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Prenatal Development
Kitano's mother, Kou Kitano, had been a picture bride and arrived in San Francisco in 1914. Additionally, Harry Kitano was the youngest of seven. Typically, women became picture brides to financially support their families or because of societal and familial pressure. The disapointment of dissatisfaction with being a picture bride and the stress of raising a seventh child could negatively affect development during the embryonic and fetal period. -
Birth
Harry Kitano was born. -
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Childhood: Growing Up
Kitano's family lived in the hotel his father owned in San Francisco's Chinatown as the youngest of seven children. He played varstiy band and basketball in middle school. As he goes through school, he is mastering skills and discovering different hobbies. Socioemotional stages: industry versus inferiority, identity versus identity confusion. -
Adolescence: Internment Camps
After Pearl Harbor, hostility against Japanese people in the United States was at an all time high. Families of Japanese ancestry in the Bay Area were removed from their homes and sent to "assembly centers." During this period, Kitano is becoming aware of his ethnic identity. His view on his ethnicity is negatively impacted due to the treatment he and his family see becasue of it. Socioemotional stage: identity versus identity confusion. -
Early Adulthood: Music Career
After getting clearance to leave the Topaz incarceration camp, Kitano found a job playing trombone for a band in Minnesota. He also changed his name from Harry Kitano to Harry Lee due to hostility against Japanese Americans. In this stage of life, Kitano is exploring different careers as he tries to figure out what he wants to do in the future and who he is. His name change shows his confusion about his identity due to external factors. Socioemotional stage: identity versus identity confusion. -
Early Adulthood: Returning to California
Kitano returned to California to study at the University of California at Berkeley where he recieved his bachelor's in psychology and master's degree in social welfare. Once again, Kitano explored various career paths before settling on one. However, he still continued to be a jazz buff. Socioemotional stages: identity versus identity confusion. -
Middle Adulthood: Professional Career at UCLA
After receiving his PhD, Kitano spent the rest of his career at UCLA as a professor of social welfare. Through teaching, Kitano helped to guide and develop the younger generation. Socioemotional stage: Generativity versus stagnation. -
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Late Adulthood: Contributions to the community
Kitano still remained an active member of the community after his retirement. He erved on various boards of governmental and community organizations, like the Los Angeles Police Department Advisory Committee and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Equal Opportunity Management Institute Board of Visitors. Kitano is still helping the youth by ensuring Asian Americans are represented when making public policies or addressing societal issues. Socioemotional stage: Generativity versus stagnation. -
Late Adulthood: Receiving high school diploma
A ceremony was held to award a high school diploma to Japanese Americans who were never received one due to being forcibly removed from school. Kitano was a keynote speaker at this event, and he said "I do things backward,I got a PhD first and then I got my high school diploma." This experience allowed him to reflect on his life and see how things have changed for the better. Socioemotional stage: Integrity versus despair.