Latest / Japanese America / S2E6 From Karate to Cuisine: Junki Yoshida's American Dream

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S2E6 From Karate to Cuisine: Junki Yoshida's American Dream · Japanese America

• 0:00
  Koji. What's your favorite Japanese food?
• 0:02
  Oh, that's easy. Curry rice is Curry.
• 0:05
  Does curry count as Japanese food, I don't know.
• 0:09
  Curry Rice.
• 0:09
  Yeah, the Japanese version of it is my favorite.
• 0:12
  I, I was super, super, super, super sad when the Curry House closed.
• 0:18
  It was the saddest day of my entire life.
• 0:20
  I wanted to get. I wanted to have a reception, my wedding reception at the Curry House.
• 0:25
  But my wife was completely against this idea.
• 0:28
  I would be too. Why Curry house?
• 0:33
  I'm so I don't know, they're gone, but but I was sad too, because that's like the my go to restaurant.
• 0:39
  One of the times I went to Japan with my mom, all I would eat would be kind of.
• 0:43
  So we had to go everywhere we went.
• 0:44
  We had to have at least it had to be that option or else I wouldn't eat anything.
• 0:48
  So what about you? What's your what's your favorite Japanese food?
• 0:51
  Tonkatsu.
• 0:51
  Oh, okay.
• 0:52
  Yeah, but there's a place in Japan.
• 0:55
  It's a chain store. Wako .
• 0:57
  Great tonkatsu and I usually stay for like ten days.
• 1:02
  So I go there like five times out of nine days of my stay to eat tonkatsu because it's so good. Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode number five of the Japanese America Podcast.
• 1:22
  My name is Michelle and I'm your host.
• 1:24
  And I'm Koji. Any exciting plans for the 4th of July.
• 1:26
  And what do you cook for the 4th?
• 1:28
  Oh, well, my husband is a white guy, so he cooks barbecue and I make the best Japanese style potato salad.
• 1:38
  Hahaha. What about you?
• 1:39
  I this year we're going to the Dodger game on the fourth, so we're not going to cook anything.
• 1:44
  You know, I don't think we really cook that much. My favorite thing to do on a 4th of July is have a taco guy come and make tacos for the party.
• 1:51
  So this year you're going to have the Dodger Dog.
• 1:53
  Dodger dogs. Yeah.
• 1:56
  It's going to be expensive.
• 1:57
  Yes, it's going to be Dodger Stadium is super expensive.
• 2:00
  This is where we look at all things Japanese American. We bring a lot of the history, culture and people that make up this beautifully diverse community.
• 2:06
  Please consider writing a review of our show on a platform you use to listen to this podcast. We know it's a pain in the butt, but it really helps the show grow and reach new listeners. Plus, it lets us keep bringing you stories we hope you enjoy.
• 2:22
  In this month's episode, we're diving into a topic that's close to our
• 2:25
  hearts and stomachs: Japanese Food in America.
• 2:29
  hearts and stomachs: From sushi to spam sushi to mochi doughnuts.
• 2:31
  hearts and stomachs: Japanese food has evolved in the US and the most fascinating and delicious ways.
• 2:36
  hearts and stomachs: Yes. When I first moved here, people thought sushi was weird.
• 2:39
  hearts and stomachs: Raw fish. Now it's in every grocery store.
• 2:43
  hearts and stomachs: Well, not always good sushi, but still progress, 4 right? And teriyaki used to be exotic.
• 2:48
  hearts and stomachs: Now it's practically a flavor category, a fast food chain.
• 2:51
  hearts and stomachs: And speaking of teriyaki, we are so excited to have a guest who helped bring the flavor to the mainstream.
• 2:58
  hearts and stomachs: You know his name? You've seen it on the bottle.
• 3:00
  hearts and stomachs: Joining us today is Mr.
• 3:02
  hearts and stomachs: Junkie Yoshida, the founder of Yoshida Sauce.
• 3:04
  hearts and stomachs: And an incredible example of Japanese American entrepreneurship and fusion.
• 3:09
  hearts and stomachs: And we wanted to give you a sense of a little bit about the Yoshida Sauce brand.
• 3:13
  hearts and stomachs: And Mr. Ishida's sauce is a popular teriyaki style marinade and cooking sauce, although I don't think he wants to be called teriyaki sauce. So we'll just we'll pretend that didn't happen. Known for its sweet and savory flavor, it's versatile and can be used on chicken, beef, fish, vegetables, and noodles.
• 3:30
  hearts and stomachs: And apparently I didn't know this. There are different varieties, including Original Gourmet, Sweet Teriyaki, Japanese Barbecue, Gourmet Sweet Teriyaki and they come in various sizes all over the place.
• 3:41
  hearts and stomachs: Do you have one in your own at your own home M ichelle?
• 3:44
  hearts and stomachs: Of course, of course. I have the big bottle with Mr.
• 3:47
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida's face.
• 3:49
  hearts and stomachs: I think I have. I mean, I'm I'm gonna buy one now, but I don't think I had one until I've heard of it, obviously, but I don't think I've ever had it. Michelle and I were honored to speak to Mr. Yoshida over Zoom.
• 3:59
  hearts and stomachs: Mr. Yoshida is a very warm and funny person.
• 4:01
  hearts and stomachs: Historians are so amazing and fun.
• 4:03
  hearts and stomachs: We didn't want to cut too much.
• 4:04
  hearts and stomachs: So, without too much interruption, here's our interview with the founder of the Yoshida Original Gourmet sauce.
• 4:10
  hearts and stomachs: Welcome, Mr. Yoshida. Please tell us your background.
• 4:12
  hearts and stomachs: Like, where did you grow up? How did you come to the United States? And most importantly, how did Yoshida Company get off the ground?
• 4:17
  hearts and stomachs: 1968 69 I was 19 years old.
• 4:22
  hearts and stomachs: I failed the college university exam.
• 4:25
  hearts and stomachs: And the Japan's, you know, their education system.
• 4:29
  hearts and stomachs: So a mix it up. So you're not recording anyway i had to wait one more year, and I said, I cannot do this.
• 4:38
  hearts and stomachs: And my mother's really worried about I'm going to be joined the bad group.
• 4:43
  hearts and stomachs: I was the head of a whole gang for high school all the way up.
• 4:48
  hearts and stomachs: I have a bad, wild lifestyle.
• 4:51
  hearts and stomachs: I was a I lost the one eye when I was a four years old.
• 4:55
  hearts and stomachs: The people call me when eyed Jack.
• 4:57
  hearts and stomachs: And now Katamon those kind of stuff, they call me names.
• 5:03
  hearts and stomachs: So I, I start fighting with the people and then I start getting in the Karate.
• 5:08
  hearts and stomachs: That's the reason I get into karate. I'm a I'm a karate hachida =n eight degree, but I use a gun better than karate.
• 5:15
  hearts and stomachs: You want to kill someone, use a gun. So anyway, so my mother was so concerned, I'm going to join the serious group.
• 5:21
  hearts and stomachs: And then she saves the money.
• 5:23
  hearts and stomachs: Borrowing money is all over.
• 5:25
  hearts and stomachs: At that time, airplane was a ¥1,300.
• 5:29
  hearts and stomachs: Northwest Airlines flight number eight.
• 5:32
  hearts and stomachs: I still remember that.
• 5:33
  hearts and stomachs: And then she somehow borrowed money all over the $500 US dollars.
• 5:39
  hearts and stomachs: That's a college graduate people make about after graduate get the job.
• 5:45
  hearts and stomachs: Some of about 200, 200 bucks a month.
• 5:49
  hearts and stomachs: So anyway, it's a lot of money, those ¥360 for a dollar.
• 5:54
  hearts and stomachs: So I come to Seattle and I didn't have a no plan.
• 5:57
  hearts and stomachs: Only I know that I cannot return.
• 5:59
  hearts and stomachs: I was excommunicated from my my brother, only one brother.
• 6:03
  hearts and stomachs: I got a five sister. I have no choice.
• 6:06
  hearts and stomachs: I cannot go back. And basically I was illegal.
• 6:09
  hearts and stomachs: I was a tourist visa. So, you know, eat your heart out Trump.
• 6:14
  hearts and stomachs: So anyway, man, I'm gone by now that time.
• 6:19
  hearts and stomachs: But anyway, so I was chasing by immigration.
• 6:21
  hearts and stomachs: I got arrested twice. Oh well I'm very lucky.
• 6:25
  hearts and stomachs: Lucky, lucky lucky this good officer.
• 6:27
  hearts and stomachs: Help me. I think he likes me a lot, but it's a long story there.
• 6:31
  hearts and stomachs: It should be in my book.
• 6:32
  hearts and stomachs: So I was sleeping in my car.
• 6:35
  hearts and stomachs: Returning ticket? No Swiss airline ticket.
• 6:38
  hearts and stomachs: Those days the airline ticket.
• 6:40
  hearts and stomachs: Like a cash anywhere in the world.
• 6:41
  hearts and stomachs: You can cash it because no discount ticket.
• 6:44
  hearts and stomachs: So I wanted a Chinatown Seattle, Kawaguchi travel agency.
• 6:49
  hearts and stomachs: They give me $750 cash US dollar.
• 6:53
  hearts and stomachs: They. I bought the previous variant, the push button changes.
• 6:57
  hearts and stomachs: That's why. Sleep. Sleep about four months.
• 7:01
  hearts and stomachs: Then I move a car behind the public bathroom at, uh, West Seattle, and I sleep there.
• 7:09
  hearts and stomachs: But. So I was homeless, basically good cute looking, 19 years old, homeless.
• 7:15
  hearts and stomachs: And then if I have a chance of teaching karate, I. I have to go to college.
• 7:19
  hearts and stomachs: Stick around the United States, Seattle.
• 7:22
  hearts and stomachs: I cannot keep having illegal visa.
• 7:24
  hearts and stomachs: So going to the Seattle Community College, taking the Japanese English classes and then American guy Bill Luther, Goju sensei, was teaching college.
• 7:37
  hearts and stomachs: I was watching there, and the Bill said that, hey, you know karate? Yeah, of course I do.
• 7:42
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, you got a gi? Yeah.
• 7:43
  hearts and stomachs: Why don't you come back tomorrow?
• 7:45
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, okay. I come back next day with the karate gi on it, and he wants to meet with other students, you know?
• 7:51
  hearts and stomachs: So I beat the shit out of that guy a true story.
• 7:55
  hearts and stomachs: And then right in that spot, Bill say, you're hired.
• 7:59
  hearts and stomachs: You're my assistant. That's a start in karate teaching.
• 8:02
  hearts and stomachs: And then I wanted all the way to open up a dojo in the Seattle area, where I have a seven dojo.
• 8:09
  hearts and stomachs: I was start teaching Western State Police Academy.
• 8:12
  hearts and stomachs: I created Yoshida method defense tactic.
• 8:16
  hearts and stomachs: And then rumors spread all over to state.
• 8:19
  hearts and stomachs: Oregon, 1974. I was a request by Oregon State Police Academy to teach all prison staff police officer, local, county, state, everybody.
• 8:30
  hearts and stomachs: So I became a head of a defense tactic instructor.
• 8:33
  hearts and stomachs: It was a pretty good deal.
• 8:35
  hearts and stomachs: You know, you beat up a cop making money.
• 8:38
  hearts and stomachs: My God, this is awesome.
• 8:39
  hearts and stomachs: Awesome. When mother found out.
• 8:42
  hearts and stomachs: Are you serious? Yeah.
• 8:43
  hearts and stomachs: What's wrong? You beat up people.
• 8:46
  hearts and stomachs: Police? You go to jail in Japan?
• 8:48
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. American people are weird, man.
• 8:51
  hearts and stomachs: They pay me to do this.
• 8:54
  hearts and stomachs: So anyway, that's what happened.
• 8:56
  hearts and stomachs: And. And then I start teaching all over.
• 8:58
  hearts and stomachs: I wasn't really teaching.
• 9:00
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. And in 1982, uh, US have a severe recession.
• 9:05
  hearts and stomachs: I don't know, you're born.
• 9:07
  hearts and stomachs: Uh, maybe not, you're not.
• 9:08
  hearts and stomachs: You're not even. You're not even a baby at that time.
• 9:11
  hearts and stomachs: You guys look so young.
• 9:12
  hearts and stomachs: So anyway, we have to deal with the recession of 1982, and we lost a lot of students.
• 9:18
  hearts and stomachs: We lost almost more than more than half.
• 9:21
  hearts and stomachs: And and the police academy budget cut.
• 9:23
  hearts and stomachs: Portland State University our teaching there, their budget cut. And there was still some students still giving the Christmas gift.
• 9:31
  hearts and stomachs: So I had to return something.
• 9:33
  hearts and stomachs: And my wife, Linda, honey, let's make your mother's yakiniku sauce.
• 9:39
  hearts and stomachs: Now you're packing it.
• 9:40
  hearts and stomachs: The people love it, and the people start asking more and they were to pay for it.
• 9:45
  hearts and stomachs: That was a shocking moment.
• 9:47
  hearts and stomachs: They were to pay my source so we could eat the create sauce.
• 9:51
  hearts and stomachs: People love it. And then we start charging money.
• 9:54
  hearts and stomachs: And then my wife would keep a record.
• 9:57
  hearts and stomachs: Individual people. This is the second time or third time or fourth time return.
• 10:01
  hearts and stomachs: Every time they come back, the price goes up and the people wondering why it says they're so high.
• 10:07
  hearts and stomachs: Well, this is very difficult to make.
• 10:09
  hearts and stomachs: But I lied to them. So one day my wife said, you know, honey, this could be business.
• 10:14
  hearts and stomachs: And I said, wow, you're right.
• 10:16
  hearts and stomachs: I didn't know people were to pay for it.
• 10:18
  hearts and stomachs: And then we built a small batch.
• 10:20
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida sauce size in the basement of a karate dojo, not in a producing. And does that by hand.
• 10:29
  hearts and stomachs: And then I went to the Albertson store asking the beginning.
• 10:35
  hearts and stomachs: So, uh, based on my source, I didn't know any system, right? I didn't know any.
• 10:40
  hearts and stomachs: I didn't know anything about food industry.
• 10:42
  hearts and stomachs: I'm totally. I'm a karate guy, right?
• 10:45
  hearts and stomachs: And, uh, they refused every store.
• 10:48
  hearts and stomachs: They refused. You have to go headquarters to get the approval.
• 10:51
  hearts and stomachs: I said, okay. And then I went over the headquarters.
• 10:54
  hearts and stomachs: They started laughing at it.
• 10:55
  hearts and stomachs: Are you making sauce by hand?
• 10:58
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. Oh, it's the laugh.
• 11:00
  hearts and stomachs: Do you have money for advertising?
• 11:02
  hearts and stomachs: No. That's why I want to sell to you.
• 11:05
  hearts and stomachs: If I have the money, I won't come to you.
• 11:07
  hearts and stomachs: So that's what happened. The one store that Alberton's buyer, which is my neighbor. He said okay.
• 11:13
  hearts and stomachs: Junki Don't tell the headquarters.
• 11:15
  hearts and stomachs: Bring ten cases and. Okay, I'm going to do demo.
• 11:19
  hearts and stomachs: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, ten cases.
• 11:21
  hearts and stomachs: And then, John, why don't you pay me what I sell?
• 11:25
  hearts and stomachs: He said, okay, that's a complete confidential.
• 11:28
  hearts and stomachs: I don't want the headquarter to find out that Albertson buyer and a store manager.
• 11:33
  hearts and stomachs: They will stop doing demo sell like a hot cake for someone to try.
• 11:38
  hearts and stomachs: I saw 70% people. They buying it and I said, oh my God, people love this. While he was cooking that chicken chicken thigh.
• 11:46
  hearts and stomachs: And then Costco just opened open up a second store beginning for 1983, and I got an opportunity.
• 11:54
  hearts and stomachs: Somebody suggested me, you should go see Costco in Seattle.
• 11:59
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, okay. So they took me right there.
• 12:02
  hearts and stomachs: Oh. You're in. I said, are you serious?
• 12:04
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. You're in. Okay, that's on the two store.
• 12:07
  hearts and stomachs: And that's what happened.
• 12:09
  hearts and stomachs: I didn't expect it. Costco going to be growing like a national, international level. We are now 11 country now.
• 12:17
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida sauce we do demo at the store.
• 12:20
  hearts and stomachs: Costco's Portland number two store.
• 12:23
  hearts and stomachs: No one's going to touch it.
• 12:24
  hearts and stomachs: They don't know anything about Yoshida Gourmet sauce.
• 12:27
  hearts and stomachs: And then I said, this is like a teriyaki.
• 12:30
  hearts and stomachs: I said, no, this is not teriyaki.
• 12:32
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, what is it? Better than teriyaki.
• 12:34
  hearts and stomachs: The people advise me change the name Yoshida teriyaki sauce.
• 12:39
  hearts and stomachs: They advised me so many times I said, no way.
• 12:42
  hearts and stomachs: I'm not going to. People mix up my sauce with the Kikkoman.
• 12:45
  hearts and stomachs: I don't want to sell to my sauce.
• 12:47
  hearts and stomachs: White people. All gringo.
• 12:49
  hearts and stomachs: I don't care about Japanese customers.
• 12:51
  hearts and stomachs: If I put Yoshida teriyai name on it, they go into all the Asian section.
• 12:56
  hearts and stomachs: Oriental section? I don't want that junk.
• 12:59
  hearts and stomachs: Stop. Stop your pride.
• 13:01
  hearts and stomachs: No, that's not pride. This is a survival.
• 13:03
  hearts and stomachs: I'm looking at it ten years from now.
• 13:05
  hearts and stomachs: I'm not looking for now.
• 13:07
  hearts and stomachs: Sure, if you use the teriyaki.
• 13:09
  hearts and stomachs: Much easier to sell. Definitely.
• 13:11
  hearts and stomachs: But I don't want to sell.
• 13:13
  hearts and stomachs: I want to sell the white people.
• 13:14
  hearts and stomachs: I want to get in the next set for barbecue.
• 13:16
  hearts and stomachs: Hines barbecue sauce. That's i want a whole idea was I want to sit sitting myself next up for Hines barbecue. That was a 41 years ago.
• 13:26
  hearts and stomachs: I love the story of going from troubled kid to undocumented immigrant to karate instructor to SAS company Titan.
• 13:32
  hearts and stomachs: They should make a movie out of your story.
• 13:32
  hearts and stomachs: Mr Yoshida now that we know how it started.
• 13:35
  hearts and stomachs: Tell us how you grew the business.
• 13:37
  hearts and stomachs: And what are some of the differences between American and Japanese business cultures from your perspective?
• 13:41
  hearts and stomachs: Here is a 41 year. Until until Haines the fuck up.
• 13:45
  hearts and stomachs: I sold the Heinz U.S. market 24 years ago.
• 13:48
  hearts and stomachs: Marketing only. US only.
• 13:50
  hearts and stomachs: And in Canada and the rest of America, they screw the whole thing up.
• 13:55
  hearts and stomachs: But I didn't care. They made me big money 24 years ago.
• 13:59
  hearts and stomachs: You should have a category.
• 14:01
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida have a 26% wow category.
• 14:05
  hearts and stomachs: We are price club price saver over every single clubhouse in the United States.
• 14:11
  hearts and stomachs: People are wondering why the heck Yoshida's only one in the clubhouse.
• 14:15
  hearts and stomachs: Why in the heck? There's a Yoshida Japanese name and a Japanese flavor.
• 14:20
  hearts and stomachs: Why they are sitting next up Hines barbecue sauce.
• 14:23
  hearts and stomachs: People are always wondering.
• 14:26
  hearts and stomachs: I refuse it. One Oregon, one time Safeway the final group.
• 14:30
  hearts and stomachs: 161. One of a powerful region here.
• 14:34
  hearts and stomachs: And they were to say buyer buyers.
• 14:36
  hearts and stomachs: Well, okay. My point. Well, only one condition.
• 14:40
  hearts and stomachs: I one of my sauce. Next up for Hines barbecue section, not Asian section. Okay okay okay.
• 14:46
  hearts and stomachs: No problem. So they give me 30 stores to try.
• 14:50
  hearts and stomachs: But we already Costco all over that time, right?
• 14:53
  hearts and stomachs: Then next I found out delivery to Costco distribution center.
• 14:58
  hearts and stomachs: My sauce was the next inside of the Asian section.
• 15:01
  hearts and stomachs: I was so pissed. So 30 store we know exactly what 30 stores they picked for test market.
• 15:08
  hearts and stomachs: So right away I done a demo.
• 15:10
  hearts and stomachs: Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
• 15:12
  hearts and stomachs: So they shipped one case per store.
• 15:15
  hearts and stomachs: Right. I went to stores all over and they sold out.
• 15:18
  hearts and stomachs: All sold out the weekend.
• 15:20
  hearts and stomachs: And the buyer got a really panic.
• 15:22
  hearts and stomachs: Buyers just on the call.
• 15:23
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida You gotta ship a sauce right away.
• 15:26
  hearts and stomachs: And I said I should I tell you, I said, no, we're not going to ship anything.
• 15:30
  hearts and stomachs: What are you talking about? Ask your buyer.
• 15:32
  hearts and stomachs: He lied to me. What do you mean?
• 15:34
  hearts and stomachs: I found out myself in the Oriental section.
• 15:37
  hearts and stomachs: I don't want that. Everybody carry the next to the barbecue sauce.
• 15:41
  hearts and stomachs: You're the only one. Biggest, largest powerful chain store here you put in the Asian section means everybody's going to follow you.
• 15:49
  hearts and stomachs: So you destroy my business buyer call.
• 15:52
  hearts and stomachs: His name also John. He was a powerful buyer in this region.
• 15:56
  hearts and stomachs: Okay. He's like a god.
• 15:58
  hearts and stomachs: He's screaming everything to do with the F-U-C-K beginning to end.
• 16:03
  hearts and stomachs: Fuck are you who you think you are?
• 16:06
  hearts and stomachs: I will cut you off. We're never going to never come back here again.
• 16:09
  hearts and stomachs: That's a fact. You lied to me.
• 16:10
  hearts and stomachs: You lied to me, John. You promised me.
• 16:13
  hearts and stomachs: My sauce is going to barbecue section.
• 16:16
  hearts and stomachs: If I kiss your ass, everybody's going to follow you.
• 16:19
  hearts and stomachs: My stuff's going to Asian section, which is a 25% higher price.
• 16:23
  hearts and stomachs: You know what happened?
• 16:25
  hearts and stomachs: He hung up on me. Assisant call me two days later.
• 16:28
  hearts and stomachs: My source went all the way.
• 16:30
  hearts and stomachs: 160 store.
• 16:32
  hearts and stomachs: Nice.
• 16:33
  hearts and stomachs: This is America. In Japan, they destroy you.
• 16:36
  hearts and stomachs: But America is a very interesting.
• 16:39
  hearts and stomachs: Very. They have a more humanity than Japanese goes by and they end up.
• 16:44
  hearts and stomachs: Now, that guy would have become our Best Buyer I have.
• 16:48
  hearts and stomachs: He make up two for one sale for Christmas time.
• 16:51
  hearts and stomachs: They didn't charge me anything.
• 16:53
  hearts and stomachs: Safeway pay for it. Two for one.
• 16:55
  hearts and stomachs: If you buy the, you know, one second free.
• 16:58
  hearts and stomachs: So this is the experience I have to deal with this American business here.
• 17:03
  hearts and stomachs: They have a more humanity than Japanese business.
• 17:07
  hearts and stomachs: Be honest with you.
• 17:08
  hearts and stomachs: Barbecue. Not teriyaki.
• 17:09
  hearts and stomachs: Genius. Tell us about the future of the Yoshida brand.
• 17:12
  hearts and stomachs: And any advice for any future entrepreneurs out there?
• 17:15
  hearts and stomachs: A year and a half ago, my grandson, number two grandson Keenan.
• 17:19
  hearts and stomachs: Very smart. He passed six college, USC, Stanford, everything. He picked a USC.
• 17:26
  hearts and stomachs: Papa, I don't mind. Come to work for you.
• 17:28
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida. Oh my God! Shit, man, I was going to retire someday.
• 17:33
  hearts and stomachs: And then that afternoon, I called my lawyer, who is my vice president.
• 17:39
  hearts and stomachs: He got his own law firm.
• 17:40
  hearts and stomachs: I told Matt call Hines we're going to buy back.
• 17:43
  hearts and stomachs: Junkie. They destroyed the brand.
• 17:45
  hearts and stomachs: I don't care. I want to buy back.
• 17:47
  hearts and stomachs: This is the whole true story.
• 17:48
  hearts and stomachs: And Hines must be laughing.
• 17:50
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida old man wants to buy it back and it would destroy the brand.
• 17:54
  hearts and stomachs: They lost the Sam. They lost a Costco.
• 17:57
  hearts and stomachs: They lost a Safeway. They lost Albertson everything.
• 18:01
  hearts and stomachs: They lost the WinCo. Everything.
• 18:03
  hearts and stomachs: He wants to pay for it.
• 18:04
  hearts and stomachs: So we negotiated pretty easy in the last year.
• 18:08
  hearts and stomachs: July. We signed the contract and I start doing for sale marketing sale.
• 18:16
  hearts and stomachs: Visiting people took a long time to get the license back to each state, and all the inventories are totally almost zero marketing.
• 18:24
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida here. And then I got, uh, Executive Vice President John McCain find out. I heard he took a brand back.
• 18:33
  hearts and stomachs: Yes, I did. I want to be your team.
• 18:35
  hearts and stomachs: John McCain, executive vice president.
• 18:37
  hearts and stomachs: Cover the entire United States.
• 18:38
  hearts and stomachs: He's going to open up a Europe.
• 18:40
  hearts and stomachs: He did. John, I can't afford to pay you.
• 18:42
  hearts and stomachs: I don't need the money.
• 18:43
  hearts and stomachs: He got a 47 million lot of stock stuff, right?
• 18:48
  hearts and stomachs: He was there since he was a college.
• 18:50
  hearts and stomachs: And the next I got a phone call from Brad Fagan, who is a general manager from Sam.
• 18:55
  hearts and stomachs: He retired ten years ago.
• 18:57
  hearts and stomachs: He called me. Junko I heard that you backed the business.
• 19:00
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah, I am. I want to be part of your team.
• 19:02
  hearts and stomachs: Fred Meyer here is present.
• 19:06
  hearts and stomachs: Dingus, he called me. I heard that you're back.
• 19:08
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. I'm back. I want to be in.
• 19:10
  hearts and stomachs: I want to help you. This is my book.
• 19:12
  hearts and stomachs: Said Tsumoke You're chasing the money.
• 19:16
  hearts and stomachs: You lose the money, you lose the people.
• 19:18
  hearts and stomachs: Tsumoke . They come to you to help you.
• 19:22
  hearts and stomachs: That's why I want to read in my book.
• 19:24
  hearts and stomachs: That's my issho. Issho everybody helping me?
• 19:29
  hearts and stomachs: That's why I never say anybody hey.
• 19:31
  hearts and stomachs: Look, don't look at me. What I done No, I'm nothing.
• 19:34
  hearts and stomachs: I tell my employees to tell my employee.
• 19:37
  hearts and stomachs: Please don't dump me. I need you, I need you.
• 19:40
  hearts and stomachs: So people shocked. I'm driving a Prius.
• 19:44
  hearts and stomachs: People are shocked. Your chairman, were you driving your own car?
• 19:47
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. My friend Phil Knight, his second son and my karate student.
• 19:51
  hearts and stomachs: We didn't field Nike one time.
• 19:54
  hearts and stomachs: Oregon international airfare.
• 19:56
  hearts and stomachs: We had all the, the, uh, the Nike for worldwide.
• 20:01
  hearts and stomachs: We're going to have a 21 warehouse all over the world.
• 20:04
  hearts and stomachs: We did it for more than more than $500 million of this Nike.
• 20:08
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida is nothing but Yoshida name.
• 20:12
  hearts and stomachs: I have such credibility to sell this shotomoke.
• 20:16
  hearts and stomachs: Is people going to say, oh, junkie.
• 20:18
  hearts and stomachs: Say that. Okay. Take it.
• 20:21
  hearts and stomachs: Shindai. Japanese called Koji-san.
• 20:24
  hearts and stomachs: Shindai. That is a proof of shtomoke.
• 20:27
  hearts and stomachs: They trust you for chasing money.
• 20:30
  hearts and stomachs: You're going to lose it, you know.
• 20:31
  hearts and stomachs: And then chasing the money, you lose the people to when money is gone.
• 20:36
  hearts and stomachs: You know, I almost go bankrupt.
• 20:39
  hearts and stomachs: That's the reason I go.
• 20:40
  hearts and stomachs: Public speech. People want to hear my stupid story.
• 20:43
  hearts and stomachs: I was a back full time man.
• 20:46
  hearts and stomachs: That's something I am proud because every time people help me, people help me. I don't even know the skill.
• 20:55
  hearts and stomachs: But somehow I capture people and we become friends once we become friends.
• 21:01
  hearts and stomachs: I must be pissed right now.
• 21:04
  hearts and stomachs: We are back after take back.
• 21:06
  hearts and stomachs: They're actually taking action August everything going back there.
• 21:12
  hearts and stomachs: Last year in August. We are double sales now.
• 21:16
  hearts and stomachs: What's the Heinz was doing in that three months?
• 21:19
  hearts and stomachs: Wow.
• 21:20
  hearts and stomachs: We're almost the entire United States besides the Florida area.
• 21:24
  hearts and stomachs: Okay. We are all WinCo.
• 21:25
  hearts and stomachs: All Safeway Albertsons from 2000, uh, 1100 auto west of, uh, Rocky Mountain. Right now.
• 21:33
  hearts and stomachs: I got a phone call today.
• 21:34
  hearts and stomachs: Sam. Sam, I don't want to deal with it because they squeeze the price.
• 21:38
  hearts and stomachs: But anyway, I got a phone call today from Brad Fagan who is the general use the general manager, Sam, call me.
• 21:45
  hearts and stomachs: They want to talk to you.
• 21:46
  hearts and stomachs: Well, who want to talk to the buyer?
• 21:48
  hearts and stomachs: No. Vice president. I want to talk.
• 21:50
  hearts and stomachs: Holy shit. I got to kiss his ass.
• 21:52
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. Why not? Vice president?
• 21:54
  hearts and stomachs: So this is something I want of people understand this American business much easier than Japan. I really do.
• 22:01
  hearts and stomachs: Show who you are. Don't switch around.
• 22:04
  hearts and stomachs: Jim Santico, president, a founder, Costco.
• 22:07
  hearts and stomachs: Call me Junkie. We're going to Japan now.
• 22:10
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, congratulations. What are you talking?
• 22:13
  hearts and stomachs: You going? No, Jim, I'm not going to Japan.
• 22:16
  hearts and stomachs: Never go back there again.
• 22:17
  hearts and stomachs: What? What do you mean?
• 22:19
  hearts and stomachs: I was three years ago, I failed.
• 22:21
  hearts and stomachs: People laughed at me. This is the sauce any woman can make in a housewife can make it.
• 22:26
  hearts and stomachs: So I'm never going back again.
• 22:29
  hearts and stomachs: They insulted me so much.
• 22:30
  hearts and stomachs: Junkie, we are going to Japan.
• 22:33
  hearts and stomachs: You come with us. Yoshida gourmet sauce.
• 22:35
  hearts and stomachs: Jim, can I change flavor?
• 22:38
  hearts and stomachs: No. Your sauce selling in that Korea.
• 22:40
  hearts and stomachs: Your sauce said In London, we're going to.
• 22:42
  hearts and stomachs: Don't change it. Come on, Jim.
• 22:43
  hearts and stomachs: Let me change it because people are not going to buy it.
• 22:46
  hearts and stomachs: My sauce too sweet. The Japanese flavor.
• 22:49
  hearts and stomachs: They said no. And then he told me that Junkie.
• 22:51
  hearts and stomachs: Stop kissing people ass.
• 22:53
  hearts and stomachs: Don't change around. Don't change around.
• 22:55
  hearts and stomachs: Stick with your principle.
• 22:57
  hearts and stomachs: Principle is the key to survive.
• 22:59
  hearts and stomachs: Okay, so quit change around.
• 23:01
  hearts and stomachs: Quit the bowing people every time they pressure you?
• 23:04
  hearts and stomachs: I said shit okay, Jim.
• 23:06
  hearts and stomachs: One condition, one condition.
• 23:08
  hearts and stomachs: If doesn't sell, I'm going to pull out.
• 23:10
  hearts and stomachs: You take care of all the inventory in the Japan one.
• 23:13
  hearts and stomachs: Only one store anyway.
• 23:14
  hearts and stomachs: Doesn't matter. Right?
• 23:15
  hearts and stomachs: Okay, that's the one condition.
• 23:17
  hearts and stomachs: And I don't want to do a half gallon.
• 23:19
  hearts and stomachs: I want to be the smallest I can go the family size, which is a one liter. Okay.
• 23:24
  hearts and stomachs: Smaller size is fine. So we did.
• 23:26
  hearts and stomachs: And the Costco Fukuoka first of Fukuoka.
• 23:29
  hearts and stomachs: Oh my God, that dead store like a ghost store.
• 23:33
  hearts and stomachs: No one there. No one there.
• 23:35
  hearts and stomachs: No one. No. No Costco.
• 23:37
  hearts and stomachs: Only People went to America or military people.
• 23:40
  hearts and stomachs: So I went over there. I wanted demo a whole week.
• 23:43
  hearts and stomachs: Me and my wife and then my buyer, who is the owner, is a big the big shot.
• 23:48
  hearts and stomachs: Right now he's the head of a buyer.
• 23:50
  hearts and stomachs: He's with me a whole week and we are lucky.
• 23:52
  hearts and stomachs: Now the Costco Fukuoka is on sale.
• 23:56
  hearts and stomachs: You should have thought. Oh, in the history.
• 23:58
  hearts and stomachs: Why they sell the four times more than US store.
• 24:02
  hearts and stomachs: Wow.
• 24:02
  hearts and stomachs: Big time. I'm very lucky because Kyushu people love sweet soy sauce.
• 24:07
  hearts and stomachs: What's the most interesting way the Housewives of Japan used Yoshida Sauce for.
• 24:13
  hearts and stomachs: Chicken is the best. And also the cook with nikonii with sakana fish.
• 24:18
  hearts and stomachs: Montoni oishi [Japanese] .
• 25:16
  hearts and stomachs: You're making me hungry.
• 25:17
  hearts and stomachs: Michelle, you have something you want to say to Mr.
• 25:19
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida?
• 25:20
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. I was gonna make my own sauce.
• 25:23
  hearts and stomachs: Malizaki teriyaki sauce?
• 25:25
  hearts and stomachs: But I guess not.
• 25:26
  hearts and stomachs: I'm gonna destroy you.
• 25:29
  hearts and stomachs: Well. That's good. I don't really do sauce.
• 25:32
  hearts and stomachs: I do stand-up comedy, so that's good.
• 25:34
  hearts and stomachs: Mr. Yoshida, thank you so much for being here.
• 25:36
  hearts and stomachs: Your journey really is the perfect example of how Japanese culture takes root and grows in America in ways that are unexpected, but still true to who we are.
• 25:44
  hearts and stomachs: And now I'm starving.
• 25:45
  hearts and stomachs: And, Michelle, what did you think of what Mr.
• 25:47
  hearts and stomachs: Yoshida said? What are your reactions?
• 25:48
  hearts and stomachs: Oh my gosh. So I guess you.
• 25:51
  hearts and stomachs: It's like big. How do you call that revelation?
• 25:54
  hearts and stomachs: Like, oh my gosh, I should stop kissing ass.
• 25:59
  hearts and stomachs: That's what I learned. That's what I learned.
• 25:59
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah, I should be me. No, no.
• 26:07
  hearts and stomachs: Japanese American woman.
• 26:09
  hearts and stomachs: Stand-up comedy. It's me, Michelle Malizaki.
• 26:12
  hearts and stomachs: Take it.
• 26:13
  hearts and stomachs: You know, he he had so much great conversations.
• 26:16
  hearts and stomachs: Especially. You know, I love this story about karate and about kind of how it started and and him getting in fights with the different buyers from the different companies and stores and, and what I, what I really appreciated was advice on not chasing money.
• 26:29
  hearts and stomachs: You know, I think that that's like a really, really important thing, I think for people, especially younger folks, to hear.
• 26:35
  hearts and stomachs: I was just telling my interns that I always say yes to a project because, you know, you just never know. Like.
• 26:40
  hearts and stomachs: And sometimes there's no money and there's sometimes there's nothing involved, and it doesn't seem like it's going to do anything.
• 26:44
  hearts and stomachs: But then, you know, if I say no, that's the opportunities I'm giving up.
• 26:49
  hearts and stomachs: And he's cute.
• 26:51
  hearts and stomachs: He'll be so happy to hear that.
• 26:53
  hearts and stomachs: He's so cute.
• 26:54
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, and then I love that he was when he was in Japan, that he was a bad guy and that he was a undocumented person here in the United States. Like, that's that's something that I think that people, the Japanese Americans don't think about.
• 27:06
  hearts and stomachs: I mean, because I mean, for the most part, like, you know, most Japanese Americans that came before have been here for so long, they don't remember the fact that there were an are undocumented Japanese people who live here, like, like we could get, you know, like like you got your citizenship and you got everything. But for some people, they're not as lucky or they have, you know, whatever issues.
• 27:26
  hearts and stomachs: So, you know, I think it's important to, to remember.
• 27:29
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. He I don't know.
• 27:30
  hearts and stomachs: He's so inspiring. He's so inspiring.
• 27:33
  hearts and stomachs: You should make your own sauce.
• 27:35
  hearts and stomachs: Michelle, I. Well, he's going to destroy me.
• 27:39
  hearts and stomachs: Say you want to be in the Asian section, then he won't care.
• 27:42
  hearts and stomachs: Oh, that's what I should do.
• 27:45
  hearts and stomachs: Well, maybe I should make something that goes with Yoshida sauce.
• 27:49
  hearts and stomachs: Then I could be right next to his sauce in barbecue section.
• 27:54
  hearts and stomachs: Actually, that was the other thing that I thought was really, uh, making. Makes him, like the smart businessman.
• 27:59
  hearts and stomachs: Was that knowing that being in the Asian section is the death of his brand, that he needed to be in the non-Asian section so that non-Asian people would be buying his brand? Because if you only if you're only selling to Asian people, you're just not going to make enough money.
• 28:11
  hearts and stomachs: But if you sell to everybody, you know, the Asian people will come.
• 28:16
  hearts and stomachs: Right. If you need them. But it's everybody else that's going to make your money. So I think that that was a brilliant strategy and thinking and that he knew instinctively that, you know, that that's where he needed to be.
• 28:26
  hearts and stomachs: You mean white people? The gringos?
• 28:29
  hearts and stomachs: I wasn't gonna say it.
• 28:31
  hearts and stomachs: Well, that's what he said.
• 28:33
  hearts and stomachs: And if you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a friend and leave us a review.
• 28:38
  hearts and stomachs: You'll be doing a lot to help us keep bringing exciting and fun content every month.
• 28:43
  hearts and stomachs: Please rate are podcast two.
• 28:45
  hearts and stomachs: We are grateful we are listening and hungry for more.
• 28:48
  hearts and stomachs: And be sure to join us next month when we talk about Nisei week.
• 28:52
  hearts and stomachs: Have you ever Been?
• 28:53
  hearts and stomachs: No, I've never been.
• 28:54
  hearts and stomachs: You've never been to Nisei Week?
• 28:55
  hearts and stomachs: No, because I'm Issei.
• 28:59
  hearts and stomachs: Have you been Issei W eek?
• 29:01
  hearts and stomachs: Is there a Issei Week?
• 29:03
  hearts and stomachs: You've never been parade?
• 29:04
  hearts and stomachs: No. I've never. I've seen the, uh.
• 29:06
  hearts and stomachs: The court the the the.
• 29:08
  hearts and stomachs: How do you. How do you say that?
• 29:10
  hearts and stomachs: Yeah. The princesses. Yeah.
• 29:11
  hearts and stomachs: My daughter wants to be one.
• 29:13
  hearts and stomachs: I think she's eligible now.
• 29:14
  hearts and stomachs: All right. Bye, guys.
• 29:16
  hearts and stomachs: Bye.