Mother's immigration to U.S. as a treaty merchant

Mother's immigration to U.S. as a treaty merchant Ransacking of family home by FBI following the bombing of Pearl Harbor Witnessing father's arrest through a child's eyes Memories of trip to Japan on the exchange ships Living in Japan during the war, preparing for U.S. bombings Witnessing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima Participating in military drills in school in Japan during the war Hearing anti-American war propaganda from a teacher The hardships of life in Japan during World War II

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And so my mother had to come in a different status, which was called the treaty merchants. And from what I understand, to be a treaty merchant that had to mean that you were fairly comfortable. And so, though my father, being a young man, didn't have the funds, they had to pretend that they were wealthy enough and signed up for the first-class and my mother was told that she had to behave very properly, and that's how they came.

Date: August 3 & 4, 2003
Location: Washington, US
Interviewer: Alice Ito
Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

immigration migration treaty merchants