<Begin Segment 24>

TI: So going back to, after you cleaned the Daiichi Building, what happens next?

KT: Well, I was gonna be in the custodian's office, but they get a telephone call and said, "Hey, no water at the embassy. Pretty soon general's gonna wake up and he's gonna want to take a shower." So the thing was that, "Get the jeep up there right away." [Laughs] So I bring a jeep over and they fly up to the embassy, and I got the guy and I said, "Hey, how come no water?" He says, "Well, there's, so many areas are damaged. If they left the water pressure then they lose so much water overnight, so they close it down." I said, "Well, open it up again." [Laughs]

TI: So it was a matter of just getting someone to turn the valve open?

KT: This is in a big city, big main.

TI: I see.

KT: So they got the water going -- and the embassy sort of sits up on the hill -- so anyway, they got the water going and was just fine. Then I went back to what I was doing. And next morning, again, about -- my billet was at the finance building -- they, about five o'clock in the morning they come wake me up, say, "Hey, no water again. You better get up there." So then I get up and I holler at them in Japanese again, and they get the water going. And that time is when the aide de camp says, "Tsuchida, get your gear and move in here." And they had one of the servants' quarters for me. When ambassador grew, before the war, built a whole bunch of servants' quarters, so they put me in one of the servants' quarters, a room, and I stayed there. [Laughs]

TI: So they, because you were valuable at getting things done, they essentially reassigned you to the general sort of maintenance staff.

KT: Well, they said, "You work there, so your duty station is gonna be there at the embassy." So then I stayed at the embassy there. And they said that they would assign me to the general staff. By that... a lot of this is the VOCG, it's all verbal, not on paper, and anyway, I stayed there. And a guy that I worked with, later on, he was a master sergeant but later on he became a warrant officer, then he became General MacArthur's aide de camp, and he's got that little, aide de camp was a little eagle with a shield and it has stars, and this one has five stars, General MacArthur's insignia. So I was like his interpreter 'cause he consults with Mrs. MacArthur, all kinds of things, bunch of things being done, he dumps it on me and then I got to go run after these guys and make them do this and do that.

TI: Now, what would be just like an example or two of some of the things that you would take care of?

KT: Lot of things are just normal, everyday duties. But one other thing is that, later on I found out, was the fabric on the loveseat was so weak that when you grab it to move it your fingers'll go right through the silk, and they wanted to duplicate that. So I took a piece of the cloth and I went down to a store, department, and I said, "Hey, can you make same thing?" He says, "Oh yeah." And I said, "It's for the embassy." And he said, "Okay." So they made the exact same thing, color and everything, and then later on I found out that patent, the French company or something that originally made that started raising Cain because --

TI: It was like a copyright infringement, or they're copying.

KT: Yeah. They never brought it to me, but I'm sure it went to the general's office. And one of the, Colonel Bunker was a Harvard lawyer, so I'm sure he took care of it. There are a lot of things they want done, if they want it done I'll try to get it done, but there's problems like that. Another time some lady sent Mrs. MacArthur, it's a round cup like that with a stem and there's a shell on there, and what they do is they get shaved ice and put it in this bowl part, and on the shell they put, like, shrimp cocktail or something and they serve it. Well, this lady sent her a dozen and a couple of 'em were broke, and she's coming over and she, she's gonna invite her for dinner and she's gonna have to have twelve ladies there and she's lacking two. So, "See if you can get these made." So I go down to this glass company and he said, "Oh," they're shaking their head, said, "That's a lot of work to get, just make two of 'em." Then they talk it over and I said, "Makasa gensu," and it's a magic word. And they say, "Oh, okay. We'll do it, we'll do it."

TI: So what'd you say, like MacArthur's what? You said, or what --

KT: Gensui is like a field marshal. It's a rank, see. And they said they would do it, so they made it, the exact same thing. You couldn't tell the difference, one from the other. And we were happy, but what happens, then they copied that and then they changed it a little bit. Instead of being round, it's like a little hexagon, and they start selling that. I think that sort of rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. But to me, I don't know anything about law or patent. [Laughs]

TI: So tell me about the prominence of General MacArthur in Japan. I mean, how did the Japanese view General MacArthur?

KT: They think he's god. "Makkasa Gensui" and they just can't... it's unbelievable. On the 7th, around September the 12th is, something like that, I go down and I get on the train and I go out of Tokyo to Hachioji, maybe ten miles away, all by myself and get on the train, come back at ten o'clock at night. And nobody would raise a hand. So they said, "Aren't you afraid the Japanese might attack you, some guys?" And I said, "I don't know, nobody seems to be hostile towards me." I said, "They're all friends." And anyplace, I went all over the place and never had any trouble, not one.

TI: Was there a way for you to be identified working with General MacArthur? I mean, was there kind of a special card or anything, if you ever got in trouble or anything like that? [KT shakes head] So it was just your word, when you said you worked for the general.

KT: Yeah.

TI: I see.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.