Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Tosh Tokunaga Interview
Narrator: Tosh Tokunaga
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: May 28, 2009
Densho ID: denshovh-ttosh-01

<Begin Segment 9>

TI: So within two years, you're now in Seattle, you're at Garfield, and then in December 7, 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. Do you remember that day?

TT: Yeah.

TI: What were you doing when you heard about the bombing?

TT: Well, I was sitting in a movie theater with friends. And while we were watching the movie, on the screen, a notice, (that said), "All military personnel report back to their respective bases immediately." And during the movie, that came on two or three times. And after the movie when we got outside, saw the newspaper, great big headline like "Japs Bomb Pearl Harbor." And those days, no TV, radio was just come on. But then the newspaper was everything. And kids going up and down the street yelling, "Extra, extra." You've seen... I don't know if you remember those days.

TI: And what did you, what was your reaction when you heard all this?

TT: Surprise. We just walked home. In those days, we walked (everywhere), all the way to, whether it's to downtown or Sick Stadium for baseball.

TI: And do you recall who you were with? When you say "we," who you were at the movies with?

TT: Yeah, there were a couple of friends from Broadway. They're gone now.

TI: On that day, do you recall saying anything amongst the group about what happened?

TT: No. I don't know exactly what was said, but we were discussing. We didn't know what, especially we were young yet, too. No one even thought about evacuation or anything.

TI: So when you got home, what was that like? Were your parents there, and if so...

TT: Oh, they knew about it already.

TI: And was there any conversations or discussion about what had just happened?

TT: Well, we talked about it. My dad was pretty well up on news. Of course, my brother knew more about things. I guess like a family discussion about, don't know what's what. Because of the fact that we're at war with Japan, typical Issei, they're wondering what's going to happen. But my dad wasn't picked up, being just a common laborer.

TI: So describe like the next day when you went to school at Garfield. Anything happen there?

TT: No. There was discussion going on all over school, but there wasn't any discrimination or anything at that time.

TI: And so in those weeks after December 7th, any events or anything that you remember about those days in terms of anything different that happened?

TT: Not really. I think things were just going along.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.