Was Pat Morita Japanese or Chinese?

Noriyuki “Pat” Morita was a Japanese-American actor who was well-known for playing the role of Arnold on Happy Days and known as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movie series, in which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984. Pat Morita was born in Isleton, California.
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Is Miyagi Chinese or Japanese?

Miyagi, a Japanese handyman, who teaches teenager Daniel LaRusso karate in order to confront bullies.
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Could Pat Morita speak Japanese?

Often times he leaned into it, playing with different Asian accents, like how his Chinese accent for Arnold was supposed to be for a character originally meant to be Japanese. Many of his characters didn't have accents (Morita himself didn't have one and couldn't speak Japanese) but many did.
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What ethnicity was Mr. Miyagi?

Mr. Miyagi was born on June 9, 1925, in Tomi Village Okinawa, Japan. He had a job working for his best friend Sato's father, who was the richest man in the village. In addition, he learned karate and fishing from his father Miyagi Chōjun, a fisherman.
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Was Mr. Miyagi not Japanese?

In The Karate Kid (1984) Mr Miyagi says his country is Okinawa, not Japan. Although the island of Okinawa is part of Japan, most Okinawans separate themselves from the rest of Japan. Plus Mr Miyagi was an interned Japanese that fought for the US during WWII meaning he forswore allegiance to Japan. Archived post.
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Actor Pat Morita on being held in a Japanese Internment camp during WWII - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG

What does Miyagi mean in Japanese?

Japanese: written 宮城 'shrine castle'.
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What ethnicity was Ralph Macchio?

Ralph has a younger brother named Steven. His father is of half Italian and half Greek descent, and his mother is of Italian ancestry. In a 1980 screen test, Macchio said his family was from Naples. In 1979, Macchio graduated from Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills, New York.
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What race was Pat Morita?

Noriyuki “Pat” Morita was a Japanese-American actor who was well-known for playing the role of Arnold on Happy Days and known as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movie series, in which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984. Pat Morita was born in Isleton, California.
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Were Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita friends?

Question: What was your relationship with Pat Morita like? Ralph Macchio: On screen, it was magic. I call it soulful magic. He and I were close, friendly.
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Did Mr. Miyagi fight in WWII?

Miyagi fought against the Japanese Empire in the Second World War and while he was doing that his wife Mrs. Miyagi, gave birth to a son inside an internment camp and got sick and they didn't send any doctor to her so she and the son both died. Mr. Miyagi still won a medal of honour for being a war hero.
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Did Pat Morita actually do karate?

He never learned martial arts. Nothing he shows in the movies is based on his own knowledge or ability, he copied the moves that his martial arts choreographer showed him; The only person in the karate kid movies that had any Karate experience was “Kreese” and that was under a very controversial teacher.
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Does Ralph Macchio know karate?

Apart from four jiu-jitsu lessons when I was 10, I had no martial arts experience. Before filming, I was trained in Okinawan Gōjū-ryū karate by Pat E Johnson, who coordinated the fight scenes and played the head referee in the tournament at the end of the film.
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Why does Mr. Miyagi say Daniel's son?

Why does Mr Miyagi call Daniel "Daniel-san"? In the Japanese language, -san is a polite title that is used after a person's name, the equivalent of Mr., Mrs., or Miss. Daniel could just as easily refer to Mr Miyagi as "Miyagi-san". In proper Japanese custom, Mr.
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Does Jackie Chan know karate?

As a martial artist, Chan is also skilled in multiple forms of Kung-fu. He is also known to have trained in other martial art forms such as Karate, Judo, Taekwondo, and Jeet Kun Do.
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What happened to Miyagi's wife?

In Karate Kid, when Daniel reads the letter Miyagi's holding while crying, he mentions that his wife died in childbirth at "Manzanar Relocation Center". This means that Miyagi's pregnant wife was thrown in an internment camp while he was fighting for the US Army in WWII.
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Was Pat Morita a heavy drinker?

Throughout his life, Morita had battled alcoholism.
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Was Pat Morita in WWII?

The Moritas were forced to live at the Gila River camp in Arizona and later at the Tule Lake camp in northern California. After World War II ended, Morita and his family were released.
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Was Pat Morita a Shriner?

years later he was walking. Known to us as Brother and. Noble, Pat became a Freemason and Shriner.
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What is William Zabka ethnicity?

Zabka was born in New York City, New York, the son of Nancy, a business liaison, producer, and production assistant, and Stan Zabka, a director, writer and composer. Zabka has a brother and a sister. His father was born in Des Moines, Iowa of Czech descent.
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What ethnicity was Daniel LaRusso?

The titular character, originally named Danny Webber, was renamed Daniel LaRusso to suit Macchio's Italian-American heritage. In the film, Daniel is a New Jersey kid who has just relocated to California and is suffering at the hands of a gang of boys who are part of a local karate school called Cobra Kai.
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Is Ralph Macchio's accent real?

The actor grew up in New York and had previously played Daniel LaRusso, a New Jersey native, in 1984's The Karate Kid. Macchio has a prominent Long Island accent that prevented him from playing McFly, a resident of Hill Valley, California.
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Did Pat Morita know martial arts?

Before filming The Karate Kid, Pat Morita was not a martial arts master. He did not have any experience in karate prior to making the films. However, that does not mean he and the rest of the cast were not placed under a training program.
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Is Miyagi Chinese?

In the movie, Miyagi was from Okinawa, where he was born and raised and learned karate. Karate originated on Okinawa. Leaving Okinawa and immigrating to the US, Mr. Miyagi was interned in a Japanese Internment Camp in World War 2, joining the US Army's 442 Division, the most highly decorated unit in Army history.
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Was Mr Miyagi in the military?

Throughout his military service, Mr. Miyagi was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant and was highly decorated. Mr. Miyagi's unit was the 442nd Infantry Regiment, one of the most highly decorated regiments in the history of the United States Armed Forces, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients.
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