Issei: A Quality for Survival

Speaker 1: I made up my mind to come to America. And this, as a child, I boasted to my playmates that I was going to America. All my preparations done, I made ready to leave.

Speaker 2: Right after the Russo-Japan war, prices in Japan were so high I could hardly make a living. It was then I thought about coming to America.

Speaker 3: I was a picture bride. I came alone to America. Those who were picture brides were a hardier lot, because we had to come on our own.

Speaker 4: It was not person to person, it was an arranged marriage, but I thought that somehow, it would come out all right.

Richard Okabe: The Issei, the first generation of Japanese to come to America, came by many routes. Some came directly to the mainland. Others came by way of Hawaii, Mexico, and Canada. Most came in legally. Others were stowaways or had jumped ship. However they entered, all, once here, endured many hardships. Some they expected; some they could not have imagined. Who were these Issei? How did they live? What helped them to survive?

Speaker 6: 私がシアトルにまいりまして日本から来たもんですから白人のレイディが私をデパートメントストアへ連れていってくださいました。そして色んな物を買いまして... 00:02:00I arrived in Seattle with my Japanese clothes on, so an American lady took me to a department store and bought me some American clothes. She showed me hats which were in a showcase, the most expensive in the store. We bought some things like a corset. Then the lady left me, and I had no idea how to put it on. I finally came to the conclusion that this should be put on as undergarments, so I did this. まあ、そういう風にして用意致しました。 そしてずっと、あのー、ロスアンゼルスに着きまして, まあ、マイハズバンドは、あのー、日本人のアソシエーションで働いておりましたから... We arrived in Los Angeles, and since my husband was working for the Japanese Association, I stayed home most of the time. When any white people came to my house, I was scared, so I hid in the bedroom, because I didn't understand.

Speaker 7: 私がアメリカに来た時は最初に来た時は、１５の時だったんですよ。「inaudible」百姓しておったので..... I came to the United States when I was 15 years old. My father was a farmer. I helped my father. I hoed, weeded, and hitched the horses. それからカラメを出したり, 馬のけつをたたいて、それからプラウする。色々なことをオールデイして... We didn't have any enjoyment. There was no time to go to town. I worked all the weekdays, and on Saturday I washed clothes. そういう具合で、別に何という楽しみもう nothing。毎日毎日を暮らしました。

Speaker 8: When I went to Wyoming, where my father worked in the mining, and people in the camp advised me to go to school boy, if I want to improve my 00:04:00English. So I find a place where I can work as school boy. There, the lady of the house brought me a broom. Say, "This is broom." And I said, "Broom." And another time, she brought me a dish. She said, "This is dish." And I said, "Dish." That's how it, I start learning English.

Richard Okabe: Much of the Issei's early life in America was transient. In their effort to stay alive and plant solid roots, they struggled daily with a new language, new ways, places, and work.

Speaker 9: ギャングでね。ウッドギャングｄです--オレゴンで。自分にはコールもなしオイルもないでしょう。[inaudible] 00:05:00その仕事は私は二年やりました。それはおもしろいです。 In Oregon, there was neither coal nor oil. The trains were wood burning, and we worked in wood gangs. I did this work for two years. It was kind of fun. We would load and unload the wood from cars to clear waterways. --きれいな水を--きれいな水をそこにおろしたり積んだりする仕事。

Speaker 4: We lived in a lumber camp. We had a group life. It was 52 years ago. There were 60 to 100 people in the group. My husband worked day and night as 00:06:00foreman and manager of the camp.

Speaker 2: The reason many Japanese became farmers was that they did not need to speak English. The produce is the only thing you can sell without going into a lot of talk.

Speaker 10: The company shipped lettuce. They had a packing house and they put me in there. There were about 30 young whites. One of them called me Jap, so I knocked the hell out of him. I almost killed him. I went to the office, got money, and took off for California.

Speaker 11: I did domestic live-in work, and sent money to Japan for my children's living and education. I could not take care of children and go to work, see, so my mother said that she would take care of my children. They pay only 25 cents an hour that time. I don't mind working hard, because I get used to it.

Speaker 3: I didn't understand this country. Nobody helped me. My husband is an 00:07:00honest, nice man, but he got a drinking problem, and got to play games. Also, we had hard times, because my husband is 25 years older than I am.

Speaker 11: My impression of America was that it was really lonely here. If I were blessed materially, I wouldn't have felt so much loneliness. Some came here as picture brides. Husbands didn't always reveal their true economic situation in the United States. When a bride came here, she was really disappointed about her marriage. There were many people who were like that.

Speaker 3: Yes, when we first came to America, we were going back to Japan. Most Issei thought like that, but we eventually all stayed here.

Speaker 12: ３時の朝？ラジオをかけたところがパールハーバーのアタックを聞いたので... 00:08:00It was on Sunday December 7th. My children were at home. We heard over the radio that Pearl Harbor was attacked. That was on Sunday, so that I had to go to the temple. It was around noon. I had to use transfer to get there. As soon as I got on the streetcar, people said, "Jap, Jap." I transferred to another streetcar. People looked at me and said, "Jap, Jap." I was scared. People at the temple were all so frightened, and finished the service quickly, and everybody went home. On the way home, people called us, "Jap, Jap." That night, the priest of the temple was arrested. ...そしてあの帰ってきました．その後でまあ町会長さんが連れられて行ったって聞きました。

Speaker 3: 私のところでクリーニング屋をやっていましたので... We had 00:09:00a cleaning store on the West Side, and we had to take a streetcar to get there. It was a good location, and we had many good customers. They were Germans and Italians. But after the war started, they came only once or twice. They said, "You are good people, but we cannot continue to bring in our business anymore, so don't feel badly towards us." Then the evacuation became definite, and we had to close up our business, so we decided to sell. So we put up a sign giving our business away for $100 or $200. So I can't remember the exact amount, but we practically gave it away for $100 or $150. どうしても売れません。それだから、まあ、いっその事, 00:10:00捨ててもあれだから、幾円でも買ってもらうように、１００円か２００円書いてショーウィンドウに貼っておきました。そしたら１００円だったか１５０円だったか本当に捨てるくらいなプライスで 買ってもらいまして、それで片づけました。

Speaker 13: アーミーのオフィサーが二人きまして、私どもの家族を... Two Army officers came, took us to the city jail. My wife was taken upstairs, and my two children and I were taken and put into a small cell in the basement. My children, the oldest was nine, and the younger was five, and they have always believed that jail was for those who committed a crime. They kept asking me why we were being put into jail. It was very difficult to try to make them understand. ...はいる所だと言うことを思っておるもんですから。自分たちはそのー何にも悪いから悪いこともしないし、又、罪もないのにどうしてこんなジェールにその入れられたのかということを私は聞きまして、自分でその子供に対して弁解するのに非常に当惑し苦しんだわけなんだ。

Speaker 2: In early May, we were gathered and let in trains. We didn't know where we go. We had only baggage. The train's curtains were down. We stopped at Los Angeles Station, but the curtains were still closed. We were worried that we might be killed.

Speaker 4: We took only what we could carry. Most of our things were discarded, and we carried one duffel bag, but that wasn't enough, so we took a suitcase 00:12:00too. I thought we are being taken somewhere to be shot. When we arrived at our destination, there was nothing but sagebrush with no houses.

Richard Okabe: The Issei and their children, some 110,000 West Coast Japanese, of which 70,000 were natural-born citizens and 40,000 were aliens, were put into 10 concentration camps scattered throughout the United States as far east as Arkansas.

Speaker 13: 私がキャンプにおります時、他のキャンプから... When we were in camp, I heard the next day that there were 200 people being brought in from another camp. When this group came in, there were two sick, elderly people. The group had already passed through the gate, and the two sick 00:13:00ones were wandering around outside the gate. They were shot by the guards, who claimed they were trying to escape. I heard this story the next day, after it happened. その二人は入れないもんだから、ゲートのところでうろうろしているのをガードがそのゲートを越して、逃げたから撃ったという話をあくる日聞いたんであります。

Speaker 14: キャンプに入りましてから私は本当にあの安心して... Since we'd been in camp, I had felt at ease. Bringing up four children was a terrible strain on me, clothing them and feeding them, and I worked Saturdays and Sundays to do this. In camp, those who were used to do a more extravagant way of life, complained bitterly about the shortage of milk and the poor food, but I was thankful for being in camp. It was a good place for me to be in. ...足りないと言ってね。。もう文句をいうけれども、私はもう貧乏していましたからもうとても感謝でした。それから、うちの主人があのこの戦争... 00:14:00Also, I'm thankful that my husband, who died before the war, did not have to live to see this kind of existence.

Speaker 4: Camp was not good for the children's education. Family life is gone, just buildings, and children go to mess hall and eat and go out with friends, not come home.

Richard Okabe: Three years of camp life took its toll on the age-old Japanese family structure. Issei men's authority as breadwinners and central decision-makers were taken over by the administration. The Issei had no voice in governing camp life, since they were not citizens. By administrative directive, community leadership passed from the Issei to their sons. With the yes/no issue 00:15:00of national allegiance, family unity was further destroyed.

Speaker 15: このイエス、ノーを決めるようになってあの... When the yes/no controversy came up, there were many headaches over this decision. Shall we stay in America, or go back to Japan? My husband would hear rumors about Japan losing or winning the war. I had already decided to stay here, regardless of who won the war, since my children were here. I asked the children what their decision was. They said they would remain here. My husband couldn't go back to Japan by himself, so he stayed here, and so he conceded to us.

Richard Okabe: All those citizens and non-citizens who said "no" to service in the United States Army, and "no" to unqualified allegiance to the United States, 00:16:00were sent to a maximum security camp at Tule Lake to await expatriation to Japan. Then, what must have been one of the more ironic events of that wartime experience took place. At the same time that their families could not be trusted outside barbed wire, young Japanese American men were being inducted and trusted to fight in the United States Army.

Speaker 16: I had to leave the children and my wife. My wife was still young at the time. I didn't want to go. I really didn't want to. Even after I was drafted, I tried not to go overseas. When I had the interview, I... It was about 30 years ago, but I still remember clearly the question. "Do you want to go to Japan?" I said, clearly, "No, I don't want to go there, where my parents is 00:17:00living. I will go any other place."

Speaker 17: My son, Perry, said that, "I'm going to be 21 next month, but I'm not going to war, because my father and mother's country and my country fight. I don't want to kill any, both, either one nation, so I may have to go to jail, Mother. Is that be all right?" When I went back to my room, I cried loud. I'm so sorry, but couldn't help it.

Speaker 18: キャンプにフォーフォーセコンドが組織されました時に親たちは大変に心配しました... When the 442nd was organized in camp, the parents were worried and saddened by 00:18:00it all. The reason was that an all-Japanese unit would probably be sent to the front line. The reasoning was that in World War I, an all-Negro outfit was sent as front cover, and they were all killed. This is what we had been told. So my boy was drafted into the army. ...全部戦死したという噂を聞いおるからでありました。それからうちの息子も出征することになりまして、あの寒い雪の中にわたくしもミニドカのゲートの外まで送って参りました。。その時には... In heavy snow in Minidoka, I went with him to the outskirts of the camp to say goodbye. When I thought that perhaps I may never see his face again, my eyes would fill with tears. When I would go to the mess hall and people would inquire 00:19:00about him, my tears would start all over again. I would take my plate to the garbage can and throw all the food away, and I went home.

Richard Okabe: From mid-1944 until March of 1946, one by one, the camps began to close, and the Japanese began to relocate.

Speaker 7: 私はキャンプにいましてそれから... I came to Chicago in 1943. We couldn't go back to West Coast eight states, but if we got jobs outside of military zone, we could get out of camp. I was in Manzanar, and the government sent us to Reno by bus. There was restroom in a pool hall. When I went to the restroom, I saw a sign, "Jap hunting around here." I felt badly. Nothing happened there. それからバスに乗って、こっち...もう普通の人で、アウトサイドと同じように、こっちに来たわけですよ。それでところどころでご飯食べたり、それからバスの止まるところでね止まるんですよ。あの便所するに止まって、便所にいったら、それはなんかプールホールだった。それからこう見たら、あんた"Jap 00:20:00Hunting around Here."とゆうて書いてある。気持ち悪いこと書いてある。それで便所してきて、何もことはなかったですよ。それから又バスであの何、えー、シカゴの方へ来る途中にもう一所止まって、又便所に行きましたら今度若いボーイがねえ... Then we stopped another restroom. When I was urinating in the restroom, there 00:21:00was a young boy who had a knife. He hold the knife as though he was going to attack me. When I was young, I did judo, and I was 41-year-old at that time, so it didn't scare me. 私は若い時に柔道をやって、まだその自分にも来た時は四十--四十一だった。四十一だっ--四十になったんです。それで、その子供はなんでナイフで来てもそんなに怖いことはなかったから便所すましたんですよ。

Rev. Gyodo Kono: ちょっと今から考えてみると大変、うーん、面白いことなんですけど1944-- It was a really strange thing, when I look back at that time in August 1944. We held the first Obon service in the South Side in Chicago. That was a special service, so that about 350 young Buddhists attended the service. In the middle of the service, FBI and policemen came up and asked me what was happening here. 00:22:00I explained that this was a religious service, so they went out with relief, but they said that the neighbors might be wondering what was happening, so when you go out from the building, don't go out at one time, just five or six at one time. We used the 55th L station, but it took a long time for all 350 people to leave the station and go home. I still remember that. ...利用しておったのですけれどもが皆の人たちが礼拝場からかえってしまうまでには大変長い時間がかかった事を今でも覚えています。

Richard Okabe: Little by little, the Issei began to rebuild their lives. Still, they never quite recovered their pre-war authority. The camps had changed Japanese life. During the '50s and '60s, the Issei moved to the sidelines as 00:23:00their children established families, homes, and careers, pursuing dreams that took them further away from parent and past values. The Issei now mark their years by the growth of their grandchildren, and the passing of other Issei friends. In their final years, they continue with dignity and self-respect, doing for themselves and others the best they can.

Speaker 7: Every one of my friends, one by one, is dying off, and I'm grateful for my day-to-day life, and happy for my time is limited. Happiness is a daily thing. You can't think in terms of later, later. It is here and now.

Speaker 20: I tried my best. Come out not so good, but I tried my best, and that's all I can do. That's true, so I don't worry about anything. Have a good lunch at a restaurant, have a good meal, so enjoy life now.

Speaker 4: I'm so happy that I can work and support myself. I feel free. The 00:25:00kids are happy and I'm happy.

Speaker 2: The hard times of dango jiru are over. Since I came to Chicago, there is no one who has had a happier life than I had. Having a long life can be very fortunate experience, but I am praying to God to open up the gate of death for me. It isn't good to outlive your usefulness.

Speaker 21: My daughter said, "Mother, if you feel lonesome, and you want with us, come over anytime. We can take care of you." But my idea is, as long as my two feet and hand are all right, I like to be independent. Somehow, I made it, you know, to the end.

Speaker 22: I have a grandson, and I have enjoyed watching him grow up. My 00:27:00mother always told me, "You have to suffer to learn to appreciate the good things in life." I find this to be very true. There's a song which goes like this, "You cook rice three times a day. Sometimes it's too soft. Some days it's hard. Other times, it's just right." That's the way life is, just like the song.