PARTNER

OBJECT ID

ddr-csujad-38-3 (CSUJAD Local ID: nao_01_005, CSUJAD Project ID: csudh_nao_0166)

PARENT COLLECTION

CSU Dominguez Hills George and Mitzi Naohara Papers

DESCRIPTION

English translation of handwritten annotation from "George Naohara photo album" (csudh_nao_0001), page 5: When I went to the Manzanar camp in California, late Hiromu Sasaki took me to Maryknoll School, which was a Japanese language school located on Alameda Blvd, Los Angeles, California. I remember I packed my birth certificate, clothes, and other necessities into my suitcase. Because of the outbreak of the war, I was sent to the camp. I was convoyed from Maryknoll School to Union Station and directed to a train. I do not remember how many hours I was riding on the train. On the way, they gave me a large box. There was enough food for lunch, including oranges. The train arrived at the Manzanar camp. I saw military police from the train. I was instructed to stay in the train and wait until called. I was called. I received two blankets. The staff guided me to the assigned room. I do not remember how many people were there but maybe five to six people were Kibei young men. I was introduced to them and placed my luggage on my assigned cotton bed. On the first day, the wind grew strong. The windows in barracks were not covered with glass, and the sandy dust came in through the windows. I swept the floor to remove the dust. I saw an unfamiliar young man talking to someone outside. I learned that Dr. Shimizu was also incarcerated in the Manzanar camp. I entered a school in the camp, and later I learned that the school was operated by Dr. Shimizu. There were only Kibei young men in my room. They spoke in Japanese. I learned that they attended the Maryknoll School. Mr. Oshita was one of the Kibei young men and was sent from Marysville to the camp. Mr. Oshita and I were fluent in English and Japanese, and I remember we were asked to perform Kanichi and Omiya which was a play based on a love story written by Koyo Ozaki. I played a female role, Omiya, and Mr. Oshita acted Kanichi. The play was fun and people liked it very much. I went to work every day, climbing up a hill by truck and digging a 10 x 10 hole for trash. Two to three months later, I went to work for thinning sugar beets which paid one dollar per hour. My destination was Idaho. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nao_01_005

CONTRIBUTOR

CSU Dominguez Hills Department of Archives and Special Collections

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of CSU Dominguez Hills Department of Archives and Special Collections

RIGHTS