Densho Digital Archive - Jim Tsujimura Interview (denshovh-tjim

<Begin Segment 8>

MR: And where did you go to medical school?

JT: On top of the hill then called University of Oregon Medical School.

MR: Can you talk about your medical school experience?

JT: Well, there really isn't too much to talk about except it was study, study, study. During that time, someone at the veteran's hospital, name was Dr. Worshafter, the chief of medicine there, he befriended me. In fact, he was like a second father to me. I worked for him throughout the medical school as a research assistant. Besides that, there was not much one could do because you had so much studying to do.

MR: What was the specialty?

JT: Well, you specialize after medical school, four years, and then one year of internship, then you can go into your specialty which was three additional years, and it was in ophthalmology.

MR: And that school, the ophthalmology school, was that in Oregon too?

JT: That was at Good Samaritan Hospital. They had opened a brand new program which became affiliated with the medical school. So that was offered to me, so I took it.

MR: Throughout this medical school career, where did you live?

JT: I lived on Southeast 53rd. And then later, a few years before I graduated, I moved to an apartment near the medical school which made it much easier.

MR: So you were busy study, study, studying, did you have any time for social outlets?

JT: Yes, I did. In fact, I may have spent a little bit too much time socializing. But it was tough, difficult, but was certainly worth it.

MR: So you graduated from medical school, your specialty school at what year?

JT: I graduated from medical school in 1960, '61 was my internship, and my residency, I completed it in 1964.

MR: And as you're maturing and looking around at the world, how did your feelings develop regarding the Japanese community? Were you still hesitant to be involved, or what happened with your thoughts there?

JT: Well, initially during high school days, I didn't want anything to do with Japanese. Somehow, that turned around. I guess I must have asked myself, "Who am I? Can I be anyone else with my Asian face?" No. Therefore, I began to turn around, 180 degrees, and wanted to do more and more for the Japanese community. Well, it was strange why I felt the way I did initially, maybe not strange to some sociologists coming back from camp and all. But later on, I just turned completely around.

MR: Do you have any idea what made that happen?

JT: Well, it was because I asked myself, "Who am I, who can I be, can I change my face, can I appear like an American?" No.

MR: So it wasn't anything external. It was --

JT: It was my feeling that if I'm Japanese, then I'll do everything that I can.

MR: And what, then what did you decide to do to make that difference?

JT: After my residency, I was pretty well tied up with work, working sixteen, eighteen, twenty-four hours a day as an intern resident for, at that time, no more than twenty-five cents an hour. Now, they're getting a little bit better pay than that. So I didn't really have time for anything else. It was only right immediately before finishing that I began to have more time to spend for other activities, community activities. I was married in 1964, my last year, a few months before I was through. But I turned more of my time towards the Japanese community immediately after that which was in the '60s.