<Begin Segment 11>

TI: So going back to, like your father's story, so he came here as a contract worker on a plantation, and then he left that, learned skills, started businesses. So that would be kind of an example of a Japanese being more aggressive?

SO: That's right. So when you look back in history, that's true in every country.

TI: The Japanese doing that? Starting maybe as farmers or laborers, and then growing from there.

SO: Like when the war started between Japan and America, first thing what the white men, Caucasians did was tried to buy up all the properties owned by the Japanese. Because the Japanese were too aggressive, and they were taking over the West Coast. So that's why they, that's one of the biggest reason they interned the Japanese.

TI: Oh, so that's interesting. So when you think of why Japanese were removed and put in camps, it's because they had all that land that the Caucasians wanted, the whites wanted.

SO: Yeah. That's why all the Japanese had to sell the land at a really low price, giveaway price, and then they had, they were interned. So that's one of the reasons, big reasons why.

TI: But in Hawaii, there wasn't that mass removal, so Japanese like your family, for instance -- and we'll get into it later -- but your family, under your older brother's name, owned land and property, so they could keep it during the war and then grow from there.

SO: That's right, yeah.

TI: So Hawaii was much different than the West Coast.

SO: That's right. Yeah, but at one time, they were trying to intern all the Japanese and them on Molokai, island of Molokai. But had this policeman, (Chief of Police John Burns) ,and then he says, "No, you cannot do that. We need the Japanese to run the island of Hawaii. So you cannot," he stopped that, see.

TI: So going back comparing the Japanese Americans in Hawaii versus Japanese Americans on the West Coast, so the Japanese Americans in Hawaii were probably better off? More money than the West Coast Japanese Americans?

SO: Yeah, because of...

TI: Because of land and things like that?

SO: Yeah. So those, you know, like in Kona, when the plantation closed, lot of the lucky ones were able to acquire all those properties that the plantation had. Whereas Honolulu was different.

TI: Oh. So in Kona, there were more rich Japanese because of the land that they bought?

SO: That's right.

TI: Going back to the different ethnic groups, how did the Japanese get along with the Filipinos? Earlier you mentioned that they were kind of the same, but when you look at the Japanese and Filipino community, how did they get along?

SO: Well, the Japanese farmers used to hire the Filipinos. The Filipinos were all bachelors, so they used to hire them as coffee pickers. So there were more bachelors. But today it's different, because all the young ones were coming in. But in the olden days, we only had the bachelors, so they were really stepped on. But now, the children are all getting better education, so you can see, they're all TV announcers and policemen, all that.

TI: Oh, so the early Filipino workers were bachelors, and they pretty much stayed as laborers. So you mentioned they were stepped on, that they were taken advantage of?

SO: Yeah.

TI: Because they didn't get the education and raise the families?

SO: Eventually, with the children going to college today, they're really changed.

TI: Another question I wanted to ask in terms of just Japanese culture. So did you have to places like Japanese language school growing up and things like that?

SO: Well, parents used to require us to go at least one hour every day to Japanese school. At least you have to learn some Japanese language. Those who were able to go were fortunate that they were learning Japanese language.

TI: Okay.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.