To view video, Click Here. Mutsu H. tells her story of talking with a soldier who asked her, "Are you a human being?" while she was incarcerated at Granada.

"Amache camp guarded by very young soldiers. One time soldier stop me and, "Hey you." "You want to talk to me?" He said, "Yeah. Are you a human being?" I said, "Yes. Don't you think so?" "Yeah, you look like a human being, but when I came from South Carolina, they said that Jap is not a human being. They are like a gorilla so if you want to, kill them. That's what I learn I came. And then I looked from top every day and you people look like a human being and you people all wearing beautiful clothes." Because old clothes, we throw that away and then selected one case of, suitcase, good clothes only."

Mutsu H. Interview - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.

Issei female. Born 1911 in Tono City, Iwate-ken, Japan. Immigrated to the United States in 1929. Incarcerated at Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and Amache incarceration camp, Colorado. Father established and ministered the first Western-style Christian church in Tono City. Husband was assigned to the Santa Anita Assembly Center as the official head dentist, then passed away in Amache incarceration camp. Resettled in Seattle.

Courtesy of Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project