<Begin Segment 16>

MN: So I wanted to ask you some loose end questions. Manzanar, your sister, Sue, was so involved with Manzanar, and when she started to get very active and trying to preserve Manzanar back in the '70s, what did you think about that?

JK: Well, I told her, "More power to you. Just don't get hurt." Well, we never thought that someone would try to harm someone for trying to do good, but one never knows. Yeah, luckily nothing happened.

MN: Now, when the talks of redress started to happen in the Japanese American community, did you think this was possible?

JK: Yeah, I never thought that we would get something, that the government willed on us.

MN: How did you feel when the bill was passed?

JK: Happy, yeah.

MN: Now I want to ask you about the JACL. The national JACL held a ceremony to apologize to the draft resisters in 2002, and I know your in-laws, Nobu Kawai, who opposed the draft resisters in camp, what were your thoughts on this apology ceremony?

JK: Well, Nob had his ideas. He was a hard man for us to accept.

MN: What did you think about the ceremony? Did you think it was unnecessary?

JK: I don't know.

MN: Well, let me ask you about something else. Let me ask you about the Aoyama tree. In 2008, the L.A. city council voted to give the historic cultural status to the tree that was outside of the original Koyasan temple, and you saw this tree from the beginning. How did you feel about this tree getting historic status?

JK: Well, I said, "More power to the church." Yeah, that's behind me now.

MN: Do you remember that tree when you were a child?

JK: Yeah.

MN: And then I wanted to ask you, you have this scar on your face. Where did you get that scar?

JK: Breaking up a fight.

MN: Is this before the war?

JK: Yes.

MN: What happened?

JK: My friend's neighbor was being picked on by some Kibeis, and just escalated into a knife fight. And I got in the way, almost lost my eyes. Well, we didn't have too much trouble with the Kibeis. But...

MN: Were fights like that common before the war?

JK: Not too, no. Yeah, it wasn't too common, individual fights about this and that.

MN: Who won that fight?

JK: I don't know.

MN: Now in August, you just came back from the Heart Mountain interpretive center opening. Was this the first time back to Heart Mountain since the war?

JK: Yeah. We did travel, it wasn't a convention at Heart Mountain. Earlier, no one really thought that was the thing to do.

MN: So what did you think about the ceremony in August? What did you think about the opening in August?

JK: Well, I think it's a good thing. Got to spread the word outside the people that were in camp. Yeah. I'm all for going hundreds of miles.

MN: So you're happy with the direction that the interpretive center is taking?

JK: Oh, yes, I think so.

MN: Is there anything else, Jack, you want to talk about or want to share with us?

JK: No, not really. Chance to talk about old things.

MN: Well, thank you very much.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.