Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1684/

Mother was ordered to speak English during FBI house search

The third agent went through the house, and took down – he went through the kitchen, and I heard all this rattling. He took down all the dishes, apparently, and was looking through the cupboards in the kitchen, and they took down framed pictures off the wall, and tore open the backs of the frame, you know, like – and they rolled up the rug on the...on the floor. Very thorough, you know, examination of the house – searching the house for whatever. We were puzzled, I think. We were sitting there, you know, just completely dumbfounded, I think, that this was going...“What is it that they want from us?”

And after several hours, they left. And in the meantime, my mother came home from church. And she came in the front door - and she had forgotten her keys, so she rang the doorbell, and she came in and said, “Well what’s going on?” you know, in Japanese. And so the guy said, “Don’t talk in Japanese! Talk in English.” And so...and so she was – of course my mother was monolingual at that point, and so she – then she was ordered to sit down with us, and she did. And we couldn’t – she kept on saying, “What – who are these people?” you know, and “What do they want?” and so forth, and she was talking in Japanese, and it was – she was told to shut up. And, you know, “Don’t talk in Japanese. Talk in English,” and so we didn’t – we sat there very quietly for a long, long time.


searches and seizures World War II

Date: August 7, 2018

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Sharon Yamato

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

Interviewee Bio

Mitsuye Yamada was born in 1923 while her mother was visiting family in Japan. She grew up in Seattle, Washington until World War II when they were sent to Minidoka, Idaho. A Quaker volunteer helped her to leave camp by finding her a job in Cincinnati, Ohio. Yamada attended the University of Cincinnati and earned a BA from New York University and an MA from the University of Chicago.

She was able to become a naturalized U.S. citizen following passage of the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act and received her citizenship in 1955.

She was a constant writer from the time she was young, and her first book of poetry taken from her writings in Minidoka, Camp Notes and Other Poems, was published in 1976. She started teaching and published more books after a health scare when she was 39 years old.

She helped to start a human rights group in Irvine, California that eventually led to her becoming elected to the Amnesty International Board of Directors in the 1980s and has been active in many human rights causes, especially known for her activism for woman's rights. (August 2018)

Rose Kutsukake
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Kutsukake,Rose

Experiences during World War II

(1918-2004) Interned in Slocan during World War II. Active member of the Japanese Canadian community.

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Fred Sasaki
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Sasaki,Fred

Anti-Japanese sentiment at the time of World War II

(b. 1918) Issei businessman in Canada

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Fred Sasaki
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Sasaki,Fred

The impact of Pearl Harbor on his family

(b. 1918) Issei businessman in Canada

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Shizuko Kadoguchi
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Kadoguchi,Shizuko

Social activities in Tashme

(b.1920) Japanese Canadian Nisei. Established the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Toronto

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Shizuko Kadoguchi
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Kadoguchi,Shizuko

Choice to move east or go to Japan

(b.1920) Japanese Canadian Nisei. Established the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of Toronto

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Sam Naito
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Naito,Sam

Undergraduate studies interrupted following Pearl Harbor

(b. 1921) Nisei businessman. Established "Made in Oregon" retail stores

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Sam Naito
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Naito,Sam

Difficulty getting work during World War II

(b. 1921) Nisei businessman. Established "Made in Oregon" retail stores

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Paul Terasaki
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Terasaki,Paul

Difference between experiences of youth and older people in WWII camps

(b.1929) Pioneer medical researcher in tissue transfer and organ transplantation.

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George Azumano
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Azumano,George

Discharged from the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor

(b. 1918) Founder Azumano Travel

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Alfredo Kato
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Kato,Alfredo

Escaping to a small village in the mountains during the World War II (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

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Eric Nakamura
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Nakamura,Eric

Father in camp but learning from history books

Giant Robot co-founder and publisher

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Mas Kodani
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Kodani,Mas

Fun at concentration camp

Senshin Buddhist Temple minister and co-founder of Kinnara Taiko.

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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Houston,Jeanne Wakatsuki

The only Japanese family in Ocean Park

(b. 1934) Writer

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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Houston,Jeanne Wakatsuki

Impact of Pearl Harbor on her family

(b. 1934) Writer

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Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
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Houston,Jeanne Wakatsuki

Initial impact on life at camp

(b. 1934) Writer

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