<Begin Segment 12>

MN: Now when the "loyalty questionnaire" came out in 1943, was this an issue within your family?

MU: I don't remember it as being an issue. I think my mother was quite definitely sure she wanted to stay here. She did not want to go back to Japan, she wanted to raise her family here in America. She thought this was our country.

MN: Now in Tule Lake there was an incident where the men in Block 42 refused to answer the "loyalty questionnaire." Do you remember this incident at all?

MU: No.

MN: So your family became a "yes-yes" and so when Tule Lake became a segregation center, your family moved out of Tule Lake. How did your family determine where to go? Did the WRA determine that for you or were you able to pick what camp you wanted to go to?

MU: I don't remember any conversation my mother may have had with us. And I don't know for a fact if we were given the choice, and how would you know what the other camps were like? They were all out in the desert. And probably no relatives or friends there in the camp, so I don't think how would one choose, weather-wise they're all horrible. We ended up in Wyoming, snow storms are horrible, the coldness.

MN: So you did end up in Wyoming. Do you remember how you prepared to leave Tule Lake and to go to this new camp? Do you remember what you packed?

MU: No, my worldly goods were probably in just in one little box. And they were very dear to me I'm one of these kind of people who are very sentimental about certain things and I like to protect them and I'm sure I did that when we moved from here to there. And my mother never said, "No you can't take that, it's too big, no, you shouldn't take that." I don't remember my mother saying anything to me about not being able to take that or her questioning, "Do you want to take it?" I mean that was not a relationship I think with many Isseis and the children, you just do what you think is... and the parents sort of left you alone. That's how my family was, my mother left me and maybe my sister has helped her, I don't even remember that. What I do remember is that I wasn't objecting, I wasn't coming out with "no, why?" type of a feeling. If I did at the time, I'm sure I would remember that because I just didn't do that. So if I were adamant about something I'm sure I would have remembered that.

MN: Now how did you feel about leaving Tule Lake?

MU: The big, big thing for me was if I had to part from my dear friend. That was the biggest thing that hit my heart. And I still remember when she came to me and asked, "Where are you going?" And I said Heart Mountain and she also was sent to Heart Mountain. And I remember how happy we were. We just cried and cried we were so happy we were going to same camp, that we're not leaving each other. I remember that, so that was the biggest thing for me. Not where we were going or why even because I didn't have to answer those questions. And it never was a problem with our family although we heard some conversation about certain families coming across some dangerous incidents. I do remember hearing that, but for our immediate family there was no question.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.