<Begin Segment 8>

LT: Let's transition and talk about relations between the United States and Japan. Did your family talk about the Japanese-United States relationship?

GT: Well, you know, I suppose if Dad was alive, we would have, but Dad passed in 1934, the war came on in '41, so it was, after Dad died, the war came on, and I know my mom never talked about it. And as far as we were concerned, we couldn't believe that they would do that.

LT: You're talking about the bombing of Pearl Harbor?

GT: Yes, excuse me.

LT: Can you talk about where you were, how you found out about the bombing and what happened?

GT: Well, at that time, I think it came over the radio. Yeah, the minute it happened, it came over the radio, and my mom never talked about it. I think she was just about devastated as we were that she couldn't believe what she was hearing. And I myself felt too that it was a sneaky thing to do. I think there was lots of, there was much hatred as to the way the war started. I think if the war started like a normal thing where you'd go after each other, do this to each other, then it gets a little more serious, but this is overnight. Attacked Pearl Harbor, and the devastation they caused and the people that died in there, it was hard to believe. But I myself, I had no feeling for Japan at that time, I just thought that they were traitors and that we were, they pulled a sneak attack on us. I felt just like a Caucasian would, just devastated. But Mom never talked about it.

LT: Were there repercussions for your family?

GT: Yes, there was, there was quite a bit. I do know that we didn't talk about it, but I do know that the market across from the Hillsboro, Mom moved to Portland, right across from where Montgomery Ward is, or was. I think it's owned by the Naito brothers right now, but we had a market there. And it was no, we weren't getting rich there, but we at least survived it. When the war came on, the business just absolutely come to a screeching halt, just absolutely, we lost everything. I mean, there was no more trade with the Caucasians, they avoided us like the plague, which it should have been. But that's where it hurt the most. But after the war (started), there was a lot of other restrictions, other things we had to do. So we didn't worry about the business, the market, because we were all rounded up, taken to assembly centers, so we didn't think much about losing the market because we had so many people doing other things that were worse than what we had to go through.

LT: So you talked about the restrictions. Can you be specific about how you were restricted after Pearl Harbor?

GT: Yeah, right after the war started, they put restrictions on it real quick. I do remember you had to be in by eight o'clock at night, and you could not be more than, I think it was eight miles from your residence, not to be, ever be farther than eight miles from your residence. Those two I do know, and be in by eight o'clock. And I do remember those are the two toughest ones, about took care of most everything.

LT: You mentioned that customers avoided your market. What about personal interactions? How did they treat you?

GT: Well, being the Japanese, they didn't come out, but we were... I don't know if they just come right out and show it, but they sure didn't love us, I'll tell you that, because they looked at us very suspicious-like, for anything we did. I do know that we had to go into town, get registered, do this and do that, they would give us a number. They acted really quick to get it done just as fast as possible. [Interruption] But we were there for, we had to be to sign up, get registered, and get ready to be moved out as quick as possible. So that's where all these restrictions come into play, that, "Be in by eight o'clock, don't get too far away from home," and they were working as fast as they possibly could.

LT: Do you remember specifically going to register, and where did you go, and what do you remember about the process?

GT: I do know that it was right downtown of Portland. I can't remember whereabouts, but it would be in the very busiest part of town, could have been on Broadway or something like that, but I do know that that's where we had to register. I don't know exactly the location, but I do know it was a very busy part of town.

[Interruption]

LT: You said that you lost your market. Did you own your market?

GT: No. The lot, everything was leased, rented, and the building itself, there wasn't hardly much of a building, it was kind of a stand-like thing. So there was not much there to be lost. And everything was rented out, so there was nothing that we owned.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2013 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.