Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Yukiko Miyahara Interview
Narrator: Yukiko Miyahara
Interviewer: Kirk Peterson
Location: San Diego, California
Date: April 10, 2009
Densho ID: denshovh-myukiko_2-01-0011

<Begin Segment 11>

KP: So did Toshio work in Jerome when he finally...

YM: Yeah, he was a truck driver for, for the warehouse when they delivered food to all different blocks. He used to be the truck driver.

KP: And did your uncle work as well?

YM: No, my uncle never worked. He was already in his almost sixties, so he never worked. My aunt worked at a nursery, I mean, some kind of gardens for a while but...

KP: So, outside of raising your son and the work that your family was doing in camp, was, did you do anything for fun in camp or...

YM: We didn't have much time to have fun. Because everybody around you is either working or they're older people. So, you know, that's where Fred learned how to talk Japanese. 'Cause all the... my aunt went around with all the older ladies and he just listened and he learned. He never spoke English 'til we came out of camp and he was four. But he spoke good Japanese.

RP: Can I interrupt here a second?

KP: Uh-huh.

RP: You showed us a photograph of Fred in a, a sumo "diaper."

YM: Uh-huh.

RP: Can you tell us a little bit about that?

YM: Well, my husband used to do sumo and his best friend's son was a little bit older than him. So they had this children's thing so they made this and they put him on the mound but he was so bashful he came off before he did anything.

KP: [Holds up a photo] So that's Fred?

YM: Uh-huh. He's gonna kill me. [Laughs]

RP: The other question was, who took the photographs that you have here, Yuki?

YM: This one was taken by somebody that loaned us a camera that took this picture. And, so I don't know who took it.

RP: Do you know if cameras were allowed at that time in the camp?

YM: Well, if a soldier brought it in then it was okay.

KP: So by that time you were having soldiers come back to visit their families?

YM: Yes. Some friends... so I don't know who. Anyway, we had one, I have one picture of Fred. I didn't bring it out here but it was taken by... it was the first picture that was taken with our camera. It was when my uncle, when he died, see, they came and took pictures of him. And this man that came with the people from the funeral parlor, he showed me all these little pictures and I says, "You mean to tell me all these little kids died?" You know, he said, "No. But we could take pictures for you." So we had picture taken of Fred. And I, and I forgot to take that one out so I don't have it, but that was the first professional picture. I mean that, it was not really, you know, they did that on the sly. So, they took pictures of the dead person and then they took pictures of people. They took advantage of us, that's what, what I... so they said you have to order a dozen. So I said to my aunt, I says, "You know, why don't we just order half a dozen and use the other half to buy something to eat instead?" And then he says, "No, you have to buy a dozen. You can't buy six." I said, "Okay." So I had a dozen of the picture. But even then, you know, these people. then even if you died you get cheated out of something.

KP: So what else, anything else stand out in your mind about Jerome? The time that you spent in Jerome?

YM: No. No, not too much about Jerome.

KP: Where did your, where did your parents go?

YM: They were in Manzanar with (my brother and sister-in-law).

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.