~“Nikkei” in Palau~ Interview Series: Vol.# 26 Ms. Ebil Misako Mereb

Ms. Ebil Misako Mereb, now 88 years old, is a Palauan of Japanese descent. She was born in 1937 to Ms. Klerang Osilek of Imeong, Ngeremlengui and Mr. Miyazawa Kotaro from Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Miyazawa worked at the pineapple canning factory in Ngeremlengui as an accountant before WWII.
 
A month after, Ms. Misako was born she was adopted by her grandparents, Chief Ngirturong Sulial and Ms. Bengkol Sulial. Now, Ms. Misako is blessed with 10 children and many grand and great-grandchildren.
 
Ms. Misako grew up in Imeong, Ngeremlengui in the midst of the Second World War. Right when she was supposed to start Japanese school, air raids started occurring and she could not go to school until after the war ended. She graduated from the 6^th grade, which at the time was the highest level of education children were able to obtain in Palau.
 
A group of Palauan men visited Japan including Chief Rekemesik at the time. Chief Rekemesik, a relative of Ms. Misako, met Ms. Misako`s father, Mr. Miyazawa and told him that he had a daughter in Palau. Until this time, Mr. Miyazawa didn`t know that he had a daughter in Palau. Mr. Miyazawa gave Chief Rekemesik a watch and a Japanese doll to give to Ms. Misako in Palau.
 
Ms. Misako was finally able to meet her father, Mr. Miyazawa, when she went to visit him in Japan with her husband, Mr. Ngirboketreng Mereb. Ms. Misako tells us that her father was stunned to see her in real life and felt a great sadness that he couldn’t meet his daughter sooner.
 
Their visit to Japan marked the first of three visits, all to visit her father. Ms. Misako shared with us the many activities and places that she visited. In fact, they visited so many hotels and so many different places that Ms. Misako tells us she had complained about all the hotel switching to her husband. Her husband Mr. Mereb, who spoke Japanese, then translated to her father what she said. Her father smiled and responded “I want you to experience all the different hotels in Japan that is why we always change hotels”.
 
One highlight of the many activities she experienced on her trips to Japan was seeing the Russian circus. She was in awe of all the acrobats and many different acts, but a moment that Ms. Misako will never forget was the gorilla riding a motorcycle and going around the arena, she said that the gorilla suddenly appeared so close that she screamed. Her father had chuckled and told her that “the gorilla was just entertaining the crowd.” Ms. Misako’s father hired a luxury car to take her around Tokyo. He explained that he doesn’t own a car because “maintaining one keeps him too busy”, and it’s more convenient for him to hire a car when needed. During her visit, Ms. Misako had the chance to watch a sumo tournament and even try the food typically eaten by sumo wrestlers. She found using chopsticks challenging and often had to ask for forks at restaurants. To help her, her father always carried a set of utensils for her to use. She also traveled to Hokkaido by airplane, as she wasn’t comfortable taking the train. While there, she especially loved the salmon she ate. We asked Ms. Misako about her favorite food and she said that mochi would be her top choice. Her father knew how much she liked mochi so he always kept a few tucked away for when they would travel and she would want a snack.
 
Ms. Misako`s father, Mr. Miyazawa also visited her in Palau twice. On one of his visits he was surprised to see that his daughter`s husband was driving an old pickup truck. He gave Ms. Misako and her husband money to buy a new car. Ms. Misako who loves farming told her father that “the pickup truck was a good car for farmers to use.” Although her father still had concerns, they thoughtfully decided to buy a different car to ease his mind and show their appreciation for his help.
 
At the end of our interview, we asked Ms. Misako for her thoughts on the diplomatic relations between Japan and Palau. She shared that Japan has been a great help to Palau, and expressed her desire for the relationship between the two nations to grow even stronger.