Interviews

1. Memories of childhood in Peru

2. Forcibly deported to the U.S. from Peru

3. Food on the ship to the U.S.

4. Family welcomed at Crystal City

5. First meal at Crystal City

6. Enjoying undokai and sports in Crystal City

7. Postwar sponsorship (Inglês)

8. Immersed in Japanese culture and language

9. Proud of his Japanese, American, and Peruvian identity

(b. 1936) Japanese Peruvian incarcerated in Crystal City

Postwar sponsorship (Inglês)

(Inglês) Peru was...we lost everything, my father, all the business, everything we owned. I'm sure people, they left camp, they had homes here already, or they had some friends, but we didn't have anywhere to go. Reverend Fukuda is a reverend that teaches Shinto, Konko church in San Francisco, he had a lawyer, attorney general, right? Took all care of all his business. He wrote a letter to the INS saying that they'll sponsor us if we come to San Francisco and find them a job. And so that was the reason we came to San Francisco.

California postwar San Francisco sponsorships United States World War II

Date: September 20, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Tom Ikeda and Yoko Nishimura

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum and Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Jimmy Naganuma was born in Callao, Peru to his Issei parents in 1936. He was eight years old when his family were forced to board a ship, to be incarcerated at Crystal City, Texas, during World War II. They remained there even after the war had ended, without a place to go. They were able to leave via a sponsorship by a reverend in San Francisco, California, where they were able to find jobs and housing. (June 2020)

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Discover Nikkei Updates

DISCOVER NIKKEI PROGRAM

July 12 • Burnaby, British Columbia
Join us for a book talk, reception, and panel discussion on Japanese Canadian history. The panel discussion will also be live-streamed via Zoom!

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