<Begin Segment 6>

[Translated from Japanese]

TY: I see. So you and your family returned to Seattle in 1936. Did you come to stay here permanently or...

YI: I didn't think about such things. Then the war started and we were sent to a camp in Idaho. Then my husband was taken to an internment camp and then to Crystal City in Texas. We were told that our family could be reunited, so we went there. Then we were told that those of us who wanted to return to Japan by a government ship were free to leave. Many people who came from Peru returned to Japan. Then our family talked about returning to Japan since our future seemed hopeless in the U.S. We once thought about returning, but some of our children didn't want to go back. Then the office told us that if we were to return to Japan at that time, we would not have enough food to survive and we would suffer. They said that we would be better off in the U.S. So we decided to stay here. I'm glad we stayed. I hear that those who returned experienced a great deal of hardship.

TY: Without enough food.

YI: Although they became rich later. For a while they suffered greatly.

TY: Then, you didn't think about the future when you returned to Seattle. You just came because you were told to do so.

YI: We returned to the temple again. To the same temple.

TY: Yes. By the way, you said before...[Interruption] During the last interview, you said that none of the first generation people came here to stay permanently.

YI: Yes. Most people planned to return after four years. But they could not make enough money or got sick, and so ended up staying here. Those who made fortunes returned. And they had gorgeous houses built in Japan.

TY: Seeing that, some came here to pursue their dreams. Also, you said that people rented houses instead of buying them. Because of that, they sent their children back to Japan.

YI: So most Japanese did not own homes. Even in town, there were only a few families who owned homes.

TY: Was that true in Seattle, too?

YI: In Seattle, also, only a handful owned their own homes.

TY: Since they expected to return to Japan some day, they sent their children back to Japan to get an education.

YI: Yes. Because they thought they would return.

TY: That's why they sent their children back to Japan.

YI: But they kept having children and it became more and more difficult to return.

TY: Then, the second generation grew older and the Japanese community expanded. People settled down.

YI: When you have children and then grandchildren, you don't want to go back any longer.

TY: But until then, for a while...

YI: They worked hard so that they could go back.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.