<Begin Segment 11>

TI: Okay, so Sat, we're going to start with the second hour. And I'm going to start the second part, December 7, 1941. So this was the Sunday when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Do you remember that day?

SK: Yes. But 1941, I must have been how old? I know I was going to Fresno State, and for some reason, I was in the store when I heard about it. And it was something that they were talking about on the radio, this was before television, anyway. But let me see... when you're not interested, you're just walking through, when something like that happens, really, you really don't know what's going on. I didn't think too much of it then except that I heard that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor. And it was, I was more aware of what happened the next day when I went back to school. I was a student at Fresno State, and when I went over there, that's when everything started to buzz. We, I went to the auditorium over there, 'cause that's... we gathered that one day when the President declared war, I mean, with Japan. And I... that's when I was really aware of the situation. But they talked about... I mean, they were talking about the bombs.

TI: And so when you went, when you heard the president declare war on Japan, what were you thinking if you became more aware of what happened? What were some of your thoughts?

SK: Well, I can't really remember, but I'm sure the excitement, I mean, people in there, over there, I'm sure we talked about it. I just can't recall much about my feelings or anything. But I remember being in the auditorium when they declared war on Japan. And then a little bit later on, about the boat, or battleship being all together and everything, and about the court-martial or anything. But that never... well, I wasn't there, so I really don't know. Oh, let's see.

TI: Well, going to your, so after that day, when you returned home and back to Chinatown, back to the community, was there much discussion or talk going on about what was happening?

SK: There must have been, but I just can't remember that. I mean, during my life, that was fairly recent. But there's some things I just can't recall or remember.

TI: Yeah, how about things like, do you recall any arrests happening in the community? Like the FBI coming through or police coming through the community or asking questions?

SK: No, let me tell you something about that. The first thing we had... you, did anyone, am I the first one on this? There was this, we had a man in Fresno, Issei, who came to the United States. I mean, he was the man that they all, old family friend. The day it happened, or even the next day, he was the, sort of a spokesman or advisor to a lot of people in town, and his name was S.G. Sakamoto, old family friend. And what he did was send a telegram to President Roosevelt saying that our community was behind him, and that I remember. And you'd be surprised how few people went to, were picked up by the FBI. Very few. Anyway, I guess he must have been a pretty bright guy, too.

TI: So that's interesting. So Mr. Sakamoto sent a telegram to --

SK: To President Roosevelt, I mean, to the White House.

TI: And this was, like, right after December 7th?

SK: Right, yeah.

TI: And what he did was, he said, "The Japanese in Fresno are loyal to America"?

SK: Yeah. And if you go to these different community, you'll find that very, very few Japanese from our areas were in camp. Just the... oh, I think they picked the Buddhist ministers, and they have, they have no idea what went on.

TI: So this Mr. Sakamoto who was one of the community leaders, he was Issei, he was not picked up by the FBI?

SK: No, of course not. [Laughs]

JS: So Mr. Sakamoto, he was the head of the Japanese business association, was he?

SK: No, he was just the community, man in our community who probably... well, he came here as a, I mean, he was an old family friend. He told me he came here when he was sixteen years old. And he can speak English as well as anyone else, although most of the Japanese people couldn't speak. But that was what happened, anyway. The, I know that the minister, I mean, the Buddhist church, the reverend was picked up, and they started to get... all these people, I think they started with the churches. And they had, I think they didn't know anything about what went on. 'Cause if you think about it, if you were, if you're in Japan, you're not gonna trust anybody over here. But anyway, the only one that I know of that was picked up from our area were ministers. And let's see, what else happened?

TI: Well, so let me ask you, how about the reaction of non-Japanese to the community? Was there any incidences or events that happened with, say, the other communities?

SK: Well, I've heard of, well, very few incidents. I heard more about the incident after we got back, people getting shot at after we came back to Fresno. But during that time, I just can't recall. I don't think... so surprising, I don't think any of the people reacted like they did after the war.

TI: Well, how about, now, you're at Fresno State College, did anything change for you at school?

SK: No, I don't think so.

TI: So you finished the semester or the quarter...

SK: No, I didn't get through. About, when they started talking about evacuation and everything, I just quit, rolled out.

JS: Did any of the teachers, did your teacher talk to you or any advice?

SK: No, no one did.

JS: Not at the college.

SK: No.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.