<Begin Segment 10>

[Translated from Japanese]

KS: Could you tell us about when you were taken to Tule Lake? What kinds of things do you remember about being taken to Tule Lake?

TT: No matter what I thought, I couldn't do anything, so I just left decided to accept whatever happened.

KS: Do you remember riding the train to Tule Lake?

TT: We didn't go by train. We went on an army truck. They pulled all the blinds down, so you couldn't see outside.

KS: Did you have any idea where you were going?

TT: No, I didn't know where they were taking us.

KS: Where did you think you were going then?

TT: I wasn't thinking anything.

KS: Did you think you were going to be returned to Japan?

TT: No, I didn't think that.

AI: [To Ken] Ask her was it about summer time or about, what was the weather like in Tule Lake when she got there?

KS: [To Tomiye] Do you remember what the weather was like when you arrived in Tule Lake? What kind of weather? Was it hot?

TT: What kind of place, well, it was a place I'd never seen before.

AI: [To Ken] When she first arrived, was it hot?

KS: [To Tomiye] When you first got there, what were your impressions?

TT: Wow, this is some place!

KS: So, it was in the middle of nowhere?

TT: Yes.

KS: And then, how did you feel about living there?

TT: Well, it really wasn't that much fun. There was nothing, no chairs or furniture or anything. We had to make our own closets, and make our own tables, chairs, make our own benches. The men, husbands, would go to get, well, not really -- steal the lumber.

KS: And what did they make?

TT: They made all kinds of things.

KS: What were the children like?

TT: Hmm, well, at first, the kids had no toys, so they would just wander around. That's all. And then, a little later, the Japanese school opened, so then they were able to do all kinds of things. In the beginning, there was nothing, so they would just pass the time.

KS: What did they do to pass the time?

TT: Hmm, well, I wonder what they did. I don't really remember.

AI: [To Ken] Did she worry about the kids or did the kids ever ask any questions?

KS: [To Tomiye] Um, did the children ever ask questions? Like, why they had been brought to the internment camp?

TT: Well, they were still too young, so they didn't ask such things.

KS: What was the feeling of the other Japanese there?

TT: Hmm.

KS: What kind of atmosphere was there, when you first arrived?

TT: Well, it was kind of shikata ga nai. Because it was a war that Japan had started.

KS: Was there anyone who thought that was wrong?

TT: Hmm, right or wrong, well, unlike people nowadays, ordinary people didn't think whether it was right or wrong. I think most people back then just accepted what happened to them. Because there weren't many people who knew English. Most Issei knew very little English.

KS: So, when you were taken to the internment camps, was there anyone who put the blame on Japan? Was there anyone who thought, since Japan had started the war, the evacuation could be Japan's fault?

TT: Hmm, I don't think they ever thought about it so seriously. I never really heard anything about it.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.