<Begin Segment 7>

BN: About how far, do you remember how far you traveled?

SI: Oh, mileage?

BN: Well, not necessarily mileage, but even just time. Couple hours?

SI: Oh, no, all day long.

BN: Oh, all day?

SI: Yes, all day long. Because this north to the south, end to end, so all day long.

BN: So quite a... you moved pretty far.

SI: More than, yes.

BN: And then the place you moved to, is it like a camp or is it just houses?

SI: We was, get houses.

BN: Like a town, another town.

SI: Yes. Not camp, was houses. When we was there, I think it went to there March, and April 1st, Americans, they came over Okinawa and they came. So they were getting, "Oh, you folks bring, enemy bring over here." [Laughs] One month later they did.

BN: So you were there for about a month.

SI: Yes. And we have to be there in the jungle. Only one month there.

BN: So for that month, were you provided for with food and so forth?

SI: Oh, yes, because we went, bring at that time, bring from our own things.

BN: You brought your own.

SI: But after that, we went, the war coming more strong, we'd have to go into the jungle. [Laughs] And then after that, go to, in the jungle, my brothers and my big sisters, they have to go get, sometimes go get the vegetable.

BN: When you kind of left and escaped into the jungle, you stayed together, though, your group of seventy-eight?

SI: Yes, all together. So they have to be, cut the bushes and make temporary houses, make own, each family make own.

BN: So you kind of created your own shelter.

SI: Yes. Make 'em own.

BN: And you foraged or looked for food?

SI: But still we have to keep 'em for rice, just like our trade for that.

BN: And then the other day you were talking about a couple of occasions, you mentioned you hid for a time in a grave?

SI: Oh, yes, that's right. Oh, the time, when we... before we want to go in the jungle, we don't have, we don't have, we moved to the south, we don't know where to get the cave, so we opened the grave. Grave door is about half of this tatami, half of that, and then we go inside, everybody hide, how many hours.

BN: It was big enough that everybody could fit inside?

SI: Yes, everyone inside there. We don't have the cave, went to the south side of Sokai, we don't know where to go, so we're inside. All the people said, "No more place, you folks got to hide inside." [Laughs] But all jichan, bachan got to pray first. "Gomen nasai, gomen nasai." Go inside there.

BN: And how long did you have to hide in there?

SI: Only maybe a couple of hours, until the airplane, Kushu, going to be quiet, then we go out.

Off camera: Is that on your way to the mountains?

SI: No, no, this only, before go mountains. Before go jungle that happened, Kushu. And then this Kushu too much strong, we cannot stay there, so we went to go in the jungle. Too many, you know, every time go Kushu, this and that. We're going to the, went to the jungle... went to hide in the jungle where, up side of mountain. So we can see the American soldiers coming to the... what you call it? The south side, starting from, take over the south side. We can see there was ocean there, all coming up.

Off camera: See them land? Land on the beach?

SI: Yeah, we can see, it was high, they're coming.

BN: And you were, at that time, still very scared of the American soldiers?

SI: Oh, still scared those days, because how was teaching it at school, never, never go them, they're going to cut you. At school they're teaching that.

BN: So how long were you kind of in the jungle trying to...

SI: Jungle, oh, about three month, I think, the jungle. Not in one place, always going to be move around, more war come strong, move to more inside. Cannot stay in one place. Because when we was low side of jungle, one day the American soldiers came to the... stay over here. One old man know how to speak English, because he came from the Hawaii, Shima Kiyoshi-san's father was, know how to talk to them. So they're trying to. They're trying to, taking us to the camp, American soldier. That's, old man talk to the... "you please came back, ready for tomorrow, so please come back tomorrow. We're not going today." They believe, okay, they'll come tomorrow. But they went out, American soldiers go out, want to go another jungle to run away. So American soldiers, they get mad, burned there, all it was, make 'em, each temporary kind houses, they all burned it. Because the old man talked to them, "Come tomorrow." But come tomorrow, we're going to go away from there, so they would get mad. And then we cannot stay, so we got to move to the different place. One man was, know how to speak language for us.

BN: He was the only one, though?

SI: Yes, only one person.

BN: Who had come to Hawaii.

SI: Yes.

BN: You mentioned a couple times that you said one of your brothers was...

SI: Oh, that's after, way after. Went to go in the, go hide in the jungle, go inside, more inside. That was the daytime, three men, this is the other family's father, they have three men, bang, bang, bang, my brothers heard that. But the time, I was small, so I never hear, but my brother heard that. He was taking, always carried my sister in his back. He put that in the bushes, he going to hide. Those days, back in the war, bushes inside, they are so, he hide 'em inside, and the American soldier step, he hide underneath, and his legs, step his leg, but they don't know what is that, the shoes, the soldier's shoes. So he stepped, American soldier stopped on my brother's feet, but they don't know who's hiding in there. So my brother was safe. But three men, the same time, they killed the three guys.

BN: The three members of your group.

SI: That time my brother was hiding, step only. His feet, "Oh, this was American, big guy, step on my feet, and I was so..." you know, can't scream or anything, just hiding in there. He was talk story that. But us, we don't know nothing, we're so small.

BN: What was the... well, I'm sure you were scared, but what were you thinking, what were you feeling during this time?

SI: Oh, those days, that time was most of the... sometimes only get musubi only, rice, only musubi. Sometimes, nighttime come, my brothers, big sisters, they're going down to the... those days, you don't know who's friend or not. Because have to, they come get the potato and vegetable for survive. They always group together and go, evening go down the village to go get the food. Oh, I think those days, my mother was... you know, the cheese, he was carrying, so happy to carry this, she thought this is soap. And my big brother said, "Mom, what you carry that for?" "Oh, soap, I found soap, so happy. I found the soap." He saw my big brother. That time, my big brother was, he know how to read English. So, "Mom, this is not soap. No, that's not soap, sagashite kita, no good, going to throw away." My brother said, "No, you no can eat kind. Go throw away." She was carrying for this soap, wash the soap. [Laughs] The triangle ones, he thought this is soap.

BN: What was it?

SI: Cheese.

BN: Oh, cheese.

SI: You know, after the American soldier hiding there, and they move, the cheese was, my mother found that cheese from there.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.