<Begin Segment 12>

[Translated from Japanese]

KS: And what was your eldest daughter, Eiko's life like?

TT: She went to the Japanese school and also learned Japanese dance.

KS: Was your family all living together?

TT: Huh?

KS: Your family, Eiko, the children and your husband and you, did you all live together?

TT: Yes, yes, yes.

KS: Do you have any interesting stories to tell?

TT: Well, the kids were still young, ten, eight, maybe about ten years old, so they didn't really talk much to us.

AI: [To Ken] Did she have any idea what was going to happen to them as time passed on, the war continued on?

KS: [To Tomiye] And, as time passed, what did you think was going to happen to the children?

TT: Hmm. Well, there really wasn't anything special to speak of.

KS: Okay, well, jumping ahead to when you left the camp --

TT: Okay.

KS: You left Tule Lake on December 17th or 18th, 1945?

TT: Yes.

KS: Do you recall that night, the night you left?

TT: Yes.

AI: [To Ken] Oops, I forgot that, did you get that?

KS: [To Tomiye] Oh, sorry, we have to backtrack a little. Mitsuru...

TT: Mm, yes.

KS: I understand Mitsuru was born at Tule Lake.

TT: Yes.

KS: Do you remember that experience?

TT: Yes, I remember.

AI: [To Ken] Any troubles?

KS: [To Tomiye] Did you have any problems during your pregnancy?

TT: No, I didn't have any.

KS: Where was Mitsuru born?

TT: There was a hospital in the camp.

KS: And he was born healthy?

TT: Yes, he was born without any problem.

KS: Did you have any worries?

TT: No, not particularly.

KS: -- about giving birth to a child in the camp?

TT: In the camp, only those who believed in Japan's victory would make such a loud fuss, and everyone else lived pretty quietly. We didn't have any problems. We had plenty to eat, and we were provided with lots of rice and eggs, more than we could eat. Being in the camp, there was less to worry about and life was easier.

KS: Did you have any worries when the U.S. soldiers came into Tule Lake?

TT: No, not really.

KS: Do you remember it?

TT: I didn't worry at all. I had heard that one person was killed. I'm not exactly sure of the reason, though. Maybe there was a fight, or something like that.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.