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BN: Did you travel, ever travel much outside of your village, or did you pretty much stay? This is before the war.

SI: We have, those days we have, only just, we called it picnic, but we called it, in Japan, ensoku. So we had to bring to the, make own bento, teachers bring. Actually, next village or school, we're walking to go the next school. That's for we're visiting. But those days, we were so happy going out from the school.

BN: So this was a school activity?

SI: Yes, yes.

BN: In school, did you learn much about the rest of the world, about the west Europe and United States, and was it mostly focused on...

SI: Yes, those days was teaching at school, when war start, the school teaching to us, "Never speak to them. When you see them, you have to go run away, because when they catch you, they're going to cut you." So we were so scared. That's what the teaching was. In the morning, we all, before start school, everybody together on the ground.

BN: And the "they" is Westerners? I mean, the people that you were taught to be scared of would be just Westerners, European Americans?

SI: Oh, that's because they were teaching, in those days, teaching we were so afraid, scared.

BN: Was there a sense of... I mean, what was the attitude towards the Japanese from mainland Japan? I mean, was there any sort of...

SI: I'm sorry?

BN: Yeah, I'm asking about, because Japan kind of occupied Okinawa, and I'm wondering if amongst your village, amongst your friends, what their attitude towards people from Japan was, if there was a resentment or they were treated like everybody else or if there was fear?

SI: Oh, because those days is the war coming, they knew was war come to Okinawa, really strong kind, so they're trying to save their student, the young people. They have to send to the... but who would volunteer one day to go, go put in all, to send to Japan. But when Miyazaki and Kumamoto, most of the students went to there, go there to, trying to save the young student. Most of, those days, fifth grade, sixth grade, they're trying to save the student to there, keep 'em there. But one ship was, went before war reached to there, one drowned in the ocean. Some cannot reach to the Japan.

BN: And this is, this would be during the...

SI: The wartime, yes.

BN: At what point, or how old were you when...

SI: This, I was twelve years? Oh, no, thirteen, sixth grade.

BN: I see. That's when the war came directly to Okinawa.

SI: The war starting to the Okinawa, I was sixth grade, October 10th. And those days, we never see the airplane. So American airplane going to the city side, they're going there, going to go out. We thought this is Japan plane, hi, hi, we're so happy, so we're raising our hand, all went outside. But this was an American airplane. We never think about that. First time we see that, that started, they called kuushuu, all city side, was leaving the country. At that time, Naha, all going to be all burned.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.