Japanese Returnees React to Things That Returnees Do and Experience

[@LetsaskShogo]

I'm so happy, that I'm finally able to introduce my best friend & team member Kazu to you! He now works in Hiroshima, so we are planning to meet up in Hiroshima or Kyoto once in a while to make more videos together... I hope you can look forward to more Kazu in the future! Other videos that Kazu showed up... kzbin.info/www/bejne/gafSaXWbjq-LrMU kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHqonoKagc2HqMU ・ In this channel, you can take a closer look at Japanese traditional culture, tips upon traveling to Kyoto, and social problems in Japan. So learners and lovers of Japanese language and culture, be sure to subscribe to enjoy more content! Thank you again very much for watching!

[@anamarf]

Nice to meet you Kazu!

[@dandenrode]

"No 7 year old shoots a gun!" Farm kid sweats profusely

[@lectrix8]

I've lived in TX since 2005 and lol'd hella hard at this. I was like actually...

[@thomaswood-albinoblad3890]

Shot my first musket at 8 years old.

[@bellanyzimz6423]

Not a farm kid, but I was taught how to hold and shoot a gun when i was about 4 or 5.

[@HarryToeface]

lol... my dad taught me when i was a kid xD i never shot a gun alone as a child though

[@GorrilaJohnson]

@@thomaswood-albinoblad3890 Musket? Are you 200 years old...? (jk, that's actually really cool)

[@matthewjay660]

Shogo, when people found out that I lived in France, they would tell me to say something in French. So then I would say “Quelque chose” which is “Something” in French. 🙄😉

[@spacecase7566]

Lol!

[@phoenixmoon5580]

@Patricia Myers Oh wow! Here is my tribe... EXCEPT you can speak other languages!

[@AlexRuhlz]

Love it ! Où étiez-vous en France ? 😊

[@matthewjay660]

@@AlexRuhlz Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, France.

[@terrapinalive6192]

not funny at all

[@neosmith166]

Your friend is so funny, he legit should have his own channel.

[@roseforeuropa]

Whoa, I figured he already did!

[@salvie777]

i agree!

[@true1873]

KAZU IS SO ADORABLE! Harumi laughing in the back and chiming in is so ADORABLE!

[@salvie777]

i think she should appear in videos more often! she’s so cute and funny

[@valhoundmom]

G

[@Ricelord4]

What an interesting video! When Kazu said, "My body is Japanese, but my mind is American," I felt that. I was born and grew up in the US. However, I'm Filipino by blood. Whenever I visited the Philippines during summer break as a child, my family would call me American, and people would treat me differently. I would only speak in English back then. You're right - it takes courage to try to blend into the place that your parents are from, especially if you grew up away from there. I've been living in the Philippines for the past 2 years now, and it's still a struggle for me, even though I'm trying to blend in. I bet I will have quite an experience when I visit Japan eventually.

[@hanajuku]

As an American born Filipino I feel the same

[@Zorevelyn]

same

[@sarawinardi6745]

I can understand that. My parents are Indonesian but I was born in Brazil but I grew up in Canada, but I always considered myself a Brazilian stuck in an Asian body 😂😂😂

[@sesshowmarumonoke]

@@sarawinardi6745 On behalf of all Brazillians: you will always be part of us!

[@glidershower]

I can definitely relate to the cultural shock. I was thrown in highschool with all english classes about history and grammar, and my first two years in the U.S. were incredibly painful as I wanted to just get along with everyone but the language barrier made it near impossible to do anything. It took me two years just to understand my new language and five to actually write competently for university classes. Now the people in my native country don't consider me one of them and to be honest, _I don't even consider myself one of them anymore._ We have very different views in politics, ethics and culture that we just can't relate to each other. Makes me kinda sad, but it is what it is. Such is the capriciousness of life. _It leads you thru the most unexpected roads, and you have to make the best of it._

[@jessicaclakley3691]

Thank you for sharing your story

[@karinemery]

I'm from Germany and when people ask me to say something in German, I say exactly what you said: "what should I say?/what would you like me to say?" in German

[@FQuainton]

I miss Germershiem down in Bavaria. It was an amazing place to be in the 90's.

[@keksitzee1094]

Read the interlude from Guren no Yumiya, the first Attack on Titan opening title ;)

[@thickmelon]

I came back to Korea after spending 4 years in Alabama as a child. It's really amazing how much experiences I have in common with Shogo.

[@raf155]

Ok, we need more Kazu. Wonderful as always and may your channel continue to grow!

[@Meladjusted]

"Disestablishmentarianism" is the longest noun in English, I _believe_ . Just for trivia's sake, lol. And it's a political stance where you believe in _complete_ separation of church and state, basically. No tax breaks, no special treatments of _any_ kind.

[@Gilberto90]

" _Anti_ - disastabishmentarianism" is actually the longest noun 😋. Ofc it means the opposite of your definition, which to give some context related to the Church of England which is still the 'established' (state) Church.

[@gedog77]

antidisestablishmentarianism?

[@alexcarter8807]

@@Gilberto90 Yep it was a word the smart kids would throw around in high school.

[@leilaeris4474]

Oh.. i thought it was "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" which is a lung disease.

[@ckmate23]

@@leilaeris4474 Yes...this is the one

[@mdzohio]

I could relate to a lot of what you guys mentioned. My parents are from a different countries and I was brought up in a third country due to my dads job and finished my college education in a fourth country, to top it all I got married to my wife who is from a fifth country, so I experinced many cultures in my life from day one I was born.until now.

[@punbishal5874]

Yes there are people like us too 😂. And we are told we are privileged. But folks don't see the shit we have to go through to adapt and learn and face various issues.

[@mdzohio]

@@punbishal5874 I fully agree with you.

[@haigha7697]

Shogo your English is so good that if I hadn’t already seen you I’d swear you were American. It almost has a southwest accent.

[@sparkymularkey6970]

Yeah, same here! Honestly, both of their English is amazingly good!

[@tilted6368]

Very LA accent lmao

[@OddZodd]

Sounds like someone from California

[@yohaneschristianp]

They're American afterall 🤣

[@lapurta22]

He said he lived in Michigan so that must be a SW Detroit accent

[@Misanthropic-King]

Kazu has a great sense of humor, great choice putting him on!

[@jacoblomax5351]

I really enjoyed your video! One year as an ALT, I experienced there being two returnee students in the same JHS year group. One hid his perfect English and played the class clown role. He resented his father for his international heritage, and worked hard to blend back in to his Japanese peer group. However, in private, he would be OK talking to me and I would give him books to take home and read (Roal Dahl, etc.). The other student liked to stand out in English lessons and would try his best. He didnt want to be bullied, but he must have decided it was best to be his most genuine self, regardless of any negative consequences. I liked both of the boys.

[@1991jwp]

I remember being able to have friends over for a drink like this. I can’t wait until I’m able to again.

[@bandiel4235]

I wish there is an episode like this once a month. It's such a breath of fresh air.

[@almostfaceman]

Yeah growing up and getting used to society is tough enough when adjusting to just one society, let alone two. Kids who can do this and go through this, I salute you. Mad respect.

[@TheModernRiot]

When y'all tried to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" it made me smile :) Another great video!

[@raphfelix6305]

I'm also a "returnee" to America from England. I got the whole speak English english, when I got back. I was like wtf?!

[@Meladjusted]

More Kazu, lol! You guys have a fun dynamic.

[@lectrix8]

Agreed!!

[@davidragan9233]

12:55 English Speakers sometimes have problems understanding what is being communicated in songs. And this doesn't even get into things that you mishear for a long time I though "Revved up like a Deuce" In Blinded by the Light was "Revved up like a douche" :D

[@benderrodriguez5425]

Love the chemistry between you three in this conversation. It was a pleasure listening.

[@wakotamura2197]

I could totally understand your situation because I myself am a returnee and I also came back when I was in fifth grade.

[@papapepe2232]

Hello Shogo 👋 My story is long so I won't go into the details. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. Served 3 years in the Navy. My parents where both Mexican and I started school speaking Spanish only but I can relate to every struggle you and your friend had in my life 😎

[@Jianju69]

Yay for Harumi, the shinobi heroine!

[@GeebusCrust]

I live in the American south... There are absolutely 7-year-old kids shooting guns on the weekends. Mostly on hunting trips or on a range, but around here it's such a huge part of the identity that gun-owning parents do often try to get their kids into it early

[@Cosmic_Fodder]

As someone currently taking language classes and preparing for eventual visits, these videos are an amazingly kind service and in some ways a funny look at what to expect. Thank you so much for making all these videos, hope you and your family are doing great!

[@khfan4life365]

I have family that lives in Michigan. I used to go there every summer to visit. I visited so often that it felt like a second home for me. I even had a library card for the Belding library. Unfortunately, I haven’t been back since my parents divorced when I was 14. Michigan is a pretty place, especially Holland.

[@shard_the_sage1320]

I like Kazu's sense of humor really good episode.

[@kanameken8000]

I can relate to this so much! Regarding Japanese returnees doing traditional Japanese things - in my experience, it's not returnees, but more nisei/sansei who do it. Like Japanese Americans who are super into taiko or kendo.

[@JosephKerr27]

Funny enough, English pronunciation changes when singing. Pop songs often use casual pronunciation, but then you hear a trained singer and there are so many rules to help the audience understand your words. You have to over-pronounce every syllable.

[@oO0sakura0Oo]

For No. 4 in particular, I remember experiencing this as an ALT and the teachers would always make me sing John Lennon's 'Imagine', and since Frozen was big at the time I always had to sing 'Let it Go' in English at karaoke, and I would definitely get the same reactions!

[@nootnewt9323]

Harumi behind the camera saying hi 🥺

[@Tinks_Meow]

Your mother is a very wise woman. Much respect!

[@小川めぐみ-p2w]

会話が早すぎてついていくのが必死💦 いつも丁寧なテンポに慣れてたけど こういう動画も刺激になりました😆

[@Sadarsa]

"No 7 year old will hold a gun and shoot!" Me: **Looks around whistling innocently** Yeah...i was 5 when i first held a gun. by 8 i was hunting with my grandfather by 16 i was shooting competitively then i turned 18 and joined the military :(

[@FQuainton]

It was similar for me growing up in rural Michigan.

[@whiskbiscuit7199]

Yeah I was 6 when my grandpa first took me shooting, probably depends on where you live/who you know

[@coffiebreak2236]

If your American than I thank you for your service

[@baibac6065]

@@coffiebreak2236 What service exactly? Advancing American Imperialism or invading countries and killing civilians?

[@GeebusCrust]

@@baibac6065 hey that affordable coffee has to come from somewhere

[@monolithdude8239]

0:18 that has to be the fastest "mina-san konichiwa" I have ever heard

[@noisehippo1561]

Kazu has a great sense of humor, absolutely love it!

[@WorldReserveCurrency]

This reminds me of the bullying I got just from moving to another state in the US! lol. When I was 12 we moved from California to Arizona in the 1980s..... I was only the third asian kid and Arizona felt like another country then. Oddly, I wasn't bullied so much by students but by grown ups driving by while I was cycling too and back from school. I learned then that asian kids in America have to support each other if when they had thoughts about fighting each other because things were rough already.

[@AshleyKaulitz007]

OMG, I can relate to the seven continents situation so much! I was flabbergasted the first time I came across this.

[@lwolfstar7618]

The three of you are lovely to watch together, and remind me of hanging out with my best friend ^_^

[@dandanhui9320]

Two great buddies, sharing some precious experiences with us, while having much fun too…congrats.

[@angelmidknight3119]

I high key love Kazu's humor

[@user-ho6ml2eg6c]

Woah… these are so relatable and comforting to an extent 😂 Used to excel at school, came to Japan, everything crumbled and I’m dead. Can’t comprehend a thing and people can’t comprehend me. This video is awesome!!

[@subscriptions007]

It torments Returnees to adapt for sure. Especially the 「出る杭は打たれる」.

[@aismameijere-cirsa]

One of the best videos. Greetings from Latvia..

[@kingoficeage]

I'd totally watch your friend's channel if he had one! You two are really great friends and this video is very funny! :D

[@psingerman4778]

As Americans in Japan many years ago, many people (that we did not know) asked us to speak English with them so they could practice. This happens in other countries, too. India, e.g.

[@autoguygl]

This is the fourth video I have watched after recently stumbling onto your channel. The experiences you and Kazu were mentioning reminded me of my experiences when I was much younger but did not have the support system or understanding of teachers both of you had. Things have changed greatly, as it should, since it is becoming more common for Japan to have returnees and/or "hafu's" (I am much older than Shogo's mother and the term "hafu" was not even a recognized term in Japan for me, I was called "hanbun-hanbun"). Changes to most Asian cultures happen VERY slowly but I am encouraged by the changes that have happened in Japan between the experiences I had versus the experiences you and those of your generation are faced with. The information and explanations given in your video's are very informative and done very well. My best wishes to your endeavors, your family, and your friends.

[@GeographRick]

We had a a student from France and we were learning French and one of our classmates had lived in France. We actually wanted to hear them because we wanted to know how they really spoke. I can’t imagine bullying him. We didn’t want to know “textbook French”

[@kimemerson5732]

Terrific show! Love your friend Kazu and look forward to more together!

[@気にしない-o8q]

This was such a great talk. I enjoyed every second of it. Good job!

[@salmanafifprawira5077]

Shogo I'm glad you getting through from hard times, and your mother is right you should proud because your experience

[@deeyeyleigh2143]

Kazu seems like a kool guy 😎

[@carmenm.4091]

Oh we have this in Holland aswell. I’m half Spanish, I had to translate every Latino hit on the radio 😂 and a Dutch friend that grew up in Australia had to read in English class cause her Ausie accent is so cute 🙄. My friends in Spain always asked me to say something in English etc… this is not a typical Japanese thing I think. It’s just people. I’ve got the question if I feel more Spanish or Dutch 🤨, where would you rather live etc.

[@anhthiensaigon]

when Harumi said hi, it's hard to tell if she meant はい like "yes, I'm Harumi" or was saying hello.

[@thebrighterside6021]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I really enjoyed listening to you guys talk about your childhood

[@romellerodrigueza6695]

You guys are so cool! You got to experienced both worlds!

[@mamnim2027]

I like Kazu, you should have him on camera more 😉

[@rickmiles3242]

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful videos!! I appreciate and enjoy them so much and they are all so interesting. You lived in Michigan, very close to where I live in Ohio.

[@erinwells9665]

Kuzo has such a great personality!

[@mainecoon2582]

I’m a returnee so this video was very interesting to watch! I love how these two fix the language and don’t break into Japanese while speaking in English. Switching back and forth is such a common habit bilingual people have.

[@chriswick6904]

I was in a military family most of my life. My father was in the US army and then so was I. Moving from state to state, country to country every year and a half to three years. So I built up a defensive attitude and had to stand on my own as an outsider many times. I did not push anyone away but I never really tried to be part of a group. I did end up in many fights. But I also ended up with very good honest friends in the end. This can work in America. In Japan, culture is big, very big. It controls people's lives. And standing on your own and not fitting in is not always looked at highly. It's a very hard position to be put in. I commend you for what you have accomplished and for the challenges you've now taken on in life yourself. Yoku yatta

[@longpumpkin67]

I grew up as a Air Force bratt and was raised abroad in the Pacific Islands. I totally understand you in this video but enjoyed two places the most that left wonderful impressions on my life. One is Japan and the second is Okinawa, with Phillipines being a close 3rd. It's so crazy when you spoke about identities because the points you spoke on are the exact emotions and similar experiences i went through ad a teenager and up, but this made me a more excepting man and more respectful of others and their cultures. The world needs more of us and less isolation as that seems to be an environment for bigotry to grow. More love, respect

[@paulcruz5825]

I just love the content of this video.... i learned a lot from this... :)

[@Somerandomguy524]

This was nice, you three got good synergy going.

[@rolandgdean]

Hi from West Virginia! Another great video...you all do great work...amazing team. Keep it coming.

[@zazanova7327]

Hello Shogo, I just recently found your channel and I am really intrigued. I really like the perspective on Japanese culture. I myself am living between Bulgaria and Germany and usually to ppl. from countries in the Balkans we all are bilingual, I personally know no one who can’t some English, German, older folks Russian or French. But there is also some curious particular thing going on in Shipka Areal overe here there are some folks who speak Japanese because there are some living here, apparently there was a documentary years ago about my home country and well Bulgarian yoghurt and some ppl. from Japan liked it this much they moved to this place at peak shipka.

[@cintx2003]

Shogo, I was taught to shoot as early as I can remember. Some kids actually are shooting on Saturdays being taught proper gun etiquette by their parents.

[@ShiorikoDesu]

Since I know a lot of Japanese my friends ask me to say things in Japanese, mainly nicknames. I've always thought that we might need to do something that requires all the languages I know(Japanese, some Chinese, little French, and Little German).

[@Rayvn7]

According to this list you don't know English!

[@rogerhall6450]

All three of you make a Great Team making these very informative videos! Thank You!! 💓

[@BeThePurpleStarlight]

Sorry you experienced bullying. You and your friend can tell your stories in a such cool way. Fun to listen. Greetings from Poland🇵🇱

[@GiveMeBackMyUsernameYouTube]

The longest noun in the English dictionary is "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". The longest word overall is the full chemical name for the human protein titin. It's too long to post in a KZbin comment, but it's 189,819 letters long and takes about three-and-a-half hours to pronounce.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

Say that one time at a slow pace Cause it's still gonna twist your tongue

[@TheOriginalJenafire]

😱😱😱

[@PyurTek]

He's gonna blow past 100k before June! It's February and he's almost at 70k

[@adpeace2181]

Very good! You are the perfect group then to explain Nisei, Nikei, Esei, Ekei, etc...👍😳🆒

[@tanjak72]

10:12 omg, so cute! Shoggo has elven ears!😍

[@garydell2023]

Thank you for this video sharing your experiences and your friends experiences about being returnees.

[@patricepalmer1909]

This was really interesting. Thank you so much for sharing this. You might be interested in learning about Third Culture Kids. They share many of the same characteristics.

[@carmelopappalardo8477]

The beer looked amazing. Great colour, good head on top. Very good pour.

[@raptorlewis273]

Thanks for sharing these, man! I can only imagine the struggles since I'm American born and raised though I have been bullied and have bullied for various other reasons like my gender, disabilities, etc. I was otherwise incredibly lucky! I did have a few classmates from Korea, Japan, the UK and Norway to name a few with a few of those who did eventually return to their home countries so I always wondered what that was like.

[@sameerarolkar8186]

This is a really interesting video, I enjoyed watching it.

[@adaikonen]

My usual comeback to someone asking me to say something in another language is saying "what do you want me to say" in that language.

[@liammurray9274]

Replace "miraclelly" with "miraculously" bit of unasked for vocab for ya :) Love your videos

[@ThePsychoExe]

As a German living in Mexico I could surprisingly relate to quite a few of these things haha

[@youngimperialistmkii]

Kazu:You eat sushi! I eat hamburger!😂

[@mentalshinda]

Watching from thailand. I really likes your videos! ^^

[@thiagodeoliveira1727]

10:15 Once a Brazilian guy, who couldn't even speak Japanese well, won a sort of important Kareoke contest in Japan. Edit: singing in Japanese.

[@dbagdaryl]

22:30 how many mhm you gonna put in there lol. Love this vid btw

[@DistinctBlood]

English is a very difficult language even for those who have it as their primary language. I don't know about anyone else here but it was very hard for me to pronounce a lot of common words as a child. I didn't start speaking to others until I was around 5 years old. It had my parents really worried for awhile. I even had to take speech therapy well into my middle school years. Speech was always hard for me. Even today as I am in my thirties now, I still mess up my words a lot. English is the only language I can speak, but I have been around other languages growing up to know what some people are saying when they have conversations. Speaking them is not possible for me. I do admire people who can speak more than just one language and see it as an amazing ability to have. Thanks for sharing this perspective with us. It was a wonderful experience.

[@seskain]

This reminds me a lot of when I moved to Michigan from Okinawa at the beginning of high school. I used to here things like" just go back home to Japan. I probably should mention I was born in the US. I was living in Korea and Japan from the time i was 2 months old so really all I knew was Asia and even now that's what I consider home. I have this sense that whether im not going to fit 100% because my outside is White but my inside is Asian and if i move back to Japan no one is ever going to look at me and think Im Japanese either

[@amandajean7738]

Nah, you're just Eurasian. The best of both cultures and worlds.

[@safaa9654]

Such a cool team!

[@whitebloodcell9158]

Niceu. Idk if this been done or requested but vid on kegare or burakumin would be niceu

[@hcr1248]

Haha! Someone asks you to say something in English, just say the word “something”!! 😂😂🤷‍♂️

[@selcukcetin6665]

Shogo, in number two, that is absolutely true in Turkey 🇹🇷 . In my old school, many students asked used our English teacher as a dictionary by asking everything they don’t know. Greetings from Turkey 🇹🇷❤️🇯🇵

[@TowTruckAndTractor]

I enjoy the story time 😊 Thanks!

[@efrainmena9770]

I am not japanese but.. I stayed in a foreing contry for many years (20) and when I when back home I started to do a few more things that are a tradition en my area.....I feel it`s a way to re-connect to your culture. I think it was something that you kind of missed but I wasn´t aware of it

[@Servellion]

17:04 Well yes but actually yes. Going shooting, either at a range or in the woods, is a pasttime. Hell competative shooting is a sport.

[@primrosepath9253]

Omg, you guys are so cute: Harumi best be careful that Kazu doesn't steal her man! 😁

[@thomasotnes3336]

It seems you get a similar experience no matter as long as you cross cultural boundaries when you move. Have similar experiences from just moving from Norway to Sweden.