Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1738/

Stories of Grandfather at a concentration camp in Fusagasuga

Thankfully for us, they treated them well. There's a story that he was given something that he would…I don't remember exactly what they were given good that he would collect, and trade for booze, because he wanted to have some drink, and they weren't allowed to have all those things. So he collected, and traded them. Maybe they had some limited outings, or something.

And there's also a thing that he says that if they were well behaved, they took them out for field trips. So he had gone to a park, or something that he had been impressed by the beauty of the place that they had visited.

And there's also stories that my grandmother had written in Japanese to my grandfather saying, like prearranging that, there were like a lot of faked illnesses in my family, and they would write the notes in Spanish. So the guards would understand that they were telling him that my mom, for example, my mom was very, very sick that what should we do or whatever, so they allowed him time off, and gave him permission to come visit. And he would visit for 15 days, and go back. So they were, I guess every so often, they would fake some illness, or some major event, only so he would be allowed to come visit them.


Colombia World War II World War II camps

Date: September 22, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Yoko Nishimura

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Monica Teisher was born in Cali, Colombia in 1974 to an Issei father and Nisei mother. She and her large extended family were active in the Cali Japanese community, the largest in Colombia. She moved to the United States after marrying a U.S. citizen of Eastern European Jewish descent. They and their daughters spend vacation time in Colombia, participating in community events. (May 2020)

Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
en
ja
es
pt
Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Traveling to Manzanar

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Margaret Oda
en
ja
es
pt
Oda,Margaret

Victory Corps Work during World War II

(1925 - 2018) Nisei educator from Hawai‘i

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
en
ja
es
pt
Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Jobs in Manzanar

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

en
ja
es
pt
George Yoshida
en
ja
es
pt
Yoshida,George

We’re Still Japanese

(b. 1922) Musician

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
en
ja
es
pt
Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Sugar beet and potato farming in Idaho

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

en
ja
es
pt
William Marutani
en
ja
es
pt
Marutani,William

Recalling Pinedale and Tule Lake concentration camps

Judge, only Japanese American to serve on CWRIC.

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
en
ja
es
pt
Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Being called out of Reserves

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
en
ja
es
pt
Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Fort Snelling

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
en
ja
es
pt
Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Traveling from Manila to Tokyo

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

en
ja
es
pt
Holly J. Fujie
en
ja
es
pt
Fujie,Holly J.

Camp stories impact on her career

Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California

en
ja
es
pt
Yumi Matsubara
en
ja
es
pt
Matsubara,Yumi

Concentration camp from a Japanese mother’s point of view (Japanese)

Shin-Issei from Gifu. Recently received U.S. citizenship

en
ja
es
pt
Frank Emi
en
ja
es
pt
Emi,Frank

Arrested in camp for trying to leave

(1916-2010) draft resister, helped form the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

en
ja
es
pt
Willie Ito
en
ja
es
pt
Ito,Willie

Dusty Weather at Topaz, Utah

(b. 1934) Award-winning Disney animation artist who was incarcerated at Topaz during WWII

en
ja
es
pt
Willie Ito
en
ja
es
pt
Ito,Willie

Mother in Camp

(b. 1934) Award-winning Disney animation artist who was incarcerated at Topaz during WWII

en
ja
es
pt
Masao Kinoshita
en
ja
es
pt
Kinoshita,Masao

Makegumi - Movement to regognize the defeat of Japan (Japanese)

A central figure for the “Makegumi” (defeatists)

en
ja
es
pt