<Begin Segment 2>

HM: Why did you go to Japan in the first place?

JK: Well, I was sent to Japan to educate, mostly, and then at the time, my mother was taking us boys home to Japan, and we have three of us, myself, and one was Toshiaki, and the other was Ben, that's Tsutomu. And then myself and Ben is the one that came back. And we left Toshiaki at Japan because Grandmother was alone and there was nobody to take care of it, so we left him in Japan to take care the grandmother. But then when the war broke out I think he got drafted in the army and he was sent to Manchuria. And just before, well, during the wartime, he was in Manchuria. And then when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, at the time, I understand that the Russian start, you know, fighting with the Japanese. They had, I heard that they had some kind of agreement with Japan not to invade each other. So they were... well, let's see. When the U.S. bombed Hiroshima with the atomic bomb, at that time, Russians started to invade Manchuria. That's when my brother got killed. And I don't know after that, but he was cremated and brought over to Japan, and they had a funeral and everything, you know, but I don't recall any story on that part.

[Interruption]

HM: Now what part of Japan were you sent to? Where was your grandmother?

JK: Well, it was the northern part of Japan, I mean, prefecture Wakayama. And I was brought up by my mother side grandparents and their family, and the other two boys, Ben and Toshiaki, was with the father's side. So we, you know, we three brothers in the same village, but they were with the other grandma and I was with the other grandparents.

HM: Now who was then left at home on Bainbridge Island? What other brothers and sisters did you have on Bainbridge?

JK: What do you mean?

HM: Who else was in your family that did not go to Japan and they were still left on Bainbridge?

JK: Oh, well, if we don't have to go to Japan, I don't exactly know why they sent me to Japan but I'm pretty sure their mind was to educate the Japanese way. 'Cause I must have been quite a kid when I was little. [Laughs] don't stay still and, you know, running around in Seattle, things like that I was doing, I think.

HM: Who are your brothers and sisters that were still on Bainbridge?

JK: You mean at that time?

HM: Yes.

JK: Well, my two sisters, only one brother Shoji, and two sisters Setsuko and Reiko.

HM: You had another sister?

JK: Yeah, I had another sister but she was at the hospital all the time and she had breathing problems. So we took her to a hospital in Enumclaw and during the wartime, she passed away.

HM: So she did not evacuate with you because she was in the hospital?

JK: No, no. Yeah, she was in the hospital in Enumclaw for, during the wartime, too, but she passed away during the wartime, I think. I don't know exactly what year, but I presume that she passed away somewhere about 1944 or late '43. That's all I know of her. I knew she had the little breathing problem so, she can't walk too long, long ways, and she had to stop and get her breathing back, and then we'd start walking again, but until then we had quite a time with her.

HM: Now, do you remember much about the time that you did spend on the island, what your family was doing and how they survived?

JK: Yeah, I knew, you know, quite a few people during that four years that I was on the island, but only one that I was real close was Akio Suyematsu and Nob Koura and Art Koura and there was a boy named Hayashi. They were, I would say it's a neighbor because they only lived across the street and they were farming over there too. So, during the springtime, we had some kind of gathering to help each farmer to plant the strawberries, and at that time I knew quite a bit of people, but I can't remember their names anymore. My mind is really bad. [Laughs]

HM: No it isn't. [Laughs]

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.