Therapist

Yutaka was someone I knew when we were organizing Men of Color Conferences. As a therapist and friend, I found him very thoughtful and considerate. Though he was not my first choice, he certainly added many unique insights to what it is like being a Japanese man in this country. My first choice was another Chinese man who was very outspoken and impassioned against racism and other injustices, but I just couldn’t locate him in time. I have often wondered about what kind of impact he would have made on the film. He certainly would have broken the Chinese myth about quiet, mild mannered Asian men. But then again, it was Yutaka’s tender connection with David Christensen that also helped David Christensen become more open to hearing what people of color go through on a daily basis and the plight of Japanese Americans during the internment.