<Begin Segment 53>

TY: [Jpn.] Yes. By the way, did your husband have a job in the camp?

MK: [Jpn.] Well, he worked in the kitchen.

TY: [Jpn.] Your husband worked in the kitchen.

MK: [Jpn.] He was a cook.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] He was a cook. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] In the mess hall.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. He was a cook. He became the chief cook, but the salary was shamefully small.

TY: [Jpn.] Do you remember how much it was?

MK: [Jpn.] Well, how much was it? At that time. Was it 13 dollars?

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] A month?

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Either 13 dollars or 15 dollars. Something like that. I didn't receive it. But the food was all free.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Yeah.

TY: [Eng.] What kind of food did you eat?

MK: [Jpn.] Huh?

TY: [Jpn.] What kind of food did you eat?

MK: [Jpn.] Oh, all kinds of foods. But nothing expensive. Well, camp food, camp... no, the type of food the soldiers eat... maybe not that bad.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] But there were very few dishes I thought were really delicious. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Yeah. The food you couldn't eat...

MK: [Jpn.] That was...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes?

MK: [Jpn.] Well, this is different. There were Caucasians above the Japanese people. Always.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] So what the Caucasians plan is what they think.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] This is not military. Not inside military. We are not soldiers. So I think they planned that. Uh-huh.

TY: [Jpn.] Do you mean the menu?

MK: [Jpn.] Yes. I don't know for sure, but that's my guess.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Eng.] Uh-huh.

TY: [Jpn.] Were there any foods you could not eat?

MK: [Jpn.] Well, but if you don't eat there, you have to go home and buy food on your own while you are in the camp.

<End Segment 53> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.