Interviews

1. Life in Davao, Philippines

2. Kindergarten in Davao, Philippines

3. Evacuated to the Jungle

4. Captured by Guerillas after bombing of Pearl Harbor

5. Family was shipped back to Japan after the war

6. Attitudes toward Hikiagesha

7. Move to Los Angeles

8. First Impressions of the US

9. Life in the Philippines

10. Unique Identity from Having Multiple Backgrounds

11. On Nikkei Identity

12. Returning to the Philippines

Sawako Ashizawa Uchimura

(b. 1938) Philipines-born hikiagesha who later migrated to the United States.

First Impressions of the US

Coming here, the first thing we saw was houses on the hills of Wilmington and San Pedro, and we were just amazed with all those colorful houses, and then huge front lawns of the houses, and the cars – different colors of cars. We only saw like – cars were only black or maroon – real dark maroon in Japan. And when we had a chance to see them, what was like in relatives’ home, we were amazed, like refrigerator, washing machine, sewing machine – electric sewing machine, and then television, that it’s inside the house, you know. That was, like amazing also. So many electrical things that we did not have. A washing machine wasn’t – even the one that you rode to squeeze was amazing to us. And just – everything we saw was like eye-popper. And also freeway was another huge surprise, and then the mountains, without hardly trees, and all brown and bare. There’s no mountain like that in Japan.

migration United States

Date: July 12, 2017

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Mitsue Watanabe, Yoko Nishimura, Leighton Okada

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

Interviewee Bio

Sawako Ashizawa Uchimura was born in Davao, Mindanao, Philippines on March 25, 1938 as the first daughter of Katsujiro and Ura “Mie” Ashizawa. She was 7 years old in 1945 when her family had to leave the Philippines after Japan’s defeat in World War II. Her family lived in Shizuoka for the next 10 years. Later the family received residency status in the United States and arrived in Los Angeles in March 1956. Sawako went to Alhambra High School and later studied at Pasadena City College. She eventually found a generous mentor who helped support her through her education at San Jose State University and became an occupational therapist. Currently she is volunteering at the Sakura Garden (Formerly Keiro Retirement Home). (March 2018)