Densho Digital Archive
Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL Collection
Title: Shoichi Kobara Interview
Narrator: Shoichi Kobara
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Watsonville, California
Date: November 18, 2008
Densho ID: denshovh-kshoichi-01-0024

<Begin Segment 24>

TI: So describe that black market. What kind of things would be sold on the black market?

SK: Well, like us, in the military, we used to get ration, one carton of cigarettes, so many candy bars and stuff. But I didn't, I guess I didn't have the nerve to sell on the black market. 'Cause a carton of cigarette was fifty cents, we had to pay. And they're selling it for 350 yen. And those days, the yen were two to one. So friend of mine, I don't want to say his name, but he was a good friend of mine. He knew, and he had a Japanese girlfriend, so he says, "I'll sell it for you." "Give me the money for the cigarettes, but candy and stuff, give it to them." So two to one, you pay fifty cents, and they sell it for 350. And two to one, so you get $175 for fifty cents. So I took the yen. And then pretty soon, they said, "You can't send more than your paycheck home." Because they knew the black market was going on, the army knew.

TI: Because some men were making so much money.

SK: Yeah. So then people that were there before the occupation, in other words, in the South Pacific or something, combat, they had unlimited amount. But like us, where we went after the war was ended, paycheck only. So the second in command, lieutenant, said, "Give me the money and I'll send it to your sister." So he used to send some money to my sister. Just like swords and stuff, I remember collecting, lot of places, we collected lot of swords and stuff. And we had to register to put, warehouse. So the lieutenant says, "You want a sword?" "Yeah," I says, "I'd like to get a sword." "Then go in and get the one you want." He says, "I'll send it in my name," because he was able to come back before.

TI: And where would these swords come from?

SK: Family.

TI: So families would sell them to get...

SK: No, they take it, you had to register.

TI: Oh, I see.

SK: Just like before, when we were over here, when they had guns or something, we had to register, and the sheriff would take it, hold it. And they give you a receipt, but it disappears, nobody does anything. So I got one sword, but it was not a real old Japanese sword, it was military sword, soldier had it. So I got one of those, I sent that. Not a really good sword. Because there was a lot of family heirlooms and stuff that was stolen.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL. All Rights Reserved.