Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Roy Murakami Interview
Narrator: Roy Murakami
Interviewer: Richard Potashin
Location: North Hollywood, California
Date: January 8, 2009
Densho ID: denshovh-mroy_3-01-0024

<Begin Segment 24>

RP: Who was the architect or the person who actually designed the dojo building?

RM: You know, I don't know. He's from Japan. I saw, I know he's in the picture when the building is built. He's in that picture. But I can't remember his name.

RP: He was a carpenter?

RM: Carpenter, master carpenter.

RP: In the camp?

RM: Yeah.

RP: He designed the structure?

RM: Structure and he put it up, helped put it up. And then it used to be engineers from the army would come and look at it because they were amazed at how in the hell they put this roof on and then there's no posts in there, in the middle, you know. It's all on the outside. And he didn't use any nails like that. So...

KP: Do you know if he built anything else in camp?

RM: I don't know. He might have. He was a carpenter so he could have done a lot. He's probably gone now.

RP So your father assumed the role as, as the head sensei, head instructor of the judo...

RM: Yeah, because he had a rank, too.

RP: What was his rank at that time?

RM: At that time, fifth.

RP: Fifth degree black belt.

RM: Uh-huh.

RP: And who are his assistant instructors?

RM: Yeah, Tashima, Shig Tashima. I think he was fourth degree. And what the heck was his name? I can't remember them always. Takamatsu. Takamatsu is, was about fourth.

RP: And then later on another gentleman showed up who had been interned. Nagano?

RM: Nagano.

RP: Do you, you know you had some relationships with these guys. I mean, you knew them, didn't you?

RM: Yeah.

RP: Can you kind of share a little bit about each one of those men? A personality or...

RM: Ruled fairly. They did the bidding, is whoever was wrong, they were ready to, they helped out quite a bit. It's like establishing a peace committee. They were head of that. And the rest of them were all judo white, black belts too.

RP: Yuudansha?

RM: Yuudansha.

RP: There was, you had quite a few yuudansha in the, at the dojo.

RM: There were over a hundred.

RP: A hundred?

RM: Uh-huh. Then there's over three hundred students, I think.

RP: And so yuudansha would have their own exhibitions.

RM: Uh-uh.

RP: No?

RM: They all worked together.

RP: Oh, I mean, yeah, there would be a black belt tournament...

RM: Yeah, they would have fights together, I mean, you know, battle together. Black belt, brown belt, all of the way down.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.