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TI: How about U.S. government officials like army people? So this is after the war is over, the occupation forces, did they come to the area to see what happened and did you see them?

IH: Only for their purpose, their study. That's the only thing. Not too long, they didn't stay. Maybe a day or so they'll come inside, look around, then so many days later come back again. So didn't see the American people, I mean, American soldier that time. Even they're afraid to come.

TI: And when they did come to look around, did they ask questions?

IH: No, no.

TI: They just looked and then they drove away? And what was the feelings towards the Americans? When they would come to look around, how did you and others feel about that?

IH: That's the funny part. They're not mad or something like that. Because American soldiers give 'em chewing gum or something, oh, everybody think they're really friendly. And then just like, not the enemy. So there was no, we didn't have any problem.

TI: But what about any anger about the Americans dropping the bomb?

IH: That's later.

TI: Okay, but these days, I mean, right then...

IH: Not right then, at the time.

TI: Okay, so later on...

IH: Later on, then think about, and why it's like that. And then one year later, one authority for the atomic bomb, professor came to our college and talked to us. What the atomic bomb is, everything that they told us. And then he said, "Atomic bomb is not a secret thing, nothing." Because Japan, if it has money and then material, they could make. That they told me, they told us. So that's, again, Japan has money, and then material, they could make it.

TI: And what did people say when they heard that?

IH: No, they didn't say... just surprise. And then later on again, my professor told us that, not secret. Because during the war, Germans had, they was working on that. And then all the plans and paperwork came into Japan.

TI: Oh, from Germany.

IH: Germany with a submarine. They sent to Japan. So they were expecting, so the high rank of the government, military, they knew already the atomic bomb is, what it is.

TI: So he gave, this was a year after, he gave kind of a talk about this, about how that technology wasn't a secret to Japan, because the physicists in Germany were working on a similar thing, so they knew about that. Interesting.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.