Densho Digital Archive - Mas Okabe Interview (denshovh-omas

<Begin Segment 19>

KL: And where did you take the train, where did you go?

MO: I think we went to Nagoya. And then from there, we took another smaller train to the village.

KL: What... could you see out at all along the way what you passed, or it was too full?

MO: No. I mean, people were hanging out the window. It was terrible.

KL: What about the train from Nagoya?

MO: That wasn't too bad. We got to the village, got out, and then you get these two-wheeled wagons, you know, pull, we put our luggage in there and then walked to the village. And I'm sure my uncle, my father's younger brother, was not happy to see us.

KL: Your father's younger brother?

MO: Yeah. Because here comes five more mouths to feed, and during the war, there's nothing to eat.

KL: Did he know you were coming, did he expect you?

MO: I'm sure he told them we were coming. It was not a warm feeling. They didn't want us, we didn't want to be there type of thing. So my brother, older brothers and myself, we stayed there maybe two or three months. My dad wanted me to go to school, because I hadn't finished high school. So he took me to a high school.

KL: In a village?

MO: Yeah, close by.

KL: What was the village's name?

MO: What the heck was it? Tojo, that's the name of the village, Tojo. You write the kanji, it's "eastern fortress." "To" is "east," "jo" is "fortress." And he took me to high school, and the principal, he talked to the principal. And I didn't want to go because I can't speak Japanese. I didn't go want to go there and sit there like a bumpkin, you know. But the principal said, "The conditions are not good, the school system is terrible now," he said, "Everything is chaotic, it's no use for him coming to school." So my father reluctantly took me back, and I was happy. And my uncle had a small farm that he farmed, and he used to make these brooms on the side to make extra money, so I used to help him make brooms, maybe for about a month. And then my brother and I got letters from our friends, other friends that went back to Japan with us, they got jobs in Atsugi Air Force Base, and they told us, "You want job? Come on over."

KL: Back in the village, just real quick before that, before we go to the air force base, what was, what were other people's responses to you guys' people from the United States?

MO: We were kind of a sideshow kind of thing. You know, people stare at us and stuff like that.

KL: I guess you couldn't hide it.

MO: No, no, no. I mean, you know, small village like that, everybody knew what was going on. I didn't make any friends, but I didn't want to go out and talk to people.

KL: Did you feel any concern for your safety, or it was just kind of awkward?

MO: Awkward, because we couldn't speak the language too well. We don't want to talk too much.

KL: What was your, when you were working with your uncle on making the brooms, how was it with him and you?

MO: With the people working there?

KL: Oh, was he there?

MO: No, he wasn't there. There were maybe five, six people there, and I got along with them, talked to them and stuff like that. They showed me how to do the things, made a few brooms.

KL: What was your uncle's name?

MO: Kyusaburo, K-Y-U-S-A-B-U-R-O. He's the younger brother. My father was the oldest son. And after that, we went to Atsugi.

KL: Where there -- one more question, I'm sorry. Were the grandparents, were your grandparents still living, your father's parents?

MO: My grandparents on my father's side I think had passed away. My mother's side was still alive.

KL: Did you see them?

MO: I saw them but I think...

KL: Were they in Tojo?

MO: There weren't in Tojo, they were in a different village. I can't remember the name of that village. But I did meet them. I can't remember if I met them right after the war or after I came back when I was in the service. I don't recall.