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TI: So today is Tuesday, November 17, 2009. We're in Seattle at the Densho studio. On camera is Dana Hoshide, and I'm the interviewer, Tom Ikeda. And so this morning we have Kaz Tanemura joining us. So, Kaz, I'm going to start at the very beginning. Can you tell me when and where you were born?

KT: Oh, I was born in Japan, April 27, 1928.

TI: And what was the full name given to you?

KT: It was Kazuo Tanemura.

TI: And when you say Japan, where, sort of exactly were you born in Japan?

KT: Haemimura, Shiga-ken... you know, I hardly ever go, so I decided I better bring my little red book. Haemimura, Shiga-ken, Japan.

TI: Okay. Haemimura, Shiga-ken. Okay, good. And let's, tell me your siblings, brothers and sisters kind of in birth order, so we have that established.

KT: Oh. My oldest sister is named Haruko, and then my brother, Tosh, Toshikazu, then my sister Chieko, and then another sister that was, died when she was only two years old, Shizue, then myself, and then I got a younger brother, Masao.

TI: And in terms of birth orders, your oldest sister, Haruko, how much older was she than you?

KT: She was five, so she must be... she was eight years, I think eight or nine years older than I am. I got the dates on there, yeah.

TI: Yeah, just about eight years, just getting a sense of range. Were you, so you were born in Japan. Were all your siblings born in Japan also?

KT: No, they were all born here. I'm the only one that was born there. Actually, on the category, there's the Issei, Nisei, Kibei, and I say it doesn't cover me because I was born in Japan but educated here in the United States. So I always say Issei-han. I don't know whether that's the accepted terminology or not. [Laughs]

TI: So explain to me why the siblings were born in the United States and you were born in Japan. Why were your parents in Japan?

KT: Oh. Actually, at that time, just before, my mom always used to tell me that I was conceived in the United States, born in Japan. And at that time, my grandparents were ill, and my dad was the oldest of the family, he was the chonan of the family. And they told him to come back to Japan, so we all, the whole family went back to Japan. He only lasted there maybe less than, about four or five months, he just couldn't take that life. And my grandparents became well, so they decided to... he actually came back to the U.S. by himself, and he told my mother that as soon as I was old enough to travel, "Come back and rejoin them." And at that time, my oldest sister, Haruko, was left there with my grandparents. So my oldest sister was really raised by my grandparents.

TI: Back then, were there ever considerations or thoughts whether it was better for their child to be born in Japan or the United States? Do you recall anyone ever talking about that? Given your family and where you were born in Japan and your siblings in the United States, did, was there any perceived benefit by having been born in one place versus the other?

KT: No. I think it was a lot of, troublesome for me because I was always a Issei. I had to get naturalized, and it was hardship on me. [Laughs] I have to say I was born in Japan, and then explain away all the circumstances.

TI: So from your perspective, it would have been easier if you were born in the United States.

KT: Right, yeah. And, in fact, actually, at the time after I was born, they were wondering how, whether I could come back to the United States or not because my parents weren't aware about this act that mother and child would not be separated. So they were, later I heard that they were even thinking that since my sister Shizue died in Japan, of chicken pox, at one time they were thinking, "Well, maybe we could use her passport," to get me into the States. But, you know, she's a girl and I'm a boy, and then I would have been two years older. [Laughs] So fortunately they didn't do that. And when we came in, back to the United States, my mother and I were at the immigration building for about a month until they sorted out all the paperwork. And on my Japanese passport -- I brought that here, too -- I guess this act really says, "A mother and child will not be separated," I guess. That's how it was explained to me, and on there it says I was born abroad, temporary absence of mother."

TI: Okay. So, in essence, after they got that all sorted out, there was no problems with returning.

KT: Right, yeah.

TI: Okay.

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