Writing by Ava Fleisher
Photography by Justin Negard
Alison Gregory is an executive with both business and legal backgrounds who received her law degree from Stanford University and has worked in the financial services sector as an attorney, asset manager and a launching partner for various companies. In the early 2000s, she launched and managed a fast-growing data services startup called GlobeOp Financial Services, which expanded internationally. She’s lived in northern Westchester for over 25 years and moved to Pound Ridge in 2021.
Sensei Masakazu Takahashi
Immigrated from Japan, 1971
Armonk resident Sensei Masakazu Takahashi, an engineer, immigrated from Japan in 1971 to teach karate full time. He’s now the owner of Takahashi Karate Dojo in Mount Kisco.
When and why did you immigrate to the United States?
In 1971, I was 25, and we had a house outside of Tokyo. A lot of American and Canadian students came to karate school, then we became good friends. I was an engineer, but I liked to teach karate, and they were trying to bring Japanese instructors to America to teach martial arts because they wanted the real karate. I had been doing karate since I was 15, but I graduated with a degree in plastic engineering.
In Japan, it’s very structured, so if I stayed there, I would have to climb the ladder and be an engineer, versus my real passion, karate. When the calling for karate came out of this country, there wasn’t much to decide, so I came here. My college friends said, “Why don’t you stay? You’re crazy.” But now they understand. One of my friends I had visiting this month said, “Now I understand you; you’ve really enjoyed your life.” I’ve only been teaching karate for work all my life. I can say this is a job I’ve really enjoyed.
Are you a United States citizen?
Citizen, no. I have a green card.
What was that process like?
That was a long time ago. I was working for Jermone Mackey. He hired me, and he helped me. So, not so complicated in those days. My case, it took under one year because I became karate instructor. But for some people, it took three years. Working made it easier for me to get a green card.
Was immigrating to the United States and assimilating difficult?
I don’t have many problems. Probably some problems, like language, but I had friends that were already here, so that helped me mold in. In the beginning, when I went shopping, they would say, “Okay, that’s 25 cents,” and I just gave them the coins and they would pick the coins. But I don’t have big big problems. I was lucky. I knew lawyer, doctor, one of everybody basically were my students, so they helped me tremendously, too.
What are some differences between Japan and the United States?
I think it’s very interesting that here, each state has different laws. Not in Japan. In Japan, there were the same laws for the whole country; everything was together. But here, the states are different. Also, all my hobbies—diving, hunting, fishing, everything I like to do, I can do in this country. I could fish in Japan, but hunting was very difficult to do. I love this here.
Besides karate, how do you incorporate parts of your Japanese culture into your life in the United States?
I’m not as traditional as a lot of Japanese that might come here. I enjoy Japanese foods, but culture-wise, I don’t do as much. I have a friend from Canada and a Jamaican friend, and the language is different, the food is different. Everything is so different. I enjoy so different. Part of that is because in Japan, my family wasn’t religious in a Japanese way.
Do you still have family in Japan? If so, do you visit them?
I have my sister and her two grown daughters, my first cousin and an aunt. We just got back from visiting. We used to go every single year, but I had surgery, and then right away COVID hit, so we just went back for the first time in about seven years. It was really good.
Have you ever thought about moving back to Japan?
No, I don’t think so. Visiting, yes. But every time I go to Japan, I can stay one week, and I already want to come back to America. All my friends are here.
What’s something you want people to know about immigrants?
“Immigrate.” That word never really hit me. People swimming in a big river and climbing over a fence to come to immigrate—that’s not me. I just come from another country and fit in nicely; I was very lucky. But we’re all human. There are good people, bad people, it depends. But we’re all the same.
This article was published in the July/August 2024 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.
Ava Fleisher
Ava Fleisher is Connect To's star intern and a local high school student. When she’s not writing, you can find her spending time outdoors, reading, or volunteering in her community. When she grows up, she would like to pursue a career in journalism and travel the world.
