Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Arthur Ogami - Kimi Ogami Interview
Narrators: Arthur Ogami, Kimi Ogami
Interviewer: Alisa Lynch
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Date: August 10, 2010
Densho ID: denshovh-oarthur_g-01-0001

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AL: Today is Tuesday, the 10th of August, 2010. We are at the Cal -- excuse me -- the Main Street Station Hotel with Arthur and Kimi Ogami to continue an oral history that covered Arthur's life that was done by Richard Potashin on September 9th, 2004. So today we're going to talk with you about your experiences after the war and with Kimi about some of her experiences in Japan. And before we get started I just want to make sure that we have your permission to use your oral history interview for education and for historic purposes at Manzanar?

AO: Yes, you have our permission.

AL: Is that alright with you, Kimi?

KO: Sure.

AL: Okay. So first, like I said earlier, we're not going to repeat all the stuff you told us before but I just want to get some just brief details about your lives. So Arthur, if you could tell me your full name and date of birth?

AO: My name is Arthur Kazuya Ogami, my birthdate is April 10, 1922.

AL: So your middle name is Kazuya?

AO: My middle name is Kazuya.

AL: Okay, so is Mitsuru your brother or is that another one of your names?

AO: Mitsuru was originally my middle name. And before we went to Japan, the Spanish embassy had asked my father to change the spelling of our name Okami to Ogami so that the sound of our surname would correspond with the character, the kanji that it's always pronounced Ogami. But when my father first entered the United States, Okami was more easily pronounced by these Caucasian friends that he had done business, with so the spelling was O-K-A-M-I.

AL: But in Japan the proper pronunciation would be Ogami with a G?

AO: Yes.

AL: That's proper, okay. And, Kimi, what is your full name and date of birth?

KO: My birthday is January 4, 1928. I was born in Fukuoka, Japan. Fukuoka is one of the sixth biggest cities in Japan.

AL: And what is your full name? Kimi, what is your maiden name? Before you married Arthur, what was your name?

KO: Kimiko Tawara.

AL: How do you spell that?

KO: T-A-W-A-R-A. So we get married we don't use that name.

AL: So your full name, though, is Kimiko?

KO: Uh-huh.

AL: And what does that translate as?

KO: Well, Chinese character write my name, the ki means "happy," mi is "beautiful," ko is "child." Most of the girls named Kimiko, Emiko, Sachiko like that but nowadays quite a bit different.

AL: Does your, Arthur, your Japanese name what does it translate as?

AO: Actually my Japanese name Kazuya actually means "family."

KO: One.

AO: One family.

AL: Okay.

AO: Ka is --

KO: No, Kazu.

AO: Kazuya.

KO: Yeah, that mean "one family."

AO: One family. See ka is house.

KO: No, your name is... he doesn't know Japanese.

AL: Okay, well, you know what? When we finish we'll do another interview and get it correct. But I wanted to if we could, Kimi, get some background information on your life in Japan because we have Arthur's family history from 2004. So what are the names of your parents, your mother and father?

KO: My father's surname is Tawara, so my mother got married so she changed it. My father's first name is Morio.

AL: How do you spell that?

KO: M-O-R-I-O.

AL: Okay, and your mother's name?

KO: Michiko.

AL: Do you know her maiden name?

KO: Sajikibara.

AL: How do you spell that?

KO: S-A-J-I-K-I-B-A-R-A.

AL: Do you feel like you're on a spelling bee, like a spelling contest? In Japan, what sort of business or how did they make their livelihood in Japan? Were they farmers or merchants?

KO: My father was a, work in a big electric company, so I assume he got to retirement. Those days most average woman never worked unless professional, unless real poor.

AL: And how many children are in your family, brothers and sisters?

KO: Three. Then I think, I know we had one older sister and one younger sister but those days quite a bit children died. You just get high fever, get sick and then you just, you know. But nowadays those things doesn't happen.

AL: So the children, your brothers and sisters, what were their names? Did you have any brothers?

KO: My younger brother is Yukio, he's living, huh?

AO: Your younger brother passed away.

KO: Oh, yeah.

AO: Your older brother --

KO: Moritani, yeah, he's living.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright &copy; 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.