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TI: Again, today is June 18, 2024. And this is actually a follow up interview to something that you just observed your dad going through. And so let's start off, you know, tell me name, your full name and your date of birth.

DK: Derek Tatsumi Kenmotsu, I was born August 9, 1983.

TI: And just tell me the relationship to Ron, who we just interviewed.

DK: So Ron is my dad.

TI: Before I... I wanted to actually kind of talk about the story of how you found out that your dad was adopted. But before you go there, you just sort of sat through an interview with your dad, where he shared, I thought, some very personal things about, you know, his experiences of finding out about being adopted, and how it affected him, especially when he was younger with the ulcers and things like that. What was going through your mind as you heard your dad talk about this?

DK: It was, I mean, when I found out, I think a lot of these thoughts went through my mind. Because there were a lot of questions that I had that I felt like were a little unanswered, or there was maybe something that I was missing. So I got a little bit of it, but I think this is the first time I got just such a comprehensive feeling and view of my dad, and I think it's just the questions that you asked were really, really great to bring that out. So I felt, one, I felt kind of his pain that he must have experienced, and it just, I mean, not to the level, obviously he did, but it just felt, I felt so badly for him to have lived that type of childhood when -- I think it's revealed -- that he was adopted and how he was treated. And I couldn't really imagine feeling, experiencing that. And then also, I think, reflecting on my childhood with my dad, I'm just really grateful that he didn't pass on that, I guess, the anger, or really... maybe to my dad's detriment, he bottled it up. But to my brother and me, he was still kind and compassionate, maybe not very outspoken, but he was not the person that he described his father to be to him. So I actually think my dad, I think maybe a few months ago, because I was reflecting on what it must have been like, and that I didn't have to bear that type of treatment.

TI: Well, I mean, it's really thanks to you. I mean, you didn't do it intentionally, but you're the one who kind of stumbled into this, that opened this whole story. So let's talk about that. Tell me the story of how you approached your dad in terms of the question. Where are you?

DK: So it was at the Japanese American National Museum. I was there for orientation for the U.S.-Japan Council's Japanese American Leadership Delegation. And they had the Ireicho, the documentation of people that were in the incarceration. And I was looking for my dad, because I wanted to do the stamp by his name, and I couldn't find him. And at first I was thinking, was my dad actually there? And then I thought, well, he must have been because he got the, whatever the Reagan/Bush administration, the reparations. The U.S. government never gives payment by mistake. Like, I remember as a child that that was like a thing, so it was like, I know there must have been... maybe there's some mistake, maybe it was a misspelling. So then I asked the museum staff, "Why am I not able to find my dad?"

TI: And when you did, I'm curious, so the museum staff, you said, "Hey, I can't find my dad." What was their response? Is this something like, oh, yeah, it always happens, or no, this is unusual?

DK: They said, well, sometimes it is misspelling, but they said, "Well, let's try to figure this out." And then they looked up like the final manifest or the exit manifest, and it showed my dad's family but only with my uncle on there. So I thought, oh, that's strange. And I thought, "Is it possible my dad is adopted?" I even thought about it.

TI: Oh, so you actually thought it?

DK: I thought about it, but I was like, "Oh, but that's crazy." [Laughs] So the staff reached out to Brian who works for Densho, an historian, Brian...

TI: Brian Niiya.

DK: Niiya. And they said, "Brian is like Sherlock Holmes with these types of things." So they said, "Let's email him if you're willing to," and I said okay. So a day passed, and then I went back home and I called my dad. I said, "Hey, Dad, I was at the museum, I was looking for your name, and for some reason it wasn't coming up. And they were looking into it and I saw that Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Richard are on there, but you're not on there. Do you know why?" And this is before Brian had -- Brian actually figured it out, but this is before I got the email from Brian. And then asked my dad and then he paused and he said, "It's because I'm adopted." And that was just a big revelation.

TI: So describe to me how your dad told you. You mentioned a pause, like how long was the pause, and how did he tell you was adopted? I mean, what did you sense in that call?

DK: It was probably shorter than it felt, but it felt like a while because it's just a pause on the phone when I called him. It was maybe like a two or three second pause. And then he told me, but he just... kind of matter of fact, but also kind of a bit of inflection in his voice like, "It's because I'm adopted." And I said, "Oh, well, do you know what your birth family name was and what your birth name was?" And then then he told me his first name and middle name were his birth name, but his family name was Ota. And then later that afternoon, I got an email from Brian saying, "I found this Ota family that has Ronald Isao Ota. Could it be possible that Ronald Isao Ota is Ronald Isao Kenmotsu?" And then I responded and confirmed with him.

TI: And since that time, since that phone conversation, have you and your father had more conversations about the adoptions and what it meant to you? I mean, you heard the interview that I did, have you and your dad been sharing, kind of, similar conversations?

DK: A little bit. I did ask him if he had an interest, and as my dad shared at that time, he didn't really have an interest of finding that family. Because I did just some kind of search engine searches on, like, the names and stuff, and I found, of course, his birth parents are since passed away. But there are some, I think, of the siblings that are still alive, so just kind of curious. But yeah, at the same time, I want to let my dad lead on that, and also had kept it fairly, I haven't shared, I haven't even talked to my uncle about it, because I don't know if my uncle knows or doesn't know, maybe he does, but I just kind of left it to my dad. And I think the only group of people I told is my JALD delegation, just because they were there when I was trying to figure out this mystery. I was like, I don't know why my dad's not in here. Okay, and then when we went on the trip, a month and a half later, I told them, when we were all just together, and I said, "Hey, I found out some really big news about my family and my dad," and then that's when Naomi said, "Wow, that's really a powerful thing to learn," and just how, what a time that must have been, how hard that must have been for all the families involved.

TI: How about your brother? Did you or your dad tell your brother?

DK: Yeah, so I told my brother before... my dad said, "Hey, I should tell your brother." I said, "I'm sorry, I already told him yesterday," this afternoon. But then yeah, I told them shortly after finding out, and it was pretty shocking for him, too. I haven't asked him what it meant for him, but I think for both of us, also, especially because it's our family name, we could be Otas.

TI: Well, how does it change, or does it change?

DK: It doesn't change in the sense of, like, I don't look to change my family name, but it does make me curious about that family. I looked at like the DNA trackers and I always wondered why Okinawa comes up pretty high on the list. And I lived, I was stationed in Okinawa, and I'm curious if that, it is a family name that does come from the Ryukyus as well, so I'm curious.

TI: Oh, so you did the DNA stuff?

DK: Yeah, in the past, but it just has, it's there. So one side is Hiroshima which is my mom's side, which we all knew, Hiroshima, but number two is Okinawa, and I just wonder if that actually is the reason why is because maybe the Ota family has some sort of lineage through Okinawa.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2024 Densho. All Rights Reserved.