Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Midori Suzuki - Sanzui A. Takaha Interview
Narrators: Midori Suzuki, Sanzui A. Takaha
Interviewer: Kristen Luetkemeier
Location: Millbrae, California
Date: July 13, 2015
Densho ID: denshovh-smidori_g-01-0024

<Begin Segment 24>

KL: Something else that happened around the same time as all the debates about the questionnaire was that there was a man who was shot in Topaz. His name was James Wakasa. Do you remember hearing about it?

ST: Was that the one that was too close to the fence?

MS: Yeah.

KL: There were a lot, actually, there were several times where the MPs fired close to people who were too close to the fence or whatever. What did you hear about that?

MS: We know only about the one that got killed.

ST: Well, he was pretty deaf, you know. Probably didn't even hear the sentry, and they shot him.

MS: Okay, the story that I heard, it was that they had an internal, a Japanese team that went out to check the area, and they said that it appeared that he had been shot inside, and they could see drag marks.

ST: Oh, yeah?

MS: Yeah. And they thought that the guy panicked and shot him, and then dragged him over to the fence, because he said that he was trying to escape. But apparently he was walking his dog at the time. That, again, was what I heard Mom say.

ST: Oh, yeah?

MS: Yeah. They apparently had a committee go out to check the area, so they had Japanese CSIs out there checking it out. [Laughs]

KL: What did you guys think when you heard about that?

MS: Don't go by the fence. [Laughs]

KL: That's reasonable. What about you, Sat?

ST: I didn't think too much about anything.

KL: Did you ever get any warnings about the fence or about the guard towers? Was it part of your daily thinking at Topaz, or was it just off in the periphery?

ST: Never even thought about it, you know.

MS: We knew they were there.

ST: Yeah.

MS: There were no instructions about not going too close to the fence or anything. So there was no one against it that I... I don't think we even thought about the fence issue.

KL: When you heard about the shooting?

MS: Yeah.

KL: Related to the military question, I read that Ben Kuroki came to visit Topaz. Did you see him or what do you remember about conversation about his visit?

MS: Well, I knew it was kind of like a PR visit, like, hey, look at me, you guys can join me. That was kind of my feeling.

KL: What did you think, what was your impression of Ben Kuroki as a teenage girl?

MS: I was just... not much of anything other than I figured it was just a PR visit.

KL: I guess you weren't quite a teenager either, sorry, you were a little younger. What did you think, Sat? Did you hear about him coming or seeing him?

ST: I heard some things about it, but didn't think much of him.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 2015 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.