<Begin Segment 73>

TY: [Jpn.] Bythe way, I heard the school principal at Sunnydale said something...

MK: [Jpn.] That was, Sunnydale principal was... oh, that was a high school.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] In my area, the grammar school was there.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] In front of us. The high school was over there, way back. And the principal of that high school said something. I was told by others.

TY: [Jpn.] What did you hear?

MK: [Jpn.] "You shouldn't, you shouldn't come back here," he said. That is, "You shouldn't come back here." He said so.

TY: [Jpn.] It means he would not accept you.

MK: [Jpn.] He couldn't help thinking that way because we were "enemy foreigners." Because it was Japan which started the war. So foreigners... but looking back, I think that our lives were saved because we were put into the camps. The reason is that many Americans went to the war and were killed by Japanese. Many of them. Then what would they think? The Japanese were enemies. Don't you think so?

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Well, Americans living here would think that way, wouldn't they? Their sons were killed because of Japan. They wouldn't be happy. So they were not happy to welcome us when we returned. That's why, "You shouldn't come back here."

TY: [Jpn.] Then...

MK: [Jpn.] They say "You shouldn't come back here." Shikata ga nai if they had said so.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Don't you agree?

TY: [Jpn.] Well...

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. Because we were foreigners. Yeah. So it was quite natural for the principal or anybody else to think that way and say so.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. Yeah. That's right. Uh-huh. If Japan had not started, their sons wouldn't have to go to war, they would think. You know? But many Americans went to war and were killed. Yeah. So they are not happy. So isn't it more realistic for them to say so to us? Uh-huh. I don't think I'm wrong. What do you think about what I just said?

TY: [Jpn.] It would have been a shock. Yeah.

MK: [Jpn.] Do you think it's wrong to think that way? Do you wish us or Japan had won? Yeah, it's natural that when you live in the U.S., you support the U.S. You will end up that way no matter what.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Besides, our children were raised in the U.S.... American people and American land.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] That's why in the U.S.... well, If I go back to Japan, I have no means to make a living and so no matter what the Americans say, we will stay in the U.S. Uh-huh. It's not just for our children. It's also for us because if we return from the U.S. without anything to show, they will ask why we came back. You see? When you have nothing to show off but yourself and return (to Japan), nobody will be glad to see you. Uh-huh. So it's only natural for us to stay in the U.S. Uh-huh.

<End Segment 73> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.