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RP: Did you have a community in your area?

LK: There were only a few Japanese in our community. But in the neighboring community of Gresham, there were quite a few. And they had organizations, sometimes we would go, but they had picnics. I remember going to some, not often. And they had a Buddhist temple branch, I think, which sometimes they would show movies there or things, and so we would go to them. But in our neighborhood where we were, there were only about five or six Japanese families. And we were all very friendly with each other and they would get together, but it was a small, really a small community. But there were enough of us that we'd sometimes get together. I remember one of the families, we took trips to the coast together, and one time I remember we went up around Mt. Hood together on the back of a truck, you know, all of us children in the back. So it was sort of a close-knit, small community. But like in the school system, there were one or two Japanese in each class, that's all. I think there was two of us in my class, two Japanese, and the rest were all Caucasian.

RP: So you grew up predominately with Caucasians.

LK: Yeah. Although I don't remember having friends, Caucasian friends, come over to the house, for instance. It was usually just the two or three neighbor Japanese families that we played with, and even at school, I do remember having a couple of Caucasian friends, but nothing like, you know, when they come over, stay overnight or anything like that, we never did socialize to that extent.

RP: Did you have any early experiences with prejudice in your community or in Gresham?

LK: You know, I don't know. Because I don't know... I always felt maybe different in school. I never really felt a part, you know. Because in a small community like Troutdale -- well, it's actually Corbett. Most of them went to a Christian church, and they were all talking about what they had done at church or something, and we didn't belong to them. And so I always did feel, maybe feel a little different, and never felt really like I was part of their group. I don't know if that's prejudice or... I do know that, I knew that I was different. But I don't know if anybody ever called me a bad name or anything, I don't remember, actually.

RP: And speaking of, you mentioned religion, Christian issues, did you belong to a Buddhist temple?

LK: My parents belonged to the Buddhist temple, but I don't remember except once in a while going to the branch in Gresham. I don't remember faithfully going to a church, we never went every Sunday, for instance, no. But we always kind of knew that we were Buddhists.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.