Densho Digital Archive - Hikoji Takeuchi Interview (denshovh-thikoji-01-0017)

<Begin Segment 17>

JA: Tell me what you remember about the riot situation that happened. Do you remember that at all?

HT: I have no knowledge about that riot. I heard about it. My mom came home and told me that they had a riot the other night. That's what I heard. That's all I know. I have no idea.

JA: Then tell me about the "loyalty questions."

HT: I beg your pardon?

JA: Tell me about the "loyalty questions."

HT: Oh, yes.

JA: What were they, and how did that play out?

HT: Well, number one, as far as I'm concerned, whoever thought of those questions did not know the Niseis, how they were brought up. The questions, as far as I'm concerned, the question is if they are questioning, then that means there is doubt. As far as I'm concerned, even in our judicial system, one is not found guilty, one is not guilty unless he was found guilty. Coming around and saying... who was -- what was question now, something about loyalty now. What was the question? I have forgotten.

JA: Yeah, what were the "loyalty questions" that they asked?

HT: Yeah, it's a -- "would you be loyal to the Japanese emperor" or something like that, wasn't it?

JA: I think it was "would you forswear loyalty."

HT: To the emperor or something like that?

JA: Yes, and also, "are you loyal to the United States? Will you serve for the United States?"

HT: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right, that's right. Now, how can one swear loyalty to a foreign country that you do not know? Now, we don't even know, we don't even know what the emperor was until that question came up. Loyal to the emperor? Why should one be loyal to something that one does not know, how can he know? That's one stupid one. And the other one is serve, serve in the army. To serve in the army, one has to be trusted. If one does not know anything else besides the country that he was born in, he was educated here, born here, educated here, and played here, and being taught all the time. Not for just flag raising, flag waving, but what we should be doing as a human being, as a person, as a citizen. He doesn't know anything else beside American. Are you willing to serve? We are willing to serve.