Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Tak Yamashita Interview
Narrator: Tak Yamashita
Interviewer: Martha Nakagawa
Location: Oxnard, California
Date: September 14, 2011
Densho ID: denshovh-ytak-01-0028

<Begin Segment 28>

MN: Now, while you were in Colorado did you get a chance to visit Granada?

TY: Yes.

MN: How long did you visit, what year did you visit Granada?

TY: I don't exactly remember, but, first year, second year, I think it was second year, second year.

MN: So '43?

TY: I think so, '43, '44. '43, yeah.

MN: Was it difficult to get permission to enter Granada?

TY: No, it, the only thing was to get gasoline to go to Granada 'cause gasoline was rationed then. So then since we were farming we had all kinds of coupons to buy gasoline, and you asked the town people, town people get so much then if they don't use it they'll give it away, so we used to ask some of the town people, "Hey, you got some gasoline coupons, so-and-so?" And so that's how we used to get gasoline coupons, and we went to Granada that way. And it was terrible. I thought everybody in the camp will die over there. Know why? It was in the desert. Then when the wind would whip up the sand was so loose that it just flies and you can't see nobody. You can't see nobody ten foot in front of you, that's how bad and sandy it was. And I thought, wow, man, they put these guys in here to die. And then maybe I told you that I never experienced a, I never did experience an open bathroom, pot here, pot there with no partition. So embarrassed to go do your potting, and I thought, wow, oh man, these guys, amazing. They had to go they got to go, right? That's, that's how they got used to it, I guess. And so that night about six, seven o'clock, after dinner, after dinner the wind blew, the sand kicked up like I told you, I couldn't see you in front of you. That's how bad it was. And then, well, it was so bad we just played cards for a while and went to sleep. And then our mouth, through your nostril all the sand comes in, and then you go to sleep and then next morning you get up, you move your mouth a little bit, full of sand inside of your mouth, man, I'm telling you. Wow. I don't know how long these people in the camp gonna last over here, that's how bad I thought it was. So I don't know whether the wind blew the next day or the following month or not, but it must have blown, and it was terrible.

MN: How long were you at Granada?

TY: For two days.

MN: Was this your first and last visit?

TY: Yes. I didn't want to go there anymore.

MN: Who were you visiting at Granada?

TY: They were the friends of my friends, so we went with him. He wanted to see his friends, so, "Hey, Tak, let's go for a ride to the camp." So I was kind of curious to see the camp, so we went.

MN: So when you were going out of camp did they give you any problems?

TY: No problem, no. No, sure didn't, just drove out.

<End Segment 28> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.