Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1699/

Neighbor took care of her mother after grandfather was taken by FBI

My mom had the really interesting story which is her father, Koichi Suzuki was the principal of Nihon Gakuen in San Francisco. So when Pearl Harbor came around they had him on their list, the FBI had him on the list and so they came and took him away. And my grandmother on that side had died and so it was just my mother who was, I believe, either 12 or 14 and her sister who was two years older than her and her brother who was four years younger and they were sitting in their house in San Francisco and not knowing what was happening with their father. They had no money, they had no food, and the FBI didn’t care that there was nobody there to take care of these three children. So, finally it got dark and they trucked downstairs because it was sorta a duplex, and they said to their families, their neighbors, who were also Japanese Americans, and said you know our dad, our dad got taken away. And they sorta took them in, and they took care of them.

So, and ultimately they also went to Tanforan where they lived like everybody else in a horse stall sleeping on bales of hay and then they were sent to Topaz.


World War II

Date: July 11, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Kayla Tanaka

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

Interviewee Bio

Judge Holly J. Fujie is a Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California since 2012. She grew up in West Oakland, California in a diverse neighborhood. Both of her parents were incarcerated as children during World War II, but did not share their experiences with her until she was an adult. This affected her view on laws and government and led her to pursue a career as an attorney and later as a judge.

As a lawyer, she became involved with various minority bar association, including the Japanese American Bar Association, and mentorship programs. She became the first Asian American President of the State Bar of California in 2008. (July 2019)

*This is one of the main projects completed by The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) Program intern each summer, which the Japanese American Bar Association and the Japanese American National Museum have co-hosted.

Mako Nakagawa
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Nakagawa,Mako

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Mako Nakagawa
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Nakagawa,Mako

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Margaret Oda
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Oda,Margaret

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(1925 - 2018) Nisei educator from Hawai‘i

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Roberto Hirose
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Hirose,Roberto

The political effects on Nikkei during the war (Spanish)

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John Naka
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Naka,John

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Hirabayashi,Gordon

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Uyeda,Clifford

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Daniel K. Inouye
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Inouye,Daniel K.

The FBI and the radio

(1924-2012) Senator of Hawaii

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Cedrick Shimo
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Shimo,Cedrick

Parents expected to be taken by the FBI

(1919-2020) Member of the 1800th Engineering Battalion. Promoted Japan-U.S. trade while working for Honda's export division.

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Sumiko Kozawa
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Kozawa,Sumiko

Coming back to America from Japan before the war

(1916-2016) Florist

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Harry Schneider
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Schneider,Harry

Reception of Hamako by family

(1916 - 2013) Member of the U.S. Military Intelligence Service

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Terry Janzen
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Janzen,Terry

Memories of Poston

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

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Terry Janzen
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Janzen,Terry

Arriving at Poston

(b. 1930) Half Japanese and grew up in both Japan and the United States.

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Virgil Westdale
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Westdale,Virgil

522nd and Dachau

(1918-2022) Hapa World War II veteran, pilot

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Virgil Westdale
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Westdale,Virgil

Fellow Hapa 442 Hana

(1918-2022) Hapa World War II veteran, pilot

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