Densho Digital Archive - Minoru J. Shibata Interview (denshovh-sminoru-01-0016)

<Begin Segment 16>

KL: So I guess it's time to move to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. I wonder what you recall of that day.

MS: You know, it was just like something that just happened suddenly. Hardly anybody talked about it or even mentioned the possibility. So one day it happened, and we had to go to school the following Monday. Let's see, December 7th was a weekend, right?

KL: It was a Sunday.

MS: Sunday, okay. And the next day we had to go to school, and we were wondering what to do. And I don't know whether we ended up going to school at that time or not. But I remember hesitating and wondering what to do. But later, I don't know whether it was the same day or not, we ended up going to school, and everything was okay. It was safe to do so, and no one was really trying to attack us or anything like that.

KL: Was that your hesitation, you were worried that you would be targeted, or was it something different?

MS: You know, I didn't even feel that way. I didn't feel any hostility from anybody. And even after we went to school, the worst was the silence, but no one was aggressively trying to avoid us or to attack us verbally or anything.

KL: You said the worst was the silence. Can you elaborate on the silence what happenings did change?

MS: Well, silence on our part as well as I suppose the other people kept silent because they didn't know what to say or how to address this issue. I think so. I'm just saying silence because there wasn't really any kind of a communication going on as to how we should act or what to do or anything like that.

KL: Was it different for you as a Japanese American than it was for other people? I'm curious about whether this was like a general, nobody knew how to react to being at war, or whether there was identity issues going on with you as a Japanese American?

MS: I really don't know what the other people were feeling, and I don't know whether their parents were aware that something was going to happen, because politically, I mean, you know, there were a lot of indications of possible war with Japan. And especially when Japan was behaving like Germany. They were aggressively declaring war on other countries.

KL: Sometimes in the months after Pearl Harbor immediately afterwards, people in other schools, L.A. schools, have told me that, like, the principal called an assembly and made an announcement about how we're gonna treat Japanese Americans. When I've heard it, it's usually been sympathetic that these people are colleagues and we're gonna treat them well. Was there any mention made at school of how to behave or any corporate response?

MS: I don't recall any kind of assembly that I've attended or that was called, either in Terminal Island or in San Pedro, the schools. I don't know what my sister experienced, because she was in high school. But no, I didn't experience any kind of hostility at that time before we left Terminal Island.