<Begin Segment 8>

TI: When you volunteered, did you know that you were going to fight in Europe rather than in the Pacific?

SK: No, no.

TI: So there was a chance that you might be fighting against your brother.

SK: Exactly, this was my primary concern. My fear that if we were sent down to the South Pacific or somewhere's fighting the Japanese, there is always a chance we'll be shooting at each other, brother to brother. That was my only fear, but after our training they said that we're going to be sent to Europe. (That's) why I was kind of relieved. (When) I told my brother about this, he said, "Well, I'm glad we" -- actually he stayed with the consulate right through, and he said if he were in the military, he would have held a major's or lieutenant colonel's rank because of his work with the consulate. So I said, "Well, I'm glad you weren't called up."

TI: Did he ever talk much about Shanghai and the things he did with the Japanese? Did you ever have lots of conversations about that?

SK: Not too much on that one, all he said was that he did whatever the consulate had to be, to be doing. So not much about life there, but I know that he got married while in Shanghai to a Japanese woman, of course, who was born in Shanghai because her parents, her father was an engineer and he ran more or less a factory in Shanghai, and she was born there and then that's where they met.

TI: After the war, what type of work could your brother get? Here he is college-educated, held a high position in the consulate, what type of work was he able to do after the war?

SK: Well, he worked for the Japanese government as a purchasing agent, so he negotiated with the American military people. For instance, the military people would like to have this particular land, so my brother was responsible in negotiating with the military people.

TI: Now, did your brother speak English?

SK: Oh, yes, yes. Fluent English. So that's (the reason), after he retired from that position, he was hired by the Sasebo Ship Building Company, (and once) he represented the ship building company to go to New York (and see GE to honor the contract to deliver a generator). I guess the contract called for delivery at a certain time. It wasn't being delivered (on time) so he went over to negotiate (...). So he, I don't know how long he was with that company, but he retired from that position at age fifty-five or so.

TI: Okay.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.