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AI: Well, then we're skipping ahead, but only because of our limited time, skipping ahead here to your college years. And I believe -- was it 1933 that you began at the University of Washington?

BH: Yes, '33.

AI: And at that time, you already knew you wanted to major in journalism.

BH: Yes. After I got out of high school, Jimmie Sakamoto was running the Japanese-American Courier, a very small weekly paper. And I subscribed to the paper, and it was interesting work. I went down to see Jimmie one day and said, "I'd like to go to work for you." And the paper was in dire straits its entire life, and Jimmie had very little help, and he welcomed me on the basis of my high school experience. And so I was working there part-time during most of the period that I was at the university.

AI: So before you worked for Mr. Sakamoto, did -- you knew of the Courier because of the paper itself...

BH: Yes.

AI: ...and because of the, the sponsorship of the sports leagues.

BH: Well, Jimmie's paper started, I think it was on New Year's Day, 1928. And after I became interested in newspapers, I subscribed to the paper and would read it every week.

AI: So then it was -- it seemed natural to you that that would be an opportunity you could pursue that...

BH: Yes.

AI: ...and get some experience.

BH: It was an opportunity to get some experience.

AI: Well, Jimmie Sakamoto is a fairly well-known figure...

BH: Yes.

AI: ...in Japanese American history. I wonder if you could describe him a bit, a little bit of his personality, some of, how he expressed his values of "Americanism."

BH: Yes. Jimmie was a very interesting character. He had been a rough kid and a professional prizefighter. And he had, he said he had gone -- was going back East to study at, I think it was Princeton. But he didn't last there for very long. And he learned prizefighting in New York and worked on a little Japanese American paper in New York. And that's what got him started in journalism. He went blind from his injuries in the ring.

And, but he was a charismatic personality. Very vigorous, very outspoken, a very strong personality. And he worked in a little office, and he had memorized dozens and dozens of telephone numbers. And he would dial the numbers himself. And he had a funny way of looking up on the wall as if he were looking at a calendar when he was looking -- trying to determine what day it was. And it was a little bit spooky to see him do that. Very outspoken. He was kind to me. He appreciated my being there.

And, but the paper was always on the verge of bankruptcy. And during the time I worked there, I received no pay, except his wife would buy my lunch at Mrs. Yagi's Rose Cafe, which was right around the corner. And usually the lunch was tendon, a bowl of rice with shrimp tempura on it. And as I recall, it cost 25 cents. But that was my reward outside of the experience of being there. And gradually, Jimmie gave me more and more responsibility, so that while I was going to college, I often worked afternoons and then late into the night. And just before deadlines, sometimes I would be working 'til two or three o'clock in the morning. And then I'd go home and get a few hours' sleep and then go on to the university.

Jim was the original 110 percent American. And from the viewpoint of today, you might say that he was an unquestioning patriotic American. Anything the government did was to be supported. But that was the sort of attitude of most of the people of that era. And it wasn't until much, much later that people began to question the government, question what the government was doing. Jimmie also had a very strong affinity for Japan. But he felt that we Nisei should be 110 percent Americans. And in the paper, no Japanese words were used. For example, "Nisei." He said, "That's a Japanese word. It doesn't belong in the paper." So we called ourselves "second-generation." It didn't mean anything to anybody except Japanese Americans. And try to put "second-generation" into a headline, it's quite a job.

AI: Well, working so closely with him and becoming very familiar with these views of Mr. Sakamoto's, did you -- perhaps that helped you clarify some of your own views. I'm wondering, did you ever think that he was going a little overboard, or did you think perhaps that sometimes questioning was in order, although that was not his policy?

BH: Yeah. Well, at that age, I wasn't doing a lot of questioning. But yeah, there were times when I, I thought, "Gee, I wonder why we're doing this?" But I didn't have either the experience or the, or the confidence to say, "Hey, Jim, don't you think that you're going overboard on this?"

AI: Right. As a young person.

BH: Yeah. I was just a, a teenager.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2001 Densho. All Rights Reserved.