Bruce Kamei

Bruce Kamei is Japanese American, a Sansei. However, unlike the majority of Sanseis, he was born in Japan, lived in Japan, speaks the language, and knows the culture and customs. His stories are about cultural and social conflicts in being not a “real” Japanese and not being a “real” Sansei. He received his MFA from Wichita State University long time ago. After receiving an MFA from Wichita State University (long time ago), he spent twenty-five years as a U.S. immigration special agent, an enforcement branch. Being a Migra, he experienced and saw situations that many could not even imagine, and how it affects both the immigrants and the agents. No one escaped unscathed. Bruce is a third generation Japanese American, a Sansei. However, he was born in Japan to a second-generation Japanese American father, a Nisei, and a Japanese mother. Until third grade, he lived in Japan. Coming to the United States, he did not read, write, or understand English. Besides having a language barrier, attempting to assimilate into the American society was extremely difficult since the Japanese and Japanese American values and customs often conflicted. His stories are about cultural and social conflicts in not being a “real” Japanese and not being a “real” Sansei. Bruce writes the ‘untold’ stories often not told in mainstream literature.