A long time ago many Japanese people immigrated to the US to be pine for a new life away from Japan. Those people’s children are called Japanese Nisei who were passed down Japanese cultures to by their parents. While they speak Japanese at home, they were born and grew up in the US whose cultures are totally different from those of Japan and got an education in English.

Hisae Yamamoto, who is a Japanese Nisei writer, is one of them. She can speak Japanese because she used to talk to her parents in Japanese, but she is not adept at writing and reading because she was taught in English. In her novel called The Legend of Miss Sasagawara, she depicts the Japanese cultures which were normal for Japanse people but weird for people in other cultures. As way of an example, in a Japanese style funeral, a Reverend recites a way too long words like a magic spell with beating a wooden drum.

I personally think that all Japanese descents are somewhat passed down Japanese culture even if their first language is not Japanse. When I saw an interview of Naomi Osaka, she was demure and took a vow while getting an interview, even though she did not speak Japanese. I wonder which has more influence on people, the environment they grow up in or their parents.