Densho Digital Archive - Thomas Shigekuni Interview (denshovh-sthomas-01-0011)

<Begin Segment 11>

MN: And what was your first impression of Amache?

TS: I said, what is this? I said, is this it? (...) This is in the middle of nowhere. Amache was a town of two, three hundred people, not Amache, but Granada.

MN: Do you remember your barrack address?

TS: (Yes), 12-G-6-B.

MN: Can you share with me what was near your barrack?

TS: There was a fence and a guard tower right outside, and there was a Buddhist church right behind us. It was another barrack.

MN: Now, you said there was a guard tower. When you saw this guard tower, how did that make you feel?

TS: I knew I was a prisoner. It didn't make me feel anything. I says this is a continuation of Santa Anita. Didn't bother me at all.

MN: You were, you also mentioned a Buddhist church, since you were close to the Buddhist church, and was this the only Buddhist church at camp?

TS: (Yes).

MN: Did you ever visit this church?

TS: No, but I used to hear the funerals every night. "Namu Amida Butsu." I used to hear this Buddhist chant. I'll never forget that; at night I'm trying to sleep and I can hear this chanting. It's somebody's funeral. Almost every night somebody was dying.

MN: Now, the school didn't open immediately, so what did you do when you first got to Amache?

TS: Nothing. Just running around.

MN: Each block had an open area and in your block, what was that space used for?

TS: Baseball.

MN: Did you play baseball?

TS: Not me, but other older guys did.

MN: What happened if someone, your barrack was close to the fence --

TS: Right there. Right next to the southern border.

MN: What happened if someone hit the ball outside the fence?

TS: The guy's trying to chase the ball and the guard in the watchtower would say, "Get back."

MN: Did anybody ever get shot?

TS: No, not that I know. Not at Amache, anyway.

MN: Now, your two brothers left camp as soon as they could. Where did Tunney go?

TS: Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He got a job for the Yellow Cab company as a mechanic.

MN: And what about your brother Henry?

TS: He went to Elmhurst, Illinois, right outside of Chicago. Hauserman Greenhouses, they grew gardenias and we had some experience in growing gardenias, so he worked there.