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Living in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor

I was born on October 21st, 1934. I was born in Honolulu at the Kapi’olani Hospital. My father came here when he was about eighteen years old, from Hiroshima. My mother was, you know, bi-educated here and she graduated high school in Iwakuni, Japan.

It was on a Sunday that they bombed…you know, I was fishing. But I see all the anti-aircraft fire, they all were blank white spots Everybody thought it was strange. But nobody believed that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor, you know.

People used to call us "Jap", you know, and we used to get in a fight, and they used to have small gangs in all different districts, you know...that were created because of this thing, you know.

Everybody painted their windows black, right? So you couldn't see even if you had the light on. There was a curfew. Adults, neighbors would come to the house, or you go to another neighbor's house and they make coffee, serve pastries, or something. This is in the evening, after dinner...you know. Or play cards, you know...play trumps or hanafuda or whatever. I remember that.


curfews Hawai'i musicians United States World War II

Date: August 2012

Location: Hawai`i, US

Interviewer: John Esaki

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

Interviewee Bio

78-years-old, is known by ukulele fans in Japan and around the world as "Ohta-san." Ohta-san is a master ukulele player who learned to play the instrument from his mother in the pre-World War II era in Honolulu. He played a major role in popularizing the ukulele in the 1960s and 70s, expanding the repertoire of the instrument beyond Hawai`ian songs to include international pop and jazz. In his interview, Ohta-san vividly demonstrates his stylistic development by playing excerpts from songs that were significant to his career. (June 2014)

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