<Begin Segment 6>

BH: How about you and your sister and your friends? How did you guys pass the time in camp?

AA: Oh, we used to just run around... let's see. Oh, we used to get, somehow we got movie magazines. We used to cut out pictures from movie magazines and paste them in a scrapbook. In fact, we even wrote to movie stars, Betty Grable and John Payne, they were popular, very, very popular at that time. And I remember writing to these movie stars and asking them for pictures. Otherwise we cut up some magazines and pasted them in notebooks. And I don't know, we were kind of too old for paper dolls. So that's the kind of things we used to do.

BH: And I understand sometimes on weekends there were movies in camp?

AA: Yes, there was. Mr. Kondo used to show movies in one of the rec. halls, and we used to see shows like Rin Tin Tin and Flash Gordon. And there were some others, too. Those were Saturdays, we could go on Saturdays.

BH: And did you have popcorn?

AA: Oh, yes. Well, we had pine nuts. We could buy pine nuts at the little stores they had. And the pine nuts were really, really cheap, you could get a bag for like ten cents. Now, pine nuts are so expensive. I haven't had any for, since I came out, I mean, after the war.

BH: In addition to going to school, I understand that there were some other activities that people could participate in, kids could learn dancing and things like that.

AA: Well, I happened to live in a block that the Japanese odori teacher lived, her name was Sato. And she lived in our block. And since my father wanted me to behave more like a lady, I started lessons. So I'm sure, once a week we had lessons at her place.

BH: So classical Japanese dance lessons?

AA: Classical Japanese dancing, yes. Yes, and they didn't have tapes in those days, music tapes, so she used to play the shamisen and teach us. So it must have been kind of difficult for her, too. It's a lot of work.

BH: Yes. And did you take any kimonos with you?

AA: I don't know. My dad must have sent for one or something, because I had a kimono. And we used to dance, every once in a while they had what they called a fukiyo sekai, and it was in different blocks because we went way up to the Seattle blocks and performed. They actually set up a stage in the mess hall and they used to have performances there. Yeah there was singing and dancing, they even had plays. So it was really interesting.

BH: Were you ever in any of the plays?

AA: Oh, yeah. I was in one play, I just had a little small part.

BH: And so you and the other children who were learning the dancing and the music, then you'd go to the other blocks and perform? Wow.

AA: And being that, like at New Year's time, the teacher lived in our block, so we would perform for our block.

BH: What were the meals like in camp?

AA: Well, I can't remember all of them. But I remember having ham, and then somebody told me later that it was tongue. But I said I couldn't tell the difference, so we must have had a very good cook. The meals were all pretty good. I think it all depended on who the cooks were, and if you were lucky and got some good cooks. We had (a) gentleman that used to own Fugetsu. It was a confectionery, omanju shop in Portland, and he was one of the cooks. And so we got special treats on special holidays, like New Year's.

BH: You were fortunate in that aspect. Did you ever think about why you and all those other Japanese Americans were in camp?

AA: Well, I was kind of awfully young to really wonder about this, but the older people would say things like it was to protect us. If we were on the outside, we might have, there might have been a lot of harm. So I really don't know if that's true. I think, in a way, too, now, that Roosevelt, who was the one that actually put us there by signing... what was it?

BH: Executive order.

AA: Executive order, he was afraid that it would be war over here. And so he wanted to put us someplace where we couldn't do any harm. But when you're a child, you don't really... you just go along with what you're, the parents have to do.

BH: Did your parents ever talk about the war?

AA: No, no.

BH: Why do you think that was?

AA: I don't know. My dad never really said anything, and Mom either.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.