<Begin Segment 11>

VO: So as the war ended, how did you, were you released to go home pretty early?

EO: I think so. The poor people from Peru, they had nowhere to go, because Peru wouldn't take them back. So if they had relatives in the United States, then they could leave, go with the relatives. In fact, one of my cousins on my husband's side married a girl from Peru, because they went to Hawaii. They had relatives in Hawaii. But I think we were released fairly early.

VO: And was it clear you would go back to Seattle?

EO: Seattle, very definitely.

VO: Because you had your house...

EO: Because people, some of the members were already back there, and this one particular family, I knew he helped finance our family.

VO: To bring you back?

EO: Yeah, to get us started.

VO: Well, tell us about coming back to your home and the temple, church.

EO: Yeah, I can remember that slow train ride, very slow. I guess we were able to get back into the house that we originally lived in. And the temple was still being occupied by the government. They took over to use it as a training school for maritime commission, merchant marines, and so we couldn't go back into the temple. So they rented the kendo hall, which is now the veterans' hall, and we held services there for quite a while.

VO: Well, that church that the government took over was very new.

EO: Yes, they had just finished building it in October, I think, because I can remember the dedication was in November.

VO: 1941?

EO: Yeah, uh-huh. So it was brand new when the government took it over.

VO: And what about your family's possessions?

EO: Yes, the church was used as a storage for many of the Japanese families, and they brought their things there to store. But when the government took it over, they transferred all that to some other warehouse. And at that time, people lost things. I can remember we lost some things.

VO: It must have been a comfort to know you were coming back to your old house.

EO: I think so, uh-huh.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.