<Begin Segment 15>

EG: What was it like in the Japanese Language School? The whole school was taken over for residents. Isn't that the case?

PT: Yes, yes. I believe Mr. Genji Mihara, who was a community leader, made arrangements to convert the Japanese Language School to a hostel for the returning evacuees, and that helped a great deal.

EG: How many... do you know approximately how many people were living in the school?

PT: I really don't remember that much, but I think at the Japanese Language School reunion that number was mentioned.

EG: Must have been an awful lot.

PT: Yes.

EG: Because of the tight quarters that people were living in.

PT: Yes. That's right.

EG: You must have been using up all the available space.

PT: Very definitely. Yes.

EG: What was it like living in those crowded conditions, under those circumstances?

PT: Well, as one of the residents mentioned, it was almost like an extension of camp. So, I guess we really were used to the lack of privacy, and so we were able to accept it.

EG: The school wasn't built for a lot of families to live in. So, like, I mean, you didn't have many bathrooms, many kitchens, and so on. So how was it worked out for all these families to do things that families do?

PT: There was one large kitchen that had to be shared by all the families. And there was no schedule, but somehow, the mothers got the meals cooked and everything went fairly smoothly.

EG: No common dining room?

PT: No. No. There was no common dining room, and so the meals were prepared in the kitchen, and then taken up to the rooms.

EG: That was different from camp. In camp you had common dining rooms.

PT: Yes. That's right. That's right. And I believe in the women's bathroom there was one shower for all of the tenants there so that created some hardship, I imagine, but people just waited in line very patiently and we managed somehow.

EG: Do you suppose that's a cultural trait?

PT: It could be partially that.

EG: Sounds like it could.

PT: Yes. It's just the act of being gracious and kind to your friends. I think this is sort of a Meiji era trait, that the Issei have carried over to this country.

EG: There's a lot of that from stories from camps too, about things that the people voluntarily got together, cooperated, and made life better for each other...

PT: Ah, yes, yes.

EG: ...and everybody.

PT: Yes. That's right. Mm hmm.

EG: This is kind of a continuation of that too, isn't it?

PT: And it's even the idea of the Issei not going against the United States government. And just saying, "All right. We will accept what your decision is for us." And they went to camp.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.