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AI: Now, you were a senior in high school, in the fall of 1941?

TI: Yeah.

AI: And of course, then in December, 1941, that's when the bombing of Pearl Harbor happened on December 7th. Can you tell me what you remember about that day?

TI: Yeah, I heard the radio, and we were very dependent on the radio. It was Sunday, so just before church. And it was, it was a shock that this, this is happening, war was happening. And, (attended) meetings at church and then a series of meetings afterwards. Conditions were very uncertain of, rumors continuing about what may or may not occur. And so the comfort zone was church to hear what's the latest rumor and what we needed to do. But I remember in high school, suddenly it was called for, and the president of the United States would speak. So there was an assembly, and Kiyo Yamamoto and I, we sat together right in the middle of the auditorium. And when President Roosevelt declared war, and it felt really uncomfortable. I don't know about Kiyo. I don't remember him doing it, but I did. I slouched down so I wouldn't be so visible. I felt ashamed. I felt as though our fellow students were looking at us, and we were the enemy. So it was tough.

AI: Did anyone actually say anything to you negative or blaming or accusing or...?

TI: No. I don't remember that, but I felt very uncomfortable throughout the whole (time at Lincoln High School.) Till we were put away. So...

AI: Do you recall any conversations with your family, your brothers and sister, or your folks about what might happen? You mentioned that there were a lot of rumors.

TI: Yeah. Well, the only place that we could really socialize was the church, where we could converse. Other groups were discouraged from gathering together. For me, it was very limited exposure other than the church, where we came to talk about what the latest rumor was and what we should be doing or should not be doing. And so I felt just prior to the war, importance of keeping track of information, so I used to clip newspapers and make scrapbooks. And I kept that up ever since, collecting things.

AI: So it sounds like at that time, you were very aware of what was coming out in the newspapers. You were reading the newspaper all the time.

TI: Yeah. Yeah, I used to keep a diary. I started a diary from December 7th, and all through camp, I just wanted to capture that feeling. And, would you like me to read from the...

AI: Yes.

TI: ...the diary?

AI: In fact, I would.

TI: This is on December 8th, my diary. "This is one day I will remember: the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when all the Nisei students at Lincoln High School went to school wondering what other students would do toward us. The first period was held in the auditorium. President Roosevelt spoke to the nation. I sat with Kiyo Yamamoto, and myself, and Mas Fujiwara in the middle of auditorium, listening to the President declare war against Japan. I remember slouching in the chair, and I felt very uncomfortable." I, reflecting back, I just felt that I wasn't a citizen of this country. And that really made me angry and sad that I was deceived, I wasn't feeling like a citizen. The Bill of Rights was incidental because I was seen as a "Jap," just the same as the enemy. During the war, theme song was "God Bless America," and I had a hard time singing that song because I was saying, "God bless America for puttin' us away," or for mistreating us. And so I didn't sing that with gusto at all, like all the rest of the people (who loved singing that song).

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.