Densho Digital Archive - Roy Murakami Interview (denshovh-mroy

<Begin Segment 35>

KP: Can I ask a couple questions? So you, most of your San Fernando folks went into Blocks 15, 16, 17?

RM: Fifteen, 16... 14, 15, 16, 17. I don't know if they went to 18 or not.

KP: So you ended up in Block 4 with people from Bainbridge Island, correct?

RM: No, 3 is Bainbridge.

KP: Okay, just 3...

RP: Who was in 4?

KP: Who was in 4?

RM: They were mixed up from Orange County and... let's see, Orange County and Los Angeles. I think mostly Los Angeles. Yeah.

KP: But then of course right next door to you, you had Blocks 9 and 10, the Terminal Islanders.

RM: Yeah.

KP: How did... we've heard stories about people from Terminal Island.

RM: [Laughs]

KP: How did you...

RM: Yogores, they used to call them. They were all right. After we got settled down, toward the end of Manzanar I used to go around and talk to them. Because most of my guys went to Tule over in 16. The younger guys went with their families so they were in Tule.

RP: No-nos.

RM: So, I went over there and we talked to them and they were nice guys.

RP: Then your father had connections through Wakayama with those Terminal Island...

RM: Yeah, they didn't talk to him. There was a guy there named Tani, Mr. Tani, he's in the book. He was sort of like their boss, you know. And he, he talked to him. We used to have a lot of fun there. I know they used to call 'em yogores. They're not bad. Older guys maybe because trouble once in a while. But they, they went to dances and they looked out for the judo, judo guys were there so they didn't make much trouble. I think one time one of the guys got real drunk or something and broke in one of the windows and they caught him. And they let him go but, like I said, like Tani, I think, Tani, Mr. Tani, came and apologized you know, that kind. So, anyway...

RP: And he was, Tani was kinda the guardian of... looked over.

RM: Yeah, he, all over those San Pedro bunch and Terminal Island.

RP: Wild bunch. Yeah, yeah.

RM: They were, they were, they got good stories. How they had to get out of the islands. Twenty-four hours.

RP: Actually it was more than that. It was, it was forty-eight hours.

RM: Was it forty-eight?

RP: Yeah.

RM: Oh. They had to get out, sell everything.

RP: Maybe they had more compassion than you think. So your father remained the superintendent or assistant superintendent of all these different divisions?

RM: Yeah.

RP: Right to the time that, that you left camp?

RM: To the time that we could get out, yeah.

RP: Uh-huh. How about... and you, you continued judo throughout the time that you were in Manzanar?

RM: Yeah.

RP: You, you were...

RM: Worked out.

RP: Worked out and trained all that time?

RM: Yeah.