<Begin Segment 13>

MK: What did you think when you heard about Pearl Harbor?

RM: All the Japanese people got so excited, saying "We did it!" How foolish. There was a play performed by a group from Seattle on that day. We went to see the play. We heard frequent paging calling for Mr. So and So to ask him to come to the front desk because someone was waiting for him. They got detained there. Police took them somewhere, I guess. They seemed to belong to some sort of Japanese organization. They didn't do anything, but we found out later, on the following day, that they got the names off the organization list. Police came over to the play and paged people to come to the front desk to meet someone. They got detained and didn't come back for a while. We were surprised.

MK: Was that after the Pearl Harbor bombing?

RM: Yes, after the bombing. That was probably on the following night. People from Seattle had a hard time going back because the bombing took place in Pearl Harbor. We didn't take a radio when we went to the camp, but some people did. They were listening to the radio and announced Japan's victory, running among the sections and saying, "We won, we won." They were trying to get the spirit going. It was all lies. [Laughs] Yes.

MK: Did you have to sell your belongings like furniture when you went to the assembly center?

RM: No, not really. We didn't have much and didn't know. We left radios and guns with the police. There was a "ten-cents" store, and we bought metal cups and trays and packed as much as we could to go to the camp. We were told that there will be military blankets and beds. We packed blankets and as much as we could pack though.

MK: Men had to stuff straw when you got to the assembly center, didn't they?

RM: I don't know. Oh, you mean the bed mattresses. They might have. That was just an awful place. [Laughs] There was a roof, but no floor to ceiling walls. We could hear what the family next door was talking about. It was an individual room, but no privacy at the assembly center.

MK: You have meals at the cafeteria, right?

RM: Yes, yes.

MK: Did children eat with their friends?

RM: No. Adults and children all ate together.

MK: What did you do during the day?

RM: We had nothing to do and had a hard time. [Laughs] We talked about our experience to each other. Some new people came in occasionally. The assembly center was a busy place. We went to Idaho from there by train.

MK: To Minidoka.

RM: Yes. People from Seattle were already there when we got to Minidoka.

MK: You spent a summer at the assembly center, didn't you?

RM: Yes, we did. It was very hot. Yes.

MK: You had a lot of flies there.

RM: [Laughs] We did. The structure was for keeping animals. What a horrible place.

MK: But they fed you.

RM: Yes, yes. They did.

MK: Did you have rice?

RM: We did, we did. We always had rice, fish and meat. Government took good care of the food. Looking back, people in Japan had a hard time because of the food shortages, and those brides talked about it. We had food provided. They took care of children too. They also provided milk. They took a good care of the food there.

MK: On the way to Minidoka on the train...

RM: Yes.

MK: ...you were not allowed to open the windows?

RM: That's right. That's right.

MK: Was it hot on the train?

RM: Not really. It was not hot enough to make us sweaty. Everyone was anxious and wondering where they were taking us.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.