<Begin Segment 11>

[Translated from Japanese]

I1: So, you were released in late July or early August of 1944? You were there for eight months, so you were sent there in November...

TY: That's right.

I1: November, December, November up to July. Eight months at most.

TY: I was there from November 4th to August 24th.

I1: Until August 24th?

TY: It was on August 24th and was almost September. October and November, it was almost the end of the first year within two months.

I1: It was in 1944, wasn't it? So, you were still there when the denationalization bill was passed.

TY: I don't anything about that. I don't know.

I2: The denationalization law was enacted in July.

I1: On July 1.

I2: On the 1st. But the more important thing is when the announcement came to Tule Lake.

TY: We were not informed that we were allowed to renounce our U.S. citizenship by law.

I1: At Tule Lake?

TY: When we formed the youth group at Tule Lake, we all agreed that we didn't need U.S. citizenship to go back to Japan. Everyone was talking about renouncing their U.S. citizenship and going back to Japan as soon as possible. We were not pressured to do it or when to do it. Then, somebody drafted an application form for renunciation and distributed it. We were encouraged to voluntarily sign and fingerprint it.

I2: Do you mean some Japanese people incarcerated in the camp drafted the application?

TY: Must have been. We submitted the forms to the authority to express our intention to renounce the citizenship. WRA officers clearly told us, "We do not have such a law. There isn't any law to allow citizenship renunciation." [Laughs]

I2: What month was that? Do you remember what month that was?

TY: It was after I was released from the stockade.

I1: The law was already enacted?

TY: It was after the hunger strike and the youth group was establishment.

I2: When was the youth group established? What month was it?

TY: I don't recall the month. We didn't expect the government to act on it. We simply wanted to express our intention to renounce our citizenship.

I1: Is that right? You didn't consider it as a formal application.

TY: Right.

I1: That's right. The official applications were submitted as a group.

TY Unconditional release was on August 25th, 1944. I was sent to Santa Fe on December 27th, 1944.

I1: So, you must have renounced your citizenship during that period. Your renunciation needed to be approved to send you to Santa Fe.

TY: I never heard that my application for the citizenship renunciation was approved. I was sent to the enemy alien camp.

[Interruption]

TY: So, that means...

I1: You were not aware that the denationalization bill was passed. You didn't know if you submit an application, it could be approved by the Attorney General and your citizenship could be revoked.

TY: I didn't think about that at all. I didn't know. I was sent to Santa Fe and was told Japan lost the war there. We were gathered for the emperor's announcement. I finally realized that Japan lost. After a while officers from the Department of Justice came and asked me, "You expressed your intention to go back to Japan and renounce your U.S. citizenship. Is that correct?"

I1: What month was it?

TY: It was in October of the year the war ended.

I1: Didn't you have a hearing to confirm your intention to renounce the citizenship?

TY: No, I didn't. The youth group at Tule Lake was re-segregated, and we were assuming citizenship renunciation would be required to go back to Japan. We just wanted to show our intention to renounce the citizenship.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright (c) 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.