Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Fred Matsumura Interview
Narrator: Fred Matsumura
Interviewers: Tom Ikeda (primary), Beverly Kashino (secondary)
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Date: July 2, 1998
Densho ID: denshovh-mfred-01-0007

<Begin Segment 7>

TI: You mentioned about a third of the population on Molokai was Japanese.

FM: Uh-huh.

TI: And what reaction did the rest of the island have towards the Japanese after Pearl Harbor? Did they, did it change?

FM: No, it didn't change. Because we're friends from when we were little kids. So no change at all, we still talk and play with them. And no, no hard feelings between Hawaiians or Japanese, or... that's about it, there's only Hawaiians and Japanese, Portuguese.

BK: There was not a large population of haoles?

FM: No, not too many.

TI: And on a small island like Molokai, did the FBI come and pick out certain people and take them away?

FM: Um hm. They did, yeah. Yeah. So some of my friends were picked up. They were put in Honolulu's Sand Island. And they were detained there, for, I don't know, a couple, maybe for questioning and stuff.

BK: And what were your friends -- for what reason did they take and detain them and...

FM: Well, because they had visited Japan within the past few years, or whatever. Or some doctors or businessmen, they make trips to Japan for buying and stuff like that. They were taken in.

TI: What did you think about the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor? I mean, when you talked with your friends and say this thing happened, what would you guys say and talk about?

FM: Yeah, we were really disappointed that such a thing happened, us being Japanese. We felt bad about the whole deal, yeah.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.