<Begin Segment 4>

TI: Let's talk about school now. When you started school, what was school like for you?

IH: I wasn't good in English, but in Japanese, I was already same as Japan boys. So when going to the elementary school, I don't have any trouble. Just like a Japanese boy. Of course, I don't know Hawaii, so it's easy to adjust to Japanese custom.

TI: Now, as you were growing up, as a young boy, did you hear about war? Japan going to war and things like that, was that part of your education or things that you heard about?

IH: Yes. That was about 1937, July, the war started between Japan and China. And later, they started a shortage on food and then everything. Because everything going to the military.

TI: So for your family, like with the chickens and things, did you have to give the military some extra food or anything? Did it affect you?

IH: That time was pretty good until going to the World War II. That's when attacked Pearl Harbor...

TI: 1941.

IH: '41, yeah, December.

TI: But going back, in 1938/'39, that's when you started seeing some shortages?

IH: Some start to, slowly start to shortage. And then some of them, like rice or some vegetables, come to the ration. So that's limited. But we had a chicken, and then especially egg is really (scanty), they're looking for it. So we can exchange with our eggs or our chickens, because no more meat. But we have everything to support our family. We didn't have any expense except keep up the chicken farm.

TI: So your family was fortunate because it had the vegetable garden and the chickens, the eggs. Now, did you ever have to worry that some people might come and try to take eggs or chickens?

IH: No, no.

TI: No? Nothing like that.

IH: That time was good. One thing, Japan is really good in that part. Not much criminal. And even during World War II, we didn't have any trouble with that.

TI: Even when people got hungry, they still didn't have that problem?

IH: No. Didn't have a problem.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.