Densho Digital Archive - Chizuko Norton Interview (denshovh-nchizuko-01-0005)

<Begin Segment 5>

AI: Well, so then you were saying that you recalled getting ready to go to kindergarten, getting ready to go to school.

CN: Getting my bangs cut. And I remember that and then putting on a red dress.

AI: Any other particular memories of your first days of going to school?

CN: That, I don't remember. What I do remember is that the teacher was giving some of my friends -- these were children that I didn't know who later became my, well, they were my classmates and became my friends -- that they were given hakujin names. And I remember that when it came to me -- I can't tell you why I objected, but I must have because... Chizuko is not an easy name to remember, and the others got names like Mary and Betty and Lillian and, and all.

AI: But not you?

CN: But not me.

AI: Do you recall the ethnic composition of your classes in the early grade school years?

CN: Yeah, it's a lot of Japanese American children, and then the others were all Caucasian. I don't recall any other people of color.

AI: And do you have any memory of when you first realized the difference between you, as a Japanese American, and the Caucasian peers?

CN: I think we were made to realize that at a very early age because we spoke Nihongo at home and we were learning English. So I know I felt different, and I think we all did. We were well aware of that, because our parents didn't look like other kids' parents, and they didn't speak English. And I remember we were asked what we had for breakfast, and we talked about having rice, having gohan. And the teacher saying, "Well, you must have toast and eggs," and this kind of thing.

AI: Was that difficult? Did you have some difficult or painful times over that difference?

CN: I must have. I must have because I always felt that I was different. It did help going to school with all these Nisei, Nisei kids because you weren't the only one. But we were made to feel different. At least, I felt it. And so, and at home, I don't know about other families, but in my family I had to speak Japanese.