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Kaoru Ishibashi is an Asian-American musician and songwriter who performs as Kishi section three
Kaoru Ishibashi is an Asian-American musician and songwriter who performs as Kishi
Bashi. In an April 14, 2021, interview with National Public Radio, he discusses his song
“For Every Voice That Never Sang,” which he says is about the feeling of being an outsider /
in your own country. The song was partly inspired by visiting Japanese internment camps
with his teenage daughter. George Takei
from On “For Every Voice That Never Sang”
Kishi Bashi Is Confident for a Changing World

Rachel Martin, Taylor Haney, and Vince Pearson
How did you think about balancing — lyrically — the pain, the longing that you’re
trying to capture from the minority experience and a sense of optimism?
I think the sense of optimism is something that I’ve always tried to inject into my
music. Because when you think about minority identity, you could go to town on how
painful it is . . . but a lot of people want to get out of that pain. They want things to heal
them. So, you know, there’s a statistic that I’ve really held on to and it kind of shaped
my world view. And it’s like, “50 percent of all school age children are people of color
now.” That means that the society of the future will be very, very different than what
we see now. So, I try to remind that to people, especially, like, younger people who are
really, really distraught — who think, like, the world is ending. It’s not. It’s kind of just
beginning.

In what ways is Ishibashi’s perspective similar to or different from that presented by Takei
in the excerpt from the graphic memoir you read? Why might someone who is focused on
hope, youth, and the future feel it is important to visit internment camps like the one Takei’s
family was forced to endure decades earlier?

Understanding and Interpreting

1. Most of the excerpt is focused on George — Takei himself as a young boy — but the reactions of
those around him help shape his experience. Compare and contrast how George’s parents
handle the adversity of their situation. How does Takei communicate these differences visually?
2. Why might George have been drawn to the story of The Hunchback of Notre Dame at this
point in his life?
3. How do the camp officers work to have the prisoners fight against each other rather than fight
against the camp itself? How successful are they in this?

Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample. 229
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.

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