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VY: Now, when you say JANE came along, did JANE already exist or were you sort of part of the...

DS: It just sort of appeared. And so I was ready for change. Had gone through some personal difficulties, losses. I had separated and divorced from my family, a new career, and so I think by that time, I was about forty, I was ready for change. And in 1979, '78, '79, a group of students, somehow I contacted them, or they contacted me, and introduced me to the concept of JANE Japanese Americans of New England. So that ends one chapter of the trajectory of my life before, during and after the internment.

VY: So at this point, as you become a member of JANE, I guess, is it correct to call you a founding member of JANE?

DS: Yeah. I hate to have any kind of attribution of having, you know, in a typical Japanese cultural perspective, not standing out because you'll be knocked down. So I don't want to give myself an attribution such as a founding member. But I was involved with a group of students from Harvard who had this vision of a group that would reach across the aisle, would reach across the generations, and provide a network, a community network of Japanese American students.

VY: How many students were in this group?

DS: [Laughs] Not too many. I think three or four. It was a small group, and then others began to, the group began to coalesce and become part of the group. But the group, JANE, itself, was no more than a dozen people with a couple of other people who had an interest in this, sort of, pan-Asian group. But it was largely students from Harvard and elsewhere, and some other people from the community. And the purpose was to provide a network, a social network, an issues-related network of Japanese Americans that could address certain issues. But it was, the focus was largely... the focus was largely to provide a basis for meeting other Japanese Americans and to have social activities. So when you read the minutes of JANE, you'll see a major emphasis on picnics and other social activities.

VY: I see. So it was really more a group of individuals who... it was a social group, but with certain conscious, there was a consciousness there about issues related to being Asian American or Japanese American that you all wanted to explore.

DS: And reaching across the community to provide, and reaching out to other Asian groups, it would be sort of a clearing house of pan-Asian activities.

VY: I see.

DS: So what kinds of activities did you do?

VY: Well, as I mentioned to you -- and I thought about it since our last interview -- there was some, there interest in the internment. And I don't remember too much about the picnics and the other social activities, but I do remember getting up in one of the JANE meetings and talking about my and my family's experience in the internment. Because I think there was a growing interest on the part of these students and of the Sansei on the Japanese American internment. So I do recall getting up and talking about it at some point. And I felt like an echo of the Vietnam era and protests, or the Black Power, Black protests of, well, using some of the phraseology of the Vietnam protest movement of consciousness-raising, of education teach-ins and the like. And somewhere in my memory I recall thinking that it is important to begin talking about the internment, and to let, to teach-in the public about what happened during the internment of Japanese Americans. But if you read the minutes of JANE, there are picnics galore and there are meetings in people's homes, and food was also a big component. That there would be a planning meeting or a monthly meeting, but always food would be served. And some of the supporters of JANE were Nisei. So the Sansei students had this idea and were gradually joined by some Niseis who would open their homes for our JANE meetings, and that was in the spring and summer of 1978. So that was JANE. It wasn't internment, personal experiences, personal recollections were not a big issue, but it was discussed.

VY: It also sounds like, even though there was primarily the social activities going on, that was also kind of a way to... well, it also sounds like, during this time, this kind of spark was in you. When you got up and you talked about your experience, and I wonder if that was the first time you really started thinking about how important it was to continue doing that. And I wonder if that was kind of percolating in you during all these other activities, just always there in the background.

DS: I think there was a, when you're around students, there was a high degree of enthusiasm. There's no cynicism, no elderly voice saying you can't do it. So I think I was sort of, as a old Sansei, I was the oldest Sansei around, and I think I was swept up by this enthusiasm, and by the can-do, the optimism of the students. But there were also Nisei, some of the well-established Nisei of the community, were also involved in hosting some of the JANE meetings. But I don't think I really thought too much about, or thought too much about speaking, it was almost spontaneous talking about...

VY: I was wondering how everybody responded to you talking about that experience?

DS: I think people listened to it, and maybe it was the first time. It could have been the first time they actually heard someone speaking of the internment from a personal basis. Because it's highly likely that their parents, like mine, never spoke of the internment experience.

VY: Did any of the Nisei that were part of the JANE group, did they ever talk about their experiences?

DS: Not really. I can't recall at that point Nisei members of JANE talking about their internment experience. And most of the Nisei were a bit older than I was. So I'm sort of the bridge, that was a bridge in between two generations.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.