Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/680/

Search of family home by the FBI following the bombing of Pearl Harbor

But apparently they came very early in the morning and they kind of—my mom went to answer the door and they kind of shoved her aside, not brutally, but shoved her aside, and then they kind of just stormed the house and shook my father, made him get up. When they started going upstairs, my mom shouted upstairs to my sisters who said “Get dressed! Get dressed!” because one of my sisters loved to run around nude. And [Laughs] apparently the men thought that my mom was giving some kind of signal or something 'cause apparently they drew out their guns and rushed upstairs. And then they barged into my sisters' bedroom and asked my sisters if they have ever seen anything like this and showed them the gun. “Does your father have one like this?” And they said only the toy. My other sister remembers the men putting their hands through the sugar bowls and through the rice bowls, and she was thinking, “Oh, that's dirty” and apparently ransacked closets looking for things.


World War II

Date: May 27, 1998

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Lori Hoshino

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei female. Born February 1937 in Seattle, Washington. Spent prewar childhood in Seattle. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington; Minidoka incarceration camp, Idaho; and Crystal City internment camp, Texas. In postwar years, became a teacher, principal, and multicultural specialist for Washington State's Superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction. Developed and directed the Japanese American Cultural Heritage Program and the Rainbow Program, one of the first multiethnic educational programs in the country. She passed away on April 4, 2021 at age 84. (July 2021)

Bain,Peggie Nishimura

Making craft items from shells found at Tule Lake

(b.1909) Nisei from Washington. Incarcerated at Tule Lake and Minidoka during WWII. Resettled in Chicago after WWII

Kosaki,Richard

Working at a first aid station on Oahu after December 7

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Kosaki,Richard

Under suspicion after Pearl Harbor

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Kosaki,Richard

442 soldiers visiting U.S. concentration camps

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Kosaki,Richard

Teaching at the military language school during World War II

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Kosaki,Richard

Devastation in Tokyo after World War II

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Kosaki,Richard

Change in attitudes after World War II

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

Shibayama,Art

Family's deportation from Peru to U.S. after the bombing of Pearl Harbor

(1930-2018) Nisei born in Peru. Taken to the United States during WWII.

Shibayama,Art

Conditions aboard U.S. transport ship while being deported from Peru

(1930-2018) Nisei born in Peru. Taken to the United States during WWII.

Shibayama,Art

Thoughts on the post-9/11 atmosphere in the U.S.

(1930-2018) Nisei born in Peru. Taken to the United States during WWII.

Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Ransacking of family home by FBI following the bombing of Pearl Harbor

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Witnessing father's arrest through a child's eyes

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Participating in military drills in school in Japan during the war

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

Hearing anti-American war propaganda from a teacher

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.

Kanemoto,Marion Tsutakawa

The hardships of life in Japan during World War II

(b. 1927) Japanese American Nisei. Family voluntarily returned to Japan during WWII.