Densho Digital Archive - Mary Iwasaki Interview (denshovh-imary

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LL: So you mentioned that, in the pre-interview, that you had taken a trip to Japan.

MI: When I was five, the first one, yeah.

LL: So did you go with your parents, both parents?

MI: I don't remember my dad coming with us, but I know my mom and my brother were with us. And I think it was a wrenching decision to come home to America because as I remember, I wanted to stay. And I had quite a scene at the railroad station when I realized that I was not going to see my grandmother anymore. I still remember that.

LL: So how old were you when you went?

MI: Five.

LL: And you, this grandmother that it sounds like you were quite fond of...

MI: I guess so.

LL: Was she on your mother's side of the family?

MI: Yes, she was on my mother's side.

LL: Did you visit with your father's side of the family as well?

MI: At that time, I did visit with them, but I couldn't remember who they were. And I guess I must not have been that close to them because I don't remember another woman, adult, being in that group. I'm sure there must have been, but I don't remember it.

LL: It sounds like you were quite attached to your grandmother. What was the reason for that?

MI: Well, I think like most grandparents, they just, we were very close, because I knew that they knew that we were going to be gone, that we were not going to be around very long. And I can't remember, and I can't tell you exactly whether we were there for three months or whether we were there for three weeks, I don't remember that. But yes, I was very close to her.

LL: What is your memory of her?

MI: That she was a very caring lady, and it was just fun being with her. So she must not have been too old. I mean, at least she could get around on her two feet, so she must have been fairly active. But I do regret to this day that I never went back.

LL: So when you traveled, how did you travel to get to where, to Kumamoto?

MI: Oh, at that time? Oh, I think we relied on my grandmother to get around, because I remember, I don't remember much about how we actually moved from place to place, because I know they, I'm sure they didn't have cars at that time.

LL: You mentioned the scene at the train station?

MI: Oh, yeah, that sticks in my mind, but I imagine that's the way we traveled if we went from place to place, you either go on the train or further, it would have to be by boat.

LL: Then that's how you went from America, from the United States to...

MI: Uh-huh.

LL: That must have been a very long trip for a young child.

MI: It was a long trip, period. I remembered my mother saying something, but it took a week to go from Portland to Japan.

LL: What are your memories of that trip? Do you have...

MI: I don't have any memories of that trip. I know that it was a long one, and I don't remember any particular... I should remember something about it, but I don't. I don't remember a thing about it. You'd think there'd be some hardships and all that, but I don't remember any of that.

LL: What was your first impression, if you can remember, when you landed, arrived in Japan?

MI: Japan? Well, I couldn't get over how everybody was talking Japanese and had no idea what they were talking about. But that was about the first impression I had. Because none of my relatives spoke English at all. And so somehow we were able to communicate within a few weeks, evidently.

LL: So you mentioned that you spoke Japanese at home. Did you find it different from the Japanese that was, that you were listening to in Japan?

MI: Not at that time. I did later on. Later on, the Japanese I heard in Japan from that particular ken was like a foreign language. So, but I have to equate that with the fact that we went to Japan much later, and that's when I had that impression. But it was different.