<Begin Segment 14>

RW: ...kind of goes back to times earlier, but, as being the eldest, what was your responsibility with your family before and actually during camp? Did you have some?

KO: Well, I think traditionally, the Japanese have always felt that the eldest son should take responsibility more so than the others. And since my dad died pretty young, that mantle kind of fell on me. But only God knows if I fulfilled my job or not, and how successful I was. I think it's an added burden to the eldest son, if you took that proposition seriously. And certainly I think that was one of the things that is part of my memory, and whether they told me over and over again or not, I don't know; or they just emphasized it, or it just happened; I'm not sure.

RW: Did you have responsibilities for looking after your siblings?

KO: Well I tried to, and in fact after we got back I did try to help 'em along, going to school and one thing and another. So I wasn't able to do some of the things that I would've liked to do myself, trying to see that I was taking care of them the best I could. And as I say, who knows how well, how good of a job I did.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.