Densho Digital Archive
Preserving California's Japantowns Collection
Title: Kenji Maruko Interview
Narrator: Kenji Maruko
Interviewers: Jill Shiraki (primary); Tom Ikeda (secondary)
Location: Fresno, California
Date: March 9, 2010
Densho ID: denshovh-mkenji-01-0026

<Begin Segment 26>

TI: So what are some other memories? So you mentioned you saw some of the Buddhist ministers from Fresno. Other people from Fresno, did you see?

KM: No, that was about it. And after the war, they didn't know what to do. We had property in Japan, go back to Japan or not. But Dad talked to one of the ministers, he said, "No," he says, "if you can stay here, stay here in the United States." He said, "You go back to Japan, there's a shortage." Everything was short. And he says, "It's gonna be tough when you get back there. And you having a store here, you must have some merchandise that you can go back to." He says, "Be better to go back, to stay here in the United States instead of going back to Japan." And then before you left, they had a... oh, they had a hearing. And so went to the hearing, same guy that questioned me the first time was there again. And he says, "You think you made a mistake?" Says, "Yeah, I think I did make a mistake." Says, "I'm planning on staying here instead of going back to Japan." He said, "Oh, good." And I don't know what he did. Anyway, he says, "Yeah, you can stay if you want." So they didn't ship us back.

TI: Okay, so with that, after that hearing, then was your citizenship, you had your U.S. citizenship?

KM: We had to apply again for it, but they did rescind it. But then I don't know that you remember Myers? ACLU? Earl Myers?

TI: I'm thinking of...

JS: Wayne Collins.

TI: Yeah Wayne Collins?

KM: Wayne Collins, yeah, that's right. Wayne Collins, yeah. Yeah, that's right, Wayne Collins.

TI: And so he, they helped you...

KM: Yeah, they helped us get the citizenship back, yeah. Wayne Collins, yeah, that's who it was.

TI: Okay. But at least, so with that hearing, you were allowed to stay in the United States. So in some ways, you were, in that time period, a man without a country.

KM: Yeah, during that time, right, we were. That's right.

TI: That's interesting, yeah. You were stateless at that point.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.