Densho Digital Archive - Ayame Tsutakawa Interview II (denshovh-tayame-02-0006)

<Begin Segment 6>

TL: I'd like to now ask about what you remember about being evacuated and going first to the assembly center and later to camp. Do you remember how you found out about this so-called evacuation?

AT: I think Mother told us, the family, "Now we have to pack everything," and we were renting this house, but it was a nice house. And we had beautiful furnitures and we had to get, somehow put in storage or give away or... and I think some of the American friends were sort of taking advantage of us. "Now you're going to go, what are you going to do with all your stuff? Why don't you leave it to us?" That sort of feeling I think they had. Especially this one wine salesman that used to come to the store, and they were sort of friends of my father and mother. And he says, "Well, why don't you leave all your furniture to me and we'll keep it for you," and we took his word and nice furnitures really and beautiful rugs. We left it to his family and when we returned to Sacramento, he told us that his wife divorced him and she took all the furniture. So we did not get any nice couch or rugs or coffee tables back.

TL: Do you remember how your mother explained to you why Japanese had to go?

AT: No, I think it was just one of those things. The war started and so we had to go and we're going. And I don't think any Japanese people really tried to stay behind or anything. I think we were more feared than to stay. We might be hurt so we must go.

TL: When you were packing and it was so limited what people could bring with them, were there any special items that you tried to take or that you just weren't able to and then you knew you would miss it?

AT: I took my few things and some of the letters from Japan, I did take, yes.

TL: What were some of the other things besides the letters?

AT: Oh, little things on my desk, yes. My mother was always so protective of me, and so she went and bought -- I went with her -- but riding pants and boots, you know, the horse riding pants with this shape and then high top boots. She thought I shouldn't be wearing skirt because might get hurt from American soldiers or something [Laughs] so I wore this pants, and I had them for a long time. Maybe I still have it. I can't remember, but I know I got rid of my boots.