Densho Digital Archive - Ruby Inouye Interview (denshovh-iruby-01-0012)

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AI: So, we're continuing our interview with Dr. Ruby Inouye. And Dr. Ruby, you had started telling us a little bit about your high school years, that you went to Broadway High School. And in high school, that's a time when a lot of kids are, wanting to fit in with their peers and thinking about who they are and what they're going to be doing as they grow up. I'm just wondering, when you were in high school, what kinds of things were you thinking of? Were you starting to make some plans for the future?

RI: I think my being in high school was just a continuation of grade school. I wasn't a thinking person, and I was just a study-oriented person. So I was just continuing learning and so I didn't have too many thoughts on how I'm gonna fit in with my peers because there were lots of my friends who were going to high school, too, and they were in my classes, and lot of 'em were Japanese. Actually, Broadway High School, it almost seemed like one-third to one-half were Japanese. And I'm sure that with evacuation there must have been a great outgoing of students at that time. But I don't remember that there was that much prejudice either, because there were lots of Japanese people. But the Japanese people weren't, students weren't as participating in outside activities as the hakujin people. Of course, we have to go to Japanese school, so I, I didn't stay for any of the events and I didn't join any clubs and I didn't go to the football games, but it may be because I wasn't that interested in football and sports. But maybe some people did. But still, there weren't that many students who were given jackets with the big "B" on it because of participating. One of my friends did, but that meant that she didn't go to Japanese school and missed a lot of Japanese school. But I think in high school I was just continuing to study and probably doing well, but other than --

DG: Who were the school heroes? Like they had --

RI: Beg your pardon?

DG: Who were the school heroes?

RI: In those days, heroes? What do you mean?

DG: Oh, like class leaders and...

RI: Oh, well, they were mostly hakujin people who were president of this or that or active in publishing the yearbook, or, or, playing football, boy's club, girl's club. They were mostly hakujin people, very few Japanese students.

AI: Did, did you think of yourself mostly as American or Japanese or both?

RI: Oh, I think both. I think I considered myself both. Actually I wasn't, at that time I wasn't ashamed of being Japanese, but, probably trying real hard to become more Americanized. I think we all were. All the Niseis were trying to become more Americanized. But we knew that as soon as we went home we were Japanese. But --

DG: Now what years are we talking about now?

RI: What years? Oh, probably the 19-, early 1930's, mid-1930's, about that time. My high school years were '35 to '39.

AI: And at that time, though, I think, weren't there, there were still businesses and places that Japanese Americans weren't welcome. Do you recall any of that?

RI: At that time? Well, of course my father's restaurant, we've had incidents where people would start coming in, see that we're Japanese and they will go out and say, "Oh, they're Japs," and walk out. But that was more when war broke out, there was more of that. But, I don't remember any bad instances where, you know, they were really mean to us. But, we lived mostly among ourselves anyway, so it was okay.