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KL: You said you know some more about your mom and her background?

WI: Well, my mother was born in San Francisco.

KL: What was her name?

WI: Toshiko Shigio. And Grace, I think, was her middle name. It was, again, never substantiated with me, everyone called her Toshiko. Once in a while, someone would say, "Grace," oh, I guess that's my mother. [Laughs] So she was born in San Francisco, went to school in San Francisco, she's strictly a local girl, San Francisco girl. Her parents also migrated to the States. I'm not, again, too sure what ken, or what area from Japan, but my three uncles and an aunt, and then my mother, were all born in the U.S., so they were Niseis. And virtually we all went to the same camp, Topaz.

KL: What did your mom tell you about her childhood or her young adult years in San Francisco?

WI: You know, there again is, it's almost embarrassing that I don't know that much about my family. My uncle did write out sort of a family record that he investigated. Because right before the war ended, he was in the U.S. military, and he spoke Japanese and wrote Japanese. So when the war ended, he was part of the occupation force that went over. So he was able to trace a lot of his family. And also, because of my grandparents being in the Hiroshima area where the bomb fell, we lost total communication with them. Every birthday I used to get a little Japanese toy and all that, and of course, during the war, it all came to a screeching halt. And after hearing about the atomic bomb, we sort of feared the worst. So my uncle went and investigated and found out that they did survive the war. But whether they were hurt, wounded, whatever, I never really got the story. So, yeah, it is unfortunate that my knowledge of my family background is so sketchy.

KL: Those were your dad's parents, right?

WI: Yes, yes.

KL: Did you ever meet them in person?

WI: Never did, never did. And uncles came, uncles and cousins also came from Hawaii, and they settled up in Canada. So on a few occasions they would come down to San Francisco for a visit, but I never really got to know them that well.

KL: Where were they in Canada?

WI: I think on the West Coast side, Vancouver. But again, it's kind of sketchy. Now, Robert Ito, who is a movie actor, he used to be in Quincy way back then, and one of the few Japanese American actors that had prominent roles, supposedly a cousin of mine, a first cousin. And so one day at Hanna-Barbera we were doing a series called the Amazing Chan Clan based on the Charlie Chan show. And at that time the network says, "If we're going to do voiceover for cartoons, we don't want white actors imitating Asians or blacks like an Amos and Andy. So they insisted on having real Asian actors doing the voices. So there was a whole slew of voice actors in the lobby, and I went down and said hello to them and Robert Ito was there. So we started exchanging some knowledge of our family, and certain things coincided. I said, "Well, I guess we're first cousins." But again, that was never substantiated. And recently -- well, maybe a couple years ago, I went on Facebook hoping to reconnect, but nothing happened. So that's about all I know about the Ito side that went to Canada.

KL: That's interesting that they, did they go back to, those aunts and uncles of yours, your dad's siblings, did they go to Japan ever or do you think they went straight to Canada?

WI: I think they came from Hawaii to Canada.

KL: Who was your uncle who you said was in the occupation? What was his name?

WI: Matao Shigio, Mat Shigio, S-H-I-G-I-O. And so he was the right age at that time to be in the military. And the day of December 7th, I remember quite vividly.

KL: Let's back up a little bit though, because I do want to hear a little bit more of your memories of your childhood.

WI: Oh, okay.

KL: What year were your born?

WI: 1934.

KL: Okay. And you have a sibling, right?

WI: My sister Nancy.

KL: What is her name?

WI: Nancy Katsuko, now Takeshita, Takeshita. She was five years younger.

KL: It's like me and my brother, but I was the older one.

WI: Oh, okay.

KL: So she was born in '39?

WI: Yes, uh-huh.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2013 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.