<Begin Segment 16>

MN: Now, after you answered "no-no," what happened? You turned in the form, and then how many days before you were called in?

TH: Well, I think the "loyalty question" was passed in March or something like that. Maybe it was two or three months later.

MN: Did you get a letter to come to the administration office, or did some men come to your barrack?

TH: For the interview or interrogation? See, probably I received a letter, I think.

MN: So where did you, where were you interrogated?

TH: Oh, in a room somewhere, in a barrack somewhere.

MN: Were there other Topaz inmates there? Was there like a line of men waiting to be interviewed?

TH: Gee, I don't remember now.

MN: Who interviewed, who interrogated you? Was it WRA, the FBI?

TH: It was a couple of FBI agents.

MN: So when you say "couple," how many?

TH: There was two, I think. Yeah.

MN: And you were the only one in the room.

TH: Yeah.

MN: With these two agents.

TH: As far as I can remember. The letter I... there was supposed to be an interpreter, but as far as I know, there was nobody there.

MN: What kind of questions would they ask you?

TH: Basically it was a continuation of the "loyalty questions." They tried to pin down they want you to kind of, in a way, trap you. I answered at first, I don't want to hurt anybody in the United States. Then I guess the question goes on like, then why did I answer "no-no"? They said, you... I will not relinquish the... I mean, whatever Japanese emperor says, I will follow. And finally, they wanted me to stick to the... if I said no, I should follow the emperor. If the emperor ordered me to do some damage to the United States, I should be doing that. So I said, even though I don't want to hurt anybody, I guess I have to follow the emperor, which wasn't really my, that wasn't the way I felt, but then I had to sign the statement.

MN: Did you feel like you were bullied into signing the statement?

TH: In a way, yeah. They knew what they were doing. They basically confused a simple-minded Kibei into a place where they couldn't get out.

MN: Were you confused during this interrogation?

TH: Oh, yeah, it wasn't quite the way I felt, but still, since I answered "no-no," if the Japanese emperor says certain things, I must follow his order. Just kind of naive, I suppose, on my part. On a lot of Kibeis' part, too.

MN: So that's the way the FBI agent asked you this question: if you had answered "no," then you have to follow the emperor's orders.

TH: Right.

MN: And so logically you thought, "Yeah, I guess so." Is that how you were thinking?

TH: Yeah, I guess so.

MN: There's a statement in your files -- who typed that out?

TH: Gee, there must have been a typist sitting there.

MN: Typing out what you had allegedly said.

TH: Uh-huh.

MN: Did they show it to you before they put it into your files, before you signed it?

TH: Yeah, I signed it. I read it, I guess.

MN: How long did this interrogation last?

TH: I really can't remember.

MN: An hour?

TH: Probably one hour or so.

MN: During that time, did you ever feel threatened physically?

TH: Not physically, no.

MN: Did you feel threatened verbally?

TH: What's that?

MN: Did you feel threatened verbally?

TH: No, they were very gentlemanly, except that the technique, they knew what they were doing. They knew this simple-minded Kibei, you know, make us do what they want us to do.

MN: So after your interrogation was finished, what happened? They said, "Okay, you're free to go"?

TH: Yeah. I thought that was it.

MN: Do you remember what day you were questioned?

TH: No, I don't remember.

MN: Did you share this with your parents?

TH: Yeah, I'm sure I did, yeah.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.