<Begin Segment 15>

TI: So on December 7, 1941, earlier we talked about how your dad was working at the Rainier Club. What happened to him and the other workers at the Rainier Club?

MI: That I don't know. I just know that because of the war, they were all fired. And then we were able to keep going because we had the apartment house.

TI: Oh, so were you managing the apartment?

MI: Well, we had the lease to the apartment house. And then when February 6th came for evacuation, we were able to sell the lease so that we could leave the place.

TI: So February 19th was when the executive order and then later on...

MI: We would start working on, we were wondering what to... I know my folks were wondering what to do with the apartment. Some people just said if you could sell the lease, get out of it. Because you didn't know how long the war was going to be.

TI: Do you know who your parents were able to sell the lease to?

MI: She was a Caucasian that lived on the block. She wanted to buy the place, so we had a buyer right away.

TI: Okay. And do you know if you had to sell it at a discount or anything like that?

MI: That part I don't know. I think at that time, people just took anything they could get. Because I know we sold the car to the, one of the tenants. I know we sold it to him cheap because you had to get rid of it.

TI: Did your dad ever talk about having to leave the Rainier Club? Because he worked there for probably over twenty years.

MI: Well, you know, it's war. I mean, it's shikata ga nai. There was no two ways about it. Japan attacked the U.S., and the members didn't want the Japanese there.

TI: So did your dad talk about that, that he was, shikata ga nai, he said, "It can't be helped?" or did he ever talk...

MI: Well, he just lost his job. There was nothing he could do about it. But we were able to survive because we had the apartment.

TI: But there was no sense of frustration or anything like that?

MI: I mean, there wasn't anything he could do about it. Won't you be in the same boat? I mean, what could you do? You just got to wait to see what other orders you get, just wait for it.

TI: I think some things that would come to my mind, especially if I had worked there for twenty years and been a good worker there, and really someone that helped the organization, I would hope that they would know me well enough that they would maybe kind of treat me better?

MI: Well, at that time, people didn't do that. Like JACL, the churches, they all said to go quietly, remember? I mean, that was all there is to it. I mean, they said, "Just go quietly," and they'll take care of it after the war. But this is one thing I don't think JACL ever did.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.