George Yoshida

Nisei male. Born April 9, 1922, in Seattle, Washington. Parents immigrated from Japan in the early 1900s. Attended Bailey Gatzert Elementary School and Washington Middle School in Seattle before his family moved to East Los Angeles in 1936. Incarcerated in Poston Detention Camp #1, Arizona, in April 1942. While in camp, helped organize the "Music Makers," a dance band. Left Poston for Chicago in 1943, and was drafted into the U.S. Army. Underwent basic training in the armored (tank) corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and was subsequently assigned to the Military Intelligence Language School at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Married Helen Furuyama in 1945, and moved to Berkeley, California, and later to El Cerrito, a neighboring community. George earned his teaching credential and taught in the Berkeley School District for thirty-five years. He raised four children: Cole, Clay, Maia and Lian. Organized the J-Town Jazz Ensemble, a 17-piece swing band based in San Francisco, which performs at community events and festivals. Author of the book Reminiscing in Swingtime: Japanese Americans in American Popular Music, 1925-1960, published by the National Japanese American Historical Society, San Francisco, California.

Interviews

George Yoshida Interview — ddr-densho-1000-132
February 18, 2002. Seattle, Washington.
03:49:01 — 51 segments.
George Yoshida
API