Densho Digital Archive - Joe Seto Interview (denshovh-sjoe

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EB: And what language was spoken in the household?

JS: My father spoke to us mainly in English, and my mother was Japanese, and she did not speak English at all.

EB: So were there any kind of communication problems?

JS: Yes, in Japanese, of course. As children, we were all required to attend Japanese school. But I quit going to Japanese school when I attended high school. It was something that we were forced to do, and particularly the boys, they weren't very conscientious about studying, whereas the girls were. So consequently, after I grew up, I regretted it, particularly during my many travels to Japan meeting relatives and not being able to speak Japanese. Just the rudimentary words just to survive.

EB: Did your family make any return trips to Japan particularly before the war?

JS: Yes. My father took all, the entire family back before the fourth boy was born, to Japan.

EB: Oh, okay. And what year was that? Remind me.

JS: Well, that would be in 1921, '22, of course, he was born in 1922.

EB: And that was before you were born.

JS: Before I was born.

EB: And so what prompted the visit back to Japan?

JS: I think it was customary that those who could afford it would take trips to Japan. Not many families were able to economically. So in those days, my father was probably able to financially... well, obviously, he had to.

EB: And how long was that visit?

JS: I'm not sure, but I think for at least four or five months.

EB: Okay. So were any of your family members educated in Japan or brothers sent back?

JS: No.

EB: No?

JS: All educated in the U.S.A.

EB: So what schools did you attend and your siblings attend in Tacoma?

JS: Well, we went to Lincoln grade school, which was about four blocks from home. McCarver junior high school, which was about five blocks from home. All of the boys except my youngest brother attended Lincoln High School. My youngest brother attended Stadium High School, and my sister attended Stadium High School. There were two main high schools in Tacoma at that time.

EB: So tell me about your hobbies and your friends growing up.

JS: Well, our friends were the neighborhood boys, and then the church group, my age group, mainly, and a little older.

EB: What were your dreams and aspirations as a youth, then? What did you hope to do with your life? Or had you thought about it?

JS: Yes, because when the war, when we were evacuated, taken to concentration camp, I just finished high school. But I didn't have any aspirations that... my older brothers, including my oldest brother, graduated from the university. Second brother attended about two years, and the third brother attended about two years. And the fourth couldn't afford to, so obviously, when I came along, my parents couldn't afford to send me to college. So I talked about going to vocational school.

EB: And had you started vocational school before you were evacuated?

JS: No. See, generally, one didn't attend vocational school until they graduated from high school, and I graduated in the spring of 1942, the year we were taken to the concentration camps. And I have a document I'm going to give you about the consequences of my graduation and my fellow Japanese students.

EB: Okay. I'm looking forward to... we'll do that at the end.

JS: It's forty pages long.

EB: Oh. [Laughs] Wow, okay.