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BN: As the war went on, were you aware of some of the other things that were going on in terms of, well, things like the Emergency Service Committee and things that...

JK: Yeah, we read about them in the papers or heard them over the radio. My mother went to the temple one day -- this is for me a vivid recollection of how families were affected. One of the people, ladies who went to the temple regularly told my mother, "My son is trying to help the Japanese community, but they're calling him inu (dog) and it hurts us so much." It was Masa Katagiri, and he was one of those who were, you know, trying to help the Japanese and interpret policies and things to the Japanese, but because he worked with the military government, people thought (he was) inu. And she cried to my mother. My mother was so upset, she came home and told us the story.

BN: So there was that...

JK: There was some of that, yeah, kind of conflict, but not to my family directly, but still.

BN: Were you also aware of like the 100th Battalion and what was going on with that?

JK: I remember seeing them, and the 100th I was aware of because one of the men was conscripted before the war, and his family ran Aloha Curio. Tet-chan. And Tet-chan was especially dear to me because he was much older but he used to rub my head. He had been educated in Japan, and his brother, younger brother my age was also educated in Japan and he was in Japan. Tet-chan was in Honolulu, so he would rub my head and said, "Oh, Yoshio, Yoshio." So I remember his going to war. And then another guy who was, who used to come when we used to get together in the early days of the war, he volunteered to go with the 442. And when the 442 marched from the train station, I saw them, and then they went on to 'Iolani Palace, and they had to pass through Aala, so I saw them. But then at one point I felt... Tet-chan died, Asaumi died, what is my family doing for the war effort? And I thought about it and thought about it, and then they advertised for the WACs. Well, I have to be the one because my brother is too young. So I told Mr. Hino before telling my mom, "What do you think if I join the WACs?" Oh, he blew his stack. The WACs did not have a good reputation in the Japanese community. They called them... I don't know what the military term for officers... no, omocha. And he said, "Don't you dare consider it. And if you tell your mother, she's going to get sick." So I never volunteered. But I felt guilty.

BN: Were you or your family involved in any other kinds of volunteer efforts?

JK: I did Red Cross bandages, roll, that kind of stuff, yes. I did that kind of thing, but not anything dynamic and earth-shaking. My mother was busy in the store, she was a Japanese alien.

BN: I mean, running your business is kind of tough keeping --

JK: Yeah, it's a full-time job.

BN: And then in its own way, you're contributing to the war effort just by keep society...

JK: Bonds. We used to buy the twenty-five cents war stamps, and filling them up in a book to make eighteen dollars and seventy-five cents, which would give a maturity rate of twenty-five dollars. I don't know where they went. [Laughs]

BN: It'd be worth a lot today. As kind of the war went on, did the tension kind of ease? 'Cause the war also changes, too.

JK: Yeah, I think changes came to our society, (the) Hawaiian community. Changes were coming (to) -- like the domination of the Big Five. But all that accelerated because of the war. Because Big Five was not the (leading) group (now). The military governor (became the leader). So (The Big Five) were subservient to that. But I think... because when I got my permanent. (Then) I looked like a haole. [Laughs] But you cannot change this. [Indicates eye] [Laughs]

BN: You got your first permanent?

JK: Yeah. And there are little things like that that now when I look back, I think, "Oh, how superficial." But they were important at that time. And I got my name, Jane. Oh, no, I got that before that. And my sons can't believe that I would assume the name Jane. Because the teacher said, "Okay, Sachiko is too hard, so you're Jane, you're George, you're Martha," she went right down the row. And John tells me, "And you accepted it? What about your parents?" And it's legalized now, but it's not what my parents gave me.

BN: What did your mother call you?

JK: Sachiko. But if they talked about Jane, she knew whom they were talking about. And if, even today, when somebody says, "Sat-chan," I know it's somebody from Aala.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.