Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Mutsu Homma Interview
Narrator: Mutsu Homma
Interviewers: Dee Goto (primary), Becky Fukuda (secondary)
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: August 27, 1997
Densho ID: denshovh-hmutsu-01-0032

<Begin Segment 32>

MH: But really, suitcase and those things because of my brother, Michihiko Wada. See, M. Wada. And then my father is Masahiko Wada, both M. Wada.

DG: Oh.

MH: And then my father said to FBI, "This belongs to my son so you don't want to take my son." And then young FBI said that, "Well, you wore that ribbon. You can take it, but he is too young to stay such a place long time." So both M. Wada. So, "You better go and then not him."

DG: How old was your brother at that time?

MH: New York College... I don't know. Twenty-five, twenty-six.

DG: This was...

MH: Twenty-seven? I don't know.

BF: So your father took his place.

MH: Uh-huh.

BF: And he was, your brother was targeted originally just because he worked for a Japanese company.

MH: My brother was, gathered all the church people and then went to evacuate the same place.

DG: Okay.

BF: So he ended up going to the same, same camp that your father did.

MH: No, no. The church people.

BF: Oh, he went with them.

DG: With you to Santa Anita?

MH: No, not to Santa Anita. First went to Pomona and then Heart Mountain.

BF: So everyone was, your family was split.

MH: Five places. Family divided five places. Father and mother, then brother went to Heart Mountain. And then another youngest brother was college at California, Redland (College) and then war broke. So I wanted to take the brother with me, and then president said that, "I will keep him."

BF: Of the college?

MH: Uh-huh. "And then if he have to move from here, I will send him to east to some college so don't worry. I will take care of him."

DG: So did he go, then, east?

MH: No. He was a Japanese citizen so he couldn't go.

BF: So what happened?

MH: So he had to go, he, one person to Arizona. Gila or somewhere around, send it.

BF: So he had to go to camp by himself.

DG: So your mother went one camp and your father went another camp and your brother went with the church people to a third camp and then your...

MH: And then so he went.

DG: Right. And you went.

MH: Five camps.

DG: My goodness. Did you communicate with each other at all? Did you know what was happening?

MH: See, write a letter, all holes, and I couldn't understand what they are writing about.

BF: It was censored.

MH: Censored. And then my mother was weak so I send vitamin. Never been there. I sent it quite a few times because my husband was a dentist so could get vitamin.

<End Segment 32> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.