<Begin Segment 1>

RP: This is an oral history for the Manzanar National Historic Site, and today we're talking with Tak Minato. Our interview is taking place at his residence located at 15021 Budlong Street in Gardena, California. The date of the interview is Thursday, December 4, 2008. And the interviewer is Richard Potashin and our videographer this morning is Kirk Peterson. We're gonna be talking with Tak about his experiences as an internee at the Manzanar War Relocation Center during World War II. Also, additionally, his relocation to Chicago and his growing up years at Terminal Island in California. This interview will be archived in the Park's library and Tak, do I have permission to continue our interview?

TM: [Nods].

RP: Thank you very much. It's nice to finally sit down and formally talk.

TM: Oh, yes.

[Interruption]

RP: We're gonna start a little bit with your family background, talking about your mother and father and some of your siblings. We want to start with you. What was your birth date?

TM: June 13, 1922.

RP: And where were you born?

TM: Park City, Utah.

RP: And do you remember your given name at birth?

TM: Yeah. Takeshi.

RP: Can you spell that for us?

TM: T-A-K-E-S-H-I.

RP: Did you also have an English name?

TM: That... I have a, I guess it's a nickname I put on later on. Bob.

RP: You gave yourself that nickname?

TM: Yes.

RP: But usually people have, have referred to you as Tak?

TM: Yeah, yeah.

RP: T-A-K.

TM: T-A-K, yeah. Uh-huh.

RP: Tak, do you remember if you were born at home or, in Park City were you born at home with a midwife or...

TM: No, my dad delivered me.

RP: Your dad did?

TM: [Laughs] There was nobody around in Park City, just my father and mother. And there were quite a few laborer, the Spanish laborer, and that's one of the reasons why when I was four years old and my sister was five and my brother was two years old, we came to California. Because my father felt that there were no chance of educating the kids.

RP: And Park City was a, part of it was a railroad community, wasn't it?

TM: Right. And he worked for the railroad, yeah.

RP: Your father worked for the railroad?

TM: Yeah.

RP: Do you remember what railroad it was?

TM: Let's see, Pacific...

RP: Union Pacific?

TM: I think so.

RP: We, was he a section-hand or do you remember what he did?

TM: Yeah, yeah, he was a section foreman is what, is what they call 'em, yeah.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright (c) 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.