
Promoting group identity through taiko contests (Japanese)
(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California
Taiko's sounds as Japanese cultural tradition (Japanese)
(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California
Reasons for starting taiko in America
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Meeting Kinnara Taiko
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Happi coats in taiko
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Traditional taiko style
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Japanese musical education
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Differences between American and Japanese taiko
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Dream of "taiko" in the English dictionary
(b.1943) Shin-issei grand master of taiko; founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968.
Blue-eyed doll
(1914-2018) Founder of the largest gladiolus bulb farm in the United States.