SHIMIZU​,​ Ippei

​​Before that, I spent three years at the Japanese Embassy in Paris and another three years at the Embassy in London. After that, I came to New York. I worked as a dental technician. One day, government officials came to my workplace and said that because the war had begun, we had to close. They even posted a notice on the door saying we weren’t allowed to come in until further notice — and they took the key! Then, on December 24, an official came back and said, “I have a Christmas present for you.” He told me, “You can open again starting today.” From then on, there were no problems at all. I can’t say there was ever anything particularly hard for me. I never got sick once — that’s why I’ve always been happy. Even when the war started, nothing bad happened to me. The hardest thing in my life was when my eldest daughter died right after graduating from college. Life here is easier. In Japan, the difficult part is dealing with relatives and friends. Everyone tries to be kind and helpful — but that’s exactly what makes it troublesome. It’s exhausting. After seven years away, I went back to Japan. It had changed so much. I couldn’t even tell what was countryside and what was city anymore. I was disappointed. The peaceful mountains and rivers I remembered were all gone, replaced by factories. It’s not the same. I like New York. I’ve gotten used to it — maybe because life here is so easygoing. Even today, I walked for three hours. I haven’t been sick once in sixty years — good health is my only treasure. I used to have a Nikon camera, but someone broke in and stole it. So I bought a Canon. I had two movie cameras too, but those were stolen as well! This portrait is part of the DMHJNY's new exhibit Issei: Portraits Of The First-Generation Japanese New Yorkers which is on view here: https://www.historyofjapaneseinny.org/issei/