Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Thomas Shigekuni Interview
Narrator: Thomas Shigekuni
Interviewer: Martha Nakagawa
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date: August 31, 2010
Densho ID: denshovh-sthomas-01-0015

<Begin Segment 15>

MN: It sounds like you grew up pretty fast in camp. Can you share with me the story about the condoms in the sewer?

TS: Oh, (yes), my friend Junji Kumamoto, he (...) later on became a professor at the University of California. He was man keeping the outlet into the settling pond -- there were three settling ponds -- clean, so the sewers would keep flowing. I said, "What are you doing?" He says, "Keeping these condoms out of there 'cause it's plugging up the outlet." I said, oh? He said, "I don't know where they're gettin' 'em, but they're sure gettin' a lot of condoms." That's what he told me. And he later on became a professor, I don't know what University of California he (worked at).

MN: Were they selling these condoms in the co-op?

TS: I have no idea where they were getting 'em. [Laughs] They sure had 'em. I felt that they were trying to keep down the birth. They don't want to have too many babies in camp. That was my own opinion. I don't know.

MN: Could you also share about the story, this, the story of this woman across your barrack? She was having an affair?

TS: Oh, she was having an affair with all kinds of people. She, I remember one old man -- I won't mention the name -- he had a department store in J-town. He was a regular customer. He's always dressed immaculately in a suit, and he would come and all her daughters and everybody was all up on a coal bin in front peekin' in to see what they were doing.

MN: Did you watch also?

TS: I may have. I don't recall. (...)

MN: So this man that you mentioned right now, was he also married?

TS: (Yes).

MN: So he had a wife in camp?

TS: (Yes), he had a wife and kids, beautiful daughter and son. They lived on opposite side of the block.

MN: And then there was this other lady you said was this really sexy lady there. Tell me about this lady?

TS: All the boys used to come to see her. She lived on the opposite side of the block. [Laughs] I don't want to say too much about her, but... and I don't want to (tell) about the guys (who) used to come see her.

[Interruption]

MN: Was she married, this lady that was sleeping around?

TS: (Yes), she was married, but her husband was out on a farm. He was working on a farm. He was out of camp.

MN: Now, the people around, did they know, like, people were fooling around?

TS: Oh (yes), everybody knew her.

MN: And did anybody say anything?

TS: They never said anything. She used to come into the mess hall with shorts on -- he was very well-built woman -- she used to have little shorts showing her legs and her buttocks, I mean real tight shorts and tight T-shirt. She was advertising herself.

MN: So you learned a little bit about sex in camp, what about alcohol and smoking?

TS: Lot of that. Lot of it.

MN: Did you make, did anybody in your family make moonshine?

TS: Not my family. Nobody drank in my family.

MN: What about the dances? Did you attend the camp dances?

TS: No, but I used -- I was too young, I was only twelve, thirteen -- I used to play the music for them and they used to always demand, the guys were always demanding what kind of music I was supposed to play for them. Glenn Miller, they wanted to hear Glenn Miller, slow Glenn Miller music. So they'd dance real slow, I says, "Hey, why, why you even need music? You're just standing hugging this girl. You're not even moving." I said, "(...) It doesn't matter what kind of music I'm playing." That's all I remember of my job.

MN: I'm gonna ask you about the mess hall now. What do you remember of the mess hall food?

TS: Bad. It was the same stuff coming out every day, rice and tsukemono and you know. It wasn't good food. The guy that was head cook, they used to call him the chief cook, he lived in our barrack, guy named Horimoto. He had a hakujin wife and she came to camp with their half-breed kids. I got to hand it to that woman. She was one of a few hakujin women that lived in camp, and she was a waitress in, in our mess hall. Very likeable person.

MN: Do you remember her name?

TS: Maxine Horimoto.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.