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BY: So thinking back to raising your children, what were some of the important values that you hoped to instill in them? Being involved in the community was one, what other things did you feel like you wanted to...

JK: Oh, well, you know, I don't think you think about it that way, but I thought it was just important to be involved because it would help them as Japanese kids to realize that there are other things other than just being Japanese.

BY: And how important is your Japanese American identity to you?

JK: You know, I don't think about it that way.

BY: Okay, how do you think about it?

JK: [Laughs] Well, just as a person, I guess.

BY: Okay, all right. And what impact did the wartime incarceration have on you? I know you were very young during that time, but do you feel like even though you were very young, it had some kind of an impact on you?

JK: Well, I'm sure it did, but I don't remember very much about... I was so little, I think I don't really remember very much about if I was, if I felt like it was a negative impact. It was just one of those things you went through. It was part of life.

BY: What about your parents? Did you feel, did you observe...

JK: You know, they never talked about it and I don't really know. Because as many Japanese adults, they gaman, and they don't talk about things like that. They don't go, "Oh, poor me, this happened to me." My parents were never like that, so I never felt like they felt impacted, although I'm sure they were about those things at all.

BY: And have you tried to pass on information about that to your children, or do they know about what happened during World War II?

JK: I haven't intentionally passed on anything to them like that, but they've read enough and and they know enough to know that we all went through that. And they were, I think, sensitive enough to understand that these things happened.

BY: So I don't know if you are familiar with the term the "model minority," have you heard that term before?

JK: Yeah.

BY: So what do you think of that idea of Asian Americans being the model minority? Do you agree with it, do you disagree with it, what do you think about it?

JK: Well, I think it's a little stupid. I mean, we are people that live in the United States, we do the best we can as adults to raise our family and to help in society. So I guess I don't really, have really not thought about that, that the model minority might be a Japanese. Although I'm sure there are a lot of people that do.

BY: And then so finally, do you have any advice or words of wisdom that you would like to pass on to your children or your grandchildren? Can you think of anything in particular?

JK: Well, I think the main thing is you need to just be a good person. Be honest, be truthful, and help people. And to be thoughtful enough to realize that you're in a society with other people that might need help, and that you're there to do that if you can possibly do that.

BY: And is there anything else? Any stories or anything else that you would like to share with us?

JK: Well, I can't think of anything right now.

BY: Okay, all right. That's great. All right, thank you, Jan.

JK: Yeah, thank you.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.