<Begin Segment 7>

LT: So you attended school five days a week. When did you attend Japanese school?

SA: Like weekends, like Saturday.

LT: All day Saturday?

SA: Yeah, well, from nine to two or something like that.

LT: So why were you attending Japanese school?

SA: Well, folks wanted us to learn Japanese. And we used to have a Japanese school maybe once a week at somebody's home. Like I remember having the minister come over to our house once a week, depending on the month, you know. But we were a rebellious bunch, because on a nice day you could be out doing something else besides going to school.

LT: So did your Nihongo get pretty good?

SA: Huh?

LT: Did your Nihongo get pretty good?

SA: No, very basic. Hello and goodbye. [Laughs]

LT: Do you remember what the classes were like?

SA: Well, we had, like I say, a simple book, like you probably heard of it, like, "Saita, saita, sakura ga saita." [Laughs]

LT: What does that mean?

SA: What does that mean? Oh, it means the blossom is blossoming, cherry blossoms. You know, Japan was kind of well-known for cherry blossoms.

LT: Okay, well, it sounds like you learned that lesson well.

SA: Huh?

LT: It sounds like you learned that lesson well. Were there other things that you at the Japanese community hall downtown?

SA: Well, we used to put on a Christmas play. Reverend Inouye used to write it up for us.

LT: What was it about, and what did you play?

SA: Gosh, I don't know what we did. But I remember at the end, we were able to get candy. [Laughs]

LT: It sounds interesting. So it sounds like there were a number of community events at the Japanese community hall that were important to your family.

SA: Yeah. Like they used to have, like a farewell program for people who were being drafted.

LT: Do you remember about that, what happened?

SA: Well, they just, I don't know what kind of program it was really now, but it's kind of a farewell program, you know.

LT: Okay, okay. Let's talk about being Japanese American in your family. How did your parents talk to you about being Japanese?

SA: Oh, they used to always tell us, you know, about early 1941, say like... you know, in early '41, there was a lot of talk about possibility of war with Japan, because they had the embargo, U.S. had embargo on scrap metal shipment to Japan and so forth, but, oh, my folks kept telling us, "See, you kids are American, so there's no telling what would happen to us," because they were Japanese citizens. "So you must do your duty as Americans, whatever the country demanded, you do it." That's what they used to tell us all the time.

LT: And how did you feel about that?

SA: Good.

LT: Did that create worries for you because your parents were also saying that they were not citizens?

SA: They were...

LT: Your parents were also saying that they were not citizens?

SA: Yeah. Of course, they were unable to become citizens.

LT: Were there expectations that they had of you as a Nisei in America in terms of your behavior, in terms of how you studied, in terms of what you did?

SA: Well, I think what bothered me at that time was like when Min Yasui defied the curfew law. We were in enough trouble without going deeper in the hole, you know. But after a while, I thought it was something that was well-done. But at first, I was really against it myself.

LT: Now, can you talk a little bit more about that, because especially when Japan and the United States were not getting along, there was the possibility of war. How did that affect how the Issei behaved, and how did that affect how you and other Nisei portrayed yourselves?

SA: Oh, I don't know about before, but I know afterward, after Pearl Harbor, when my dad was first picked up by the FBI, I didn't go to school on Monday because of that. And later on, when I went to school, well, Tuesday, it was different. I mean, the Caucasian people were not too friendly, of course, I expected that. But a lot of Niseis were not friendly. Because my dad was picked up, and they figured, hey, that guy must have been a spy or something, you know, and they didn't want to associate with me. But it was different. Had discrimination from not only the Caucasian, but Nisei. I mean, that's what I felt. It ended up not being, but that's the way I felt.

LT: Sure. What did they say and what did they do?

SA: I don't think they said anything. It was just kind of a silent treatment, you know.

LT: Thank you.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.