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

In this episode of the Japanese America podcast, we delve into the fascinating journey of Junki Yoshida, the mastermind behind Yoshida Sauce. Through humorous and candid storytelling, Mr. Yoshida recounts his remarkable transformation from a rebellious youth in Japan to a successful entrepreneur in the United States. As an immigrant facing numerous challenges, he carved a niche for himself by popularizing Japanese flavors in America with his sweet and savory marinade. Listeners will be inspired by his resilience and innovation, as well as his strategic business decisions that propelled his brand to international recognition. Alongside Mr. Yoshida's personal anecdotes, the episode explores the broader evolution of Japanese cuisine in America, offering insights into cultural fusion and entrepreneurial spirit.

For more information about the Japanese American National Museum, please visit our website at www.janm.org. 

CREDITS

The music was created by Jalen Blank

Written by Koji Steven Sakai

Hosts: Michelle Malazaki and Koji Steven Sakai

Edited and produced by Koji Steven Sakai in conjunction with the Japanese American National Museum

Transcript

0:00

Koji. What's your favorite Japanese food? Oh, that's easy. Curry rice is Curry. Does curry count as Japanese food, I don't know. Curry Rice. Yeah, the Japanese version of it is my favorite. I, I was super, super, super, super sad when the Curry House closed. It was the saddest day of my entire life. I wanted to get. I wanted to have a reception, my wedding reception at the Curry House. But my wife was completely against this idea. I would be too. Why Curry house? 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. One of the times I went to Japan with my mom, all I would eat would be kind of. So we had to go everywhere we went. We had to have at least it had to be that option or else I wouldn't eat anything. So what about you? What's your what's your favorite Japanese food? Tonkatsu. Oh, okay. Yeah, but there's a place in Japan. It's a chain store. Wako . Great tonkatsu and I usually stay for like ten days. 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. My name is Michelle and I'm your host. And I'm Koji. Any exciting plans for the 4th of July. And what do you cook for the 4th? Oh, well, my husband is a white guy, so he cooks barbecue and I make the best Japanese style potato salad. Hahaha. What about you? I this year we're going to the Dodger game on the fourth, so we're not going to cook anything. 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. So this year you're going to have the Dodger Dog. Dodger dogs. Yeah. It's going to be expensive. Yes, it's going to be Dodger Stadium is super expensive. 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. 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. In this month's episode, we're diving into a topic that's close to our

hearts and stomachs: 2:25

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