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AI: Well, I also wanted to ask you, a couple of years before Pearl Harbor, of course, there was already the war in Europe and Hitler was --

EH: Uh-huh.

AI: The Nazi army was marching across Europe and conquering. And at the same time, the Japanese army was doing similarly in Asia --

EH: Uh-huh.

AI: -- going into other countries. And I was wondering, in the couple years, 1939, 1940,

1941, before Pearl Harbor, did you have much awareness of that, that... like did your mother or father talk --

EH: (Yes), (yes).

AI: -- much about the war, and...

EH: I think in Japanese communities up and down the coast, some people were gathering foil, for instance, as a war effort for Japan. When Pearl Harbor occurred, that stopped immediately. The other thing we used to do is -- and very common, I think, in Japanese communities -- is people would walk around with thick folds of cloth and, and take stitches, red stitches. This was kind of a symbolic protection garment or band that the soldiers could wear. And we did do that, but I think as soon as Pearl Harbor occurred, that kind of thing stopped.

AI: But I was wondering if you had any awareness at all or understanding that possibly the Chinese American kids' parents might really feel hatred for anyone of Japanese ancestry --

EH: Well --

AI: -- because of what Japan was --

EH: (Yes), that's why... well, but they didn't do that until after Pearl Harbor. I mean, they didn't stop talking to us. Until then, I think we were well-aware that Japan had invaded Manchuria, and some of that was going on. My fath-, my mother said, "We have to experience some war hardship." And she, she bought... she began buying brown rice, and we hated it. And we growled and we, and so as a compromise, she mixed the brown and white rice. And people always say, "You can't mix those two. Brown rice takes a lot longer," and I know that. But, but we ate it. But again, when Pearl Harbor occurred, that kind of small worry or threat of identification was thrown out immediately.

But it, it was tragic to lose so many treasures, though my mother did keep... when she moved to Chicago she had the hinamatsuri dolls shipped to... the government allowed a certain amount of shipping of household goods to a permanent resident. But then my mother had a house fire in, in Chicago. The, the gas furnace in the basement exploded or something so that the whole set got burned, but anyway...

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.