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TI: We just have a few more minutes before we're out of tape, and so I wanted to just, like, open it up now because you've been involved in so many different things over these last several decades, for the community, politically, all these different things. I'm gonna let you decide. What do you want to talk about? What are some of the, when you think about some of the activities that you've been involved with, what are some of the highlights?

MT: One of the things is continuing the heritage we got from the Isseis, also not to forget our Japanese heritage. Those were some of the driving things that I had. The other thing is, of course, about the camps, that it's extremely important that we not forget about that and to correct any mistakes that people have, are passing on or saying because there's a lot of misinformation out there, and it's perpetuated. One person hears and passes it on, and I try always to correct it if I can, whether it's written or otherwise. And I think that Japanese American heritage is very important for the coming generations, and my activities within the various organizations has to do with perpetuating the knowledge of the past, whether it's JACCC and bring in kabuki or whatever have you, it's still part of that past. And the other part that I, Japanese culture, is that a lot of Japanese culture has now become American culture, sushi, taiko, and so it isn't so strange anymore. And I've always felt from the very beginning, very beginning when I got involved, is that if people, American people got accustomed to Japanese culture as they did with French culture, as with English culture, Italian culture, then it won't be so strange to them, and the byproduct of that is we will not be so strange. Say, "Oh, you're Japanese," or Japanese American, "Oh, I..." they can talk about things, whether it's just a conversation piece or being...

TI: So this is interesting to me. When you think of, when I think of Japanese culture, because you have Japan and you always have the opportunity to sort of, as a touchstone, go back to Japan or have Japanese come here to talk about Japanese culture, I see that living over time. But when it comes to, say, you said remembering the Japanese American experience during World War II, when essentially the Niseis, or the people who experienced the war, when they're gone, say, twenty, thirty, fifty years from now, what do you think's gonna happen to the story?

MT: Well, that's why I think Densho's very important, and it's not trying to give you platitudes, but doing something like this, it's not a written word, it's a spoken word that we're talking about. Now, some of it may be mistaken, some of the things may be done, but at least you have words there of people that experienced it and their own likes and dislikes and problems that they had, and all those things are there, all the words are there. And so I think it's very important. I supported from the very beginning the Japanese American National Museum. I was on one of the early boards there. I contributed to them, and because I'm a Nisei I contributed as much as I can. Then maybe I may not have any more to contribute, but I contributed as I can. So what I feel is that those are legacies that we want to keep up and going.

TI: But how confident are you that in fifty years the story will be still going strong? I mean, again, when the people who lived through it, who probably have the strongest sort of urge to keep it going, when that generation's gone, sure, you have the museum, Densho, we're collecting, but what will happen to the story?

MT: Well, that's why I would like the scholars to become more interested. Instead of taking information from books and papers and things like that, that they would spend more time finding out what other people thought, what they did. Not everybody is willing to talk, I realize that, particularly Niseis, and some people are not articulate. I understand that. And some people are so young they don't even understand what happened, and people talk about how much fun they had in camp. Well that's because they were young and they had friends. They didn't think about their parents, they didn't step back and see what this did to them as far as education, as far as attitudes. They didn't do any of those, they didn't think about that, and I don't fault them for that, for not doing that. It's just kind of too bad. And I think it's the scholars that should be trying to get that information, but it seems that scholars are more interested in what other people wrote than in trying to go to first person, 'cause we're the last of the Niseis and they should be talking to us, not only to me but to other people. But they don't. At least I know of nothing, and I'm pretty close to UCLA and, and we talk about some things. I remember early on I talked about some things. They were not, some of those people were not even interested in hearing what I had to say. I could detect it and so I stopped talking.

TI: Okay.

MT: They wanted my money, but they... [laughs]

TI: So yeah, we're almost at the end of this tape, so, Min, thank you, again, for doing this again, the second interview. I'm glad we had this chance.

MT: My problem is that I, it's always disjointed and things, 'cause I'm --

TI: No, no. You're an incredible storyteller, so again, thank you very much.

MT: You're welcome. I want to thank you.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.