Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Eiko Yamaichi Interview
Narrator: Eiko Yamaichi
Interviewers: Larisa Proulx, Kristen Luetkemeier
Location: San Jose, California
Date: July 15, 2015
Densho ID: denshovh-yeiko-01-0029

<Begin Segment 29>

KL: So we were talking about the museum, you mentioned passing things on to the next generation. Do you guys have kids or grandkids?

EY: Yeah, we have four children.

KL: Have you talked with them, or what are their thoughts about your wartime experiences?

EY: I don't think they're ready yet. So we're not talking about the museum to them yet. But I think the people who are involved right now, I think they would be the ones to carry it on.

KL: What do your kids think about your experiences at Heart Mountain and Tule Lake and Gila River and your having to leave their homes?

EY: We never discuss it. We have never discussed it.

KL: In the 1980s there was a movement for redress on a national level. Were you guys involved in that at all, or do you have any memories of those...

EY: We wanted to be involved, but because Jimi had a business and all his clients were all Caucasians, if he were to do that, we felt that his business would... because there were some people already who thought that making the noise that those who were involved... how should I put it? Was not necessary. "Why should you get it?" kind of an attitude. So I think both of us felt that we better not make any involvement in that, and we were supported in our own quiet way financially and everything, but we could not voice our opinion verbally because of that. Otherwise, I don't think we could have carried on our business because of that.

KL: How did it feel when you got the presidential apology letter and the check, or that it had been successful with the educational fund?

EY: Well, we were grateful for those who volunteered their time to make it happen, and we really appreciated their efforts. And on the other half, for me, I felt that it was too bad that our parents had passed on, 'cause they were the ones who should have gotten the money, not us. Although we did help in however way we tried, but both of us, his parents passed on and my parents passed on, so then next would be us, so we did get it. But financially it helped us in our life, so we were grateful for it. But really, it's the first generation should have had it. But the majority of them had passed on.

<End Segment 29> - Copyright © 2015 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.