Interviews
Too Ashamed to Tell
Many, many people mentioned it to me, and they said, "Gee, we didn't know what had happened to you," and you know, that's the thing. I have to tell you this. It's because when I first went to Chicago and to the University of Wisconsin, people would say, "Where are you from?" I never told them I was in camp. I was too ashamed to tell them that. And, but after this happened, of course, after the commission hearings, well, since everybody knew about it, then I was able to say, well, yeah, and describe to them what the situation was and what conditions we lived under and things like that. So it was... it kind of opened it all up for me.
I*: So you really changed a bit yourself during this whole process?
Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, it was a catharsis. Uh-huh.
*”I” indicates an interviewer (Becky Fukuda).
Date: September 11, 1997
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Becky Fukuda
Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.
Explore More Videos
The lack of discussion about family’s incarceration in Amache
Sansei judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California
Passing Time in the Camps with Baton Twirling
(b. 1932) Nisei American stage, film, and TV actress
Loss When Leaving for Manzanar
Japanese American animator for Walt Disney and Hanna Barbera (1925-2007)
Stories of Grandfather at a concentration camp in Fusagasuga
(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States
Her grandfather in a concentration camp in Fusagasuga (Spanish)
(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States
His sister secured reparations for the family
(b. 1942) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City
Foreign language education was severely restricted during the war
Professor of Law, University of Sao Paulo, Lawyer, Translator (b. 1948)