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TI: Okay, so today is Wednesday, June 4, 2008, we're in Salt Lake City, and my name is Tom Ikeda and I'm the interviewer, and on camera we have Dana Hoshide. And also in the room we have the son of the narrator, Kim Kurumada. But I'm going to start the interview by asking you, when and where were you born?

JK: I was born in Richfield, Utah.

TI: And what's your birthdate?

JK: December 13, 1913.

TI: And when you were born, what was the name given to you at birth?

JK: Jun.

TI: And do you know why they named you Jun, was there any significance to the name?

JK: I really don't know.

TI: So Jun Kurumada, is that correct?

JK: Yeah.

TI: And during the interview, would it be okay if I call you Jun?

JK: That's fine.

TI: So Jun, let me start by asking you, what was your father's name?

JK: Kenji.

TI: And where in Japan did your father live?

JK: Well, he was in Yamagata and then Fukushima-ken.

TI: And do you know what kind of work his family did?

JK: They had a, he had a hotel, the family had a hotel there, and he was the second son in the family, and so realizing that the second son is not gonna get any, any inheritance or anything, so he left when he was twenty-one and he came to the United States.

TI: And do you know about what year that would be?

JK: Well, 1906.

TI: And how would you describe your father? What kind of person was your father?

JK: Well, he was a... well, he was a very kind man, for one thing, very diligent, very hard-working man. And I think he was more ambitious in that he figured that he was going to make his fortune here and then go back to Japan.

TI: And did he ever talk to you about possibly returning to Japan after he made his fortune?

JK: Well, not really, no. After we were, after my two brothers were born, why, I guess he figured that this was his, his country, and so he took out naturalization papers and he became a naturalized citizen here.

TI: So he was able to become a naturalized U.S. citizen?

JK: Yeah.

TI: So that's very unusual, because most places would not allow that to happen.

JK: Yeah, this happened in, this was not until about 1970, or, no, 1950, 1955.

TI: I get it. Okay, so this was after the war after the McCarran Act, okay. Got it.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Topaz Museum. All Rights Reserved.