Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Fumi Kaseguma Interview
Narrator: Fumi Kaseguma
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: November 6, 2007
Densho ID: denshovh-kfumi-01-0001

<Begin Segment 1>

TI: And so today is Tuesday, November 6, 2007. We're at the Grand Nugget -- Golden Nugget? Golden Nugget. [Laughs] Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, and we're here on the first day of the 2007 Minidoka Reunion. And so the first question I'd like to ask is what was the name given to you at birth?

FK: Fumiko Sasaki.

TI: And what was the date and location of your birth?

FK: My birthdate is April 20, 1924, Portland, Oregon.

TI: And do you, did you have any brothers or sisters?

FK: Yes, I had an older brother, Sam.

TI: And how much older was Sam than you?

FK: Oh, about six years.

TI: Okay.

FK: And I had an older sister, about, I think she was about three years older.

TI: And what was her name?

FK: Yayoi, which is Y-A-Y-O-I.

TI: And you were the third.

FK: Right, I was the, the youngest.

TI: The baby of the family, okay. And tell me your father's name and where he was from.

FK: Kaichi, it was K-A-I-C-H-I, and Sasaki. He was born in Hiroshima, Japan.

TI: Now, do you know why he left Japan to come to the United States?

FK: Well, I think like everybody else, you know, they thought maybe they can get better living over here, I'm sure.

TI: And do you know what kind of work his family did in Japan?

FK: No, I don't, I really don't.

TI: Okay, let's talk about your mother. What was your mother's name?

FK: Miye, M-I-Y-E. Uchida was her maiden name.

TI: Uchida. And where was she from in Japan?

FK: Hiroshima.

TI: And how did your father and mother meet?

FK: I think it's a picture wedding.

TI: Oh, so she was a picture bride?

FK: Yeah.

TI: And so your, your dad was already in the United States?

FK: And I think he went, no, I think he got married and brought her back.

TI: Okay, so he did that.

FK: And he, he was quite a bit older. I think he was about fifteen years older than her.

TI: Okay.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.