Unforgettable words of my mother (Japanese)

Going to America after completing a three-year contract twice (Japanese) Opening of Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo (Japanese) Wanting to serve authentic nigiri sushi in America (Japanese) Difficulty of spreading authentic sushi (Japanese) Teaching how to eat sushi (Japanese) Presenting nebuta from hometown Aomori at Nisei Week (Japanese) Becoming a member of nikkei community (Japanese) Why I became an American citizen (Japanese) I’m worried about the future of sushi in America (Japanese) Unforgettable words of my mother (Japanese)

Transcripts available in the following languages:

(Japanese) I still remember what my mother told me at the time, “I was so worried about you that I went to have your fortune told. Then I was told that you would become a yakuza, and that’s the last thing I want you to be. Please don’t go into that direction.” She was really serious about that. Then I went to Tokyo and started working at a sushi restaurant – a kind of place that could turn me into one. Since I did something like that, my mother got even more worried. And when I realized that I like gambling, I stopped myself from going any further, remembering what my mother told me. Whenever I went in the wrong direction, I remembered my mother’s words and led myself to avoid any trouble.

Date: April 16, 2016
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Mistue Watanabe
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

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