Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Sumiko Yamauchi Interview
Narrator: Sumiko Yamauchi
Interviewer: Whitney Peterson
Location: Chula Vista, California
Date: July 23, 2013
Densho ID: denshovh-ysumiko_2-01-0023

<Begin Segment 23>

WP: So when did you leave New Jersey?

SY: I left in that... '46, 1946.

WP: And what made you decide to leave?

SY: My mother said, "This is not where you're gonna stay, you've got to go. This is not for you."

WP: And where did you go?

SY: So a bunch, there were, other mothers were saying the same thing and they said, "Go to Philadelphia." So I went to Philadelphia, and I went to school there. I went to a beauty school there. I only went there because three other girls were going there, so I said, okay, I'll go along. I went to beauty school there, and then once we finished that school, which was nine months, then they said they were going to go to New York. And I said, okay, I'll go to New York, and I worked there until 1949. And I came back, and they came back to San Diego.

WP: What was the community like you lived in in Philadelphia?

SY: War had ended, and lot of the soldiers and the people were coming back from overseas, and houses were, apartments, or anything, anyplace where you... you couldn't find anyplace because they were all coming back. And if you were a ex-Navy or soldier, they had priority. So therefore when we got there, there was only one place I can go, and I said I would work for my room and board. And I lived with a Jewish family in Philadelphia. The husband was a lawyer, and I lived there all during the time I was going into beauty school. They had two children, and I took care of the children. They were old enough, they were in regular elementary school. I took care of their breakfast and see to it that they got off to school, and then I'd come home and they would come home, and I would take care, help them with their homework and see to it that they did their chores. And I did my chores, too, and then I'd read to them.

WP: Did you get along well with the family?

SY: Yeah, I got along very well. They were very business-like, he was, anyway, being a lawyer, I guess he was. Yeah, she was very friendly. I got to learn how the Jewish people live. See, people never did affect me like when I was growing up. And I think when I went back east, things were completely different. People are different.

WP: Did you ever experience any prejudice?

SY: Oh, yeah. But you know, if you walk away, or not ignore, but kind of walk away, eventually, at the beginning it hurted, but after a while, you learn to just shrug your shoulder and say, okay. But later on it was sure... differently. I was telling my son today... when I went to New York, I was looking for a job, and I went from beauty shop to beauty shop. And, "Are you Japanese?" I said, "Yes." "Well, you know..." okay, and I'd walk out. And I'd go to another place, and I'd get the same thing. And I went into this one beauty shop. She was very nice, she wasn't... Betty was her name, Betty Rae. And she said, "Are you Japanese?" And I said, "You know, I've been walking," and I said, "Yes, I'm Japanese, and I guess that's the reason why I don't get hired." And I says, "I've been walking all over." I guess by then I was just practically on tears, like. And so there's a man who's standing on the corner in the same beauty shop, he was standing in the corner and he was kind of listening to me, big guy. And he said, "Betty, could I see you a minute?" So she got up and she went over there. And she came back a few minutes later and she said, "He told me I should hire you. But I want you to understand, if I get any problem in losing customer because you're Japanese, I am gonna have to let you go." I said, "I promise you I will do my best. Whatever you want me to do, I will try and do the best I can." And I left there and I thought to myself... and then when I started working there, I noticed the man she talked to, he was the one that said to her, "Hire her." Well, I found out he was German from Germany with a very strict German accent. And I guess he felt I'm being prejudiced because of the war, and she's going through the same thing, give her a chance. And I stayed there until I quit working there. Yeah, I think he did that. He spoke with a very German accent, that was the reason why I knew. But I think that was the reason why I got the job.

WP: Do you remember his name?

SY: Werner Schleigel.

WP: That's a very German name.

SY: It's a very German name, right.

WP: Did you get to know him well?

SY: No, he was a guy who you never talked. You never... "good morning," "goodbye," he didn't say too much.

WP: And what was he doing at the beauty parlor?

SY: I think... well, I think they weren't married, but they were a couple. I think he's the one that set her up as a beauty operator, I mean, at the beauty shop, I think. But you don't ask, because I think it was personal, so I never did ask.

WP: And did you ever have any experiences when working there about you being Japanese or confrontations with people?

SY: No. There were eight of us working there. And so, and there were... there was another German man working there, but he was an American. There were two Italians, one was sort of Swedish or whatever, and we all got along real good.

WP: The other women that you went to New York with, were they Japanese American as well?

SY: Uh-huh.

WP: Did they have similar experiences?

SY: I don't know. I image they would. When you look this way, there's no way you can hide it at that time, anyway.

WP: And did you all live together?

SY: No. They all found room and board work, because they couldn't find room, and they had to stay somewhere. So we all found... and it was nice because we lived in the servants quarter, we had our own bathroom, and all you did was do what you had to do if you were at home, wash the dishes, take care of the kids, pick up. I didn't get paid, I just lived there and took care of the kids. And then on Saturdays I did do some cleaning in the children's house, room, putting things away.

WP: Was this in New York?

SY: This was in Philadelphia. And also I went to New York and I also did the same thing there.

WP: What was the community like when you lived in New York?

SY: [Laughs] Very expensive, dressy, after all, he was a lawyer. They lived in a nice home. And then when I lived in New York, I worked for another couple who had two children. And he was a pathologist and she was a doctor and lived on Park Avenue. You know what a Park Avenue is, right? It's like La Jolla, very fancy, very nice. So I lived in a very, in a very protected area, you know. Because there's a lot of... big cities have more bad crimes than they do in smaller cities.

WP: During this period after World War II, did your parents or your family have contact with family in Japan?

SY: Yeah. Like I said, she went to Japan because her mother was still alive. She did come in contact with them, she used to always prepare, I guess you call it care package. Aspirin was one of the things they wanted so badly. Shoes was another thing they couldn't buy, and things like this that she used to send. But other than that...

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2013 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.