One, Satsuki (10/28/2017)

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Anna Takada: 00:01 This is an interview with Satsuki Mei One as part of Alphawood Gallery Chicago Resettlement Experience Oral History Project. The oral history project is being conducted in line with the current exhibition, "Then They Came for Me: Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the Demise of Civil Liberties". Today is October 28th. Um, and we are recording at the Alphawood Gallery Oral History Studio. Uh, Mrs. One is being interviewed by Anna Takada of Alphawood Gallery. Um, so to start, can you just state your full name please?

Satsuki One: 00:36 See, see now I didn't hear clearly.

AT: 00:37 Your, your full name.

SO: 00:39 My full name. Okay. Satsuki Hayashi Mei- I just added that on because people had a hard time saying Satsuki- Mei One.

AT: 00:52 And uh, where and when were you born?

SO: 00:55 Where am I what?

AT: 00:57 Where and when were you born?

SO: 00:58 Oh, when was I born? My birthday? Okay. My birthday: May 2nd, 1928.

AT: 01:08 And where were you born?

SO: 01:10 In Marysville, California.

AT: 01:12 Marysville.

SO: 01:13 Mhm.

AT: 01:13 Can you, can you tell me about Marysville? What kind of town is that?

SO: 01:18 It was a little town, little, very little town. If it weren't for the war, I would've married a farmer or something, you know, I would have stayed there, never would have left there.

AT: 01:28 And, and what was it that your family did there?

SO: 01:31 My father had a grocery store, so.

AT: 01:34 And, um, your parents, did they, did they come from Japan?

SO: 01:40 Oh yes, oh yes. And uh, they settled in California, you know.

AT: 01:46 Where, where were they from?

SO: 01:49 From? Well, every time when somebody asks me that I got, I gotta think about it. But, um, uh, you're talking about the area or are you talking about the town or something?

AT: 02:04 Just the area, if you know.

SO: 02:06 Well, I would say near Kobe, in the country area. Yeah, they were all from the country.

AT: 02:18 And do you have any siblings?

SO: 02:20 Oh yes.

AT: 02:21 How many?

SO: 02:23 Well, there's six of us. One, my sis- one of my sisters passed on a few years ago, so there's five of us here.

AT: 02:32 And all, all sisters or?

SO: 02:35 All girls.

AT: 02:36 Oh wow. Where were you in the birth order?

SO: 02:39 I was uh, third. Third one.

AT: 02:41 So, in the middle. And, um, so growing up in, in Marysville, what, did you go to school or what was kind of like an average day?

SO: 02:55 Yeah, average. Yeah uh, grammar school, you know, that kind of thing. And then I graduated grammar school when the war started, so we ended up in the camp. Yeah. So.

AT: 03:09 And did you do any other activities outside of school?

SO: 03:13 No. You mean in camp?

AT: 03:15 No, before the war.

SO: 03:18 No, no no, I was too young.

AT: 03:26 And um, so the, you were about to enter high school when the war broke out?

SO: 03:30 Right.

AT: 03:30 And so-

SO: 03:31 So freshman year I started in, in camp.

AT: 03:34 Okay. And do you, do you remember the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked?

SO: 03:40 Day that what?

AT: 03:41 That Pearl Harbor was attacked?

SO: 03:43 Oh yeah, December.

AT: 03:49 Do you remember the day though? Like when it happened, what you were doing, what you were doing or does that day stick out to you?

SO: 03:59 I didn't hear that.

AT: 04:01 Do you remember what you were doing that day?

SO: 04:04 Oh, no, no, no, not at all. I was too young, I think.

AT: 04:08 Um, and then what about when the evacuation orders went out?

SO: 04:15 Evacuation date, you want?

AT: 04:18 When, when you found out that your family had to-

SO: 04:22 Yeah, what about it?

AT: 04:22 Do you remember finding out that what was going to happen?

SO: 04:26 Well, my father told me all about it and of course that that thing was pasted all over town, you know. Oh, it was a terrible day.

AT: 04:36 And, um, so can you, can you tell me a little bit about what happened, um, with your family, where you had to go or what happened when the war broke out?

SO: 04:53 Well, like I say, I was young yet, but then so many of us, um, it was hard to believe that we had to leave our life actually, you know, and um told to go to a camp way up north and we didn't know how long we were going to be there or anything. But my parents were hoping that it would be a short visit, you know, but my father packed a lot of things and pack, made special boxes and he even made a, uh, nice firm box for my mother's sewing machine and she packed it all up and we had a family knit number, 39337. He had written all over the boxes and everything. So, you know, we're told just to bring the things that we can ca- carry. But we brought a lot. You had to bring your linens, you know, for bed and all that kind of thing. So we had to pack, but we weren't refused, you know, once we did it, and we were told just to bring your personal things. That's all. We couldn't have survived if we did that [laughs].

AT: 06:06 And so given that, given your age at the time, did you understand what was happening or?

SO: 06:16 Well, I don't know, as much as a 14-year-old can understand, but it was hard to believe to, to leave my town and the life that we lead, as simple as it was. It still was hard to believe that I was leaving yet I had to leave it. But you know, you're a family and you'll have to go together, so you don't think further than that, you know. But, uh, we were called, we had to go.

AT: 06:45 And were there any other Japanese American families from your hometown?

SO: 06:49 Oh yes. Yes. Very many. Quite a few.

AT: 06:53 So did you, you knew some- did you know any of the people that also had to leave?

SO: 06:58 Did I what?

AT: 06:58 Did you know anyone else that was being evacuated?

SO: 07:04 What do you mean anyone else? I had a lot of friends if that's what you mean. Yeah. We knew each other. It was a smaller group than when you think about it, you know. Yeah. We knew each other.

AT: 07:16 And, uh, where was your family sent to first?

SO: 07:20 Straight to Tule Lake.

AT: 07:24 And how did you get there?

SO: 07:26 By train. Yeah, it was, um, old trains, you know, and the shades were drawn down. We couldn't see through and uh well, a slow train too, you know, to go up to north. And uh, so from there, after a couple years, we were sent to Colorado, which is Granada.

AT: 07:54 And so when you, when you left for camp, it must- or for Tule Lake, um, was that in '42?

SO: 08:03 Mm, I think it was '42. Yeah.

AT: 08:11 And do you remember, um, like arriving to Tule Lake, what it was like?

SO: 08:17 Arriving? Not particularly. It was so, I never saw so many Japanese at once, you know? We, we didn't know there were that many, that Japanese, but, uh, well more when went into camp at Tule Lake, was full of Japanese, so we got to know other people, friends that we would never have met, you know. But, um, yeah, that was fun for me because I was young yet, had fun, you know, playing around and that kind of thing. But we made, made fun for ourselves, you know?

AT: 08:57 Do you remember what you would do for, for fun? Because especially when you got there, you, school was out, so you probably weren't going to class yet.

SO: 09:08 Not, not right away, but yeah. But, uh, we had to go register and all that because I was freshmen see, so I had to lines, you know, to get the classes listed uh, for me. And so it was a, I think it was like a little adventure because something that I wouldn't have if, if I wasn't going to high school, you know?

AT: 09:32 And your sisters, um, were they all in school as well, or school age?

SO: 09:37 Mhm, yeah, mhm.

AT: 09:38 Um, how old was your oldest sister?

SO: 09:42 My oldest sister, she, she was, uh, let's see, how old was she? You know, I don't know how old she was, but she was the oldest. I don't know exactly, so I don't want to say it. Um, then there was another sister in between, but she was sent to Japan years before to get education in Japan. So we didn't see her for about 10 years.

AT: 10:07 Was she the only one?

SO: 10:11 Yeah, mhm.

AT: 10:11 And, um, with your family, did you speak Japanese?

SO: 10:15 Yes, but among us, you know, sisters, of course we didn't, but.

AT: 10:20 With your parents?

SO: 10:23 Mhm, and I went to Japanese school too, so.

AT: 10:26 Um, in California?

SO: 10:31 In it, yeah, mhm.

AT: 10:31 And then, um, so do you know how long you were at Tule Lake before going to Amache?

SO: 10:39 It was a couple years.

AT: 10:42 And um, how was Amache different than Tule Lake?

SO: 10:48 Well it just...was a smaller camp than Tule Lake, certainly. It was a little more civilized, a little bit more. But, uh, I think it was more comfortable. And then of course the high school was better 'cause they had a high school building. Tule Lake was brand new, so we went into the barracks for, for our classes. Then when we went to Amache, we had the high school and I, you know, everything was there and, and what a high school would have, you know. And uh, so it was more like natural, should be like that. So that was fine. And then I didn't, uh, I went through let's see, um, sophomore and junior and then we came to Chicago and I finished my last year here.

AT: 11:43 And um, so how did that work that your, your family came to Chicago? Was, was that through your dad or, did you have any relatives?

SO: 11:53 Yes, my father said, uh, well we're, we're in Colorado now and it's not, I mean, we were halfway through the country practically. So I want to go see Chicago. I don't want to go back to California right now. So let's go to Chicago. And so my mother and father went, came here and just looked around and see how it was possible that we could live. And then he, being a businessman, he bought a grocery store. There was a grocery store where the man was selling it. So he took it, it was a small one. And so he, he'd rather do his own than work for somebody. So that's what happened.

AT: 12:39 And where, where was that first grocery store?

SO: 12:42 853 North Clark, [laughs] Clark Street.

AT: 12:48 What was the grocery store called?

SO: 12:49 I don't know. I don't remember. It might have just said 'grocery' maybe that's all. I don't remember.

AT: 12:57 Was it Japanese American-owned or was it someone else?

SO: 13:00 No, well, no, they paid rent for the place, but then it was my father's grocery store and it was small. It wasn't very big. I even worked in there. Sliced meat and passed out the, the butter that we would have to get, you know, with coupons, you know, you had to cut out, pound one, and cut it into fours, you know, pack it up and all that. So I went through all that part.

AT: 13:27 And so the, this was your family came to the North Side, um, where exactly did you, your family settle?

SO: 13:36 Yes. That, in that North Side section, yeah.

AT: 13:38 Um, which neighborhood or or streets?

SO: 13:42 Well, it's Clark. Um, we later moved just to, uh, just to room our sis- my sisters and I, we didn't want to stay there and live right by the grocery store. So we went to LaSalle Street and we rented a place there just to sleep. It was tough time those days. There were so many of us, you know, and my father didn't have a place to, for us to stay, so it was, it wasn't very comfortable.

AT: 14:20 Um, was, do you know, was it difficult? Was there housing discrimination or, or what was, what was the big challenge in finding a place to stay?

SO: 14:32 Well, I guess, I guess, well, he didn't, he couldn't afford uh, moving in a place or apartment or something. And I don't know if they would've given him anything. At that time, there was still disc- like uh, in Chicago, there was some discrimination, but, um, we just stayed in that place and then I decided to work as a schoolgirl and, um, I worked, I went to school from the family that I worked for, for them. And um, for a little while I did, but it was a little uncomfortable, yeah. So I came back to them. My mother and father were behind the store actually, and we said, 'Oh, we can't do this. This is bad'. So we found a place that, in Rockford that I had to go and I took a job as a school girl there and I ended up with a family that wasn't, that wasn't very nice to me. So that was tough. I had many crying nights, crying days. Um...

AT: 15:44 How long were you there in Rockford?

SO: 15:47 When I was there, what did?

AT: 15:48 How long?

SO: 15:49 How long? Very short, actually, because I had signed up for my last year of high school and, uh, then the family decided they'd like to move to Arkansas and I said, 'Oh no, I'm not gonna move, I'm staying here. My family is here'. So, um, that was it. And then I talked to my mother and she says, you come back here and I'm gonna stay there. So that was it. And, uh, we, uh, stayed there and I went back to doing schoolgirl and I finished my uh, senior year.

AT: 16:29 And where, where did you go to high school for your last year?

SO: 16:34 Lakeview High School.

AT: 16:36 And, um, so were you commuting from the family's home to, to school?

SO: 16:43 No, the uh, well I was doing some school work, school group, schoolgirl work. That's all. So from there I went.

AT: 16:56 Do you remember your, your first impressions of Chicago when you first came?

SO: 17:00 No, I don't. It was big. That's all I knew. Big, yeah. The train came in and big station and said gee, where are we? You know, big city. Yeah, it was a quite, quite a surprise to see such a big city. We didn't see anything like that. We came from a small town, went into camp and when then you know, so it was first time we saw a big city.

AT: 17:34 And then, um, I'd love if you could tell me a little bit more about your dad's grocery store and we can wrap it up soon. But, um, what kind of, so he bought the business on Clark Street. Do you know where, um, on Clark that was near, like which intersection?

SO: 17:56 Do you know the Newberry Library, over there? It's about a block away. It's um, people know that. Um, that's how close we were to the Newberry Library and Chicago Avenue was on the other side, so.

AT: 18:12 Oh, okay, so is this by Clark and Division?

SO: 18:14 It was close to the Moody Bible Institute was on the, yeah. So that's where we were.

AT: 18:21 Um, were there any other Japanese American businesses around that area?

SO: 18:25 Oh yes. There were a lot of Japanese stores. They sold Japanese goods.

AT: 18:31 Like food, or?

SO: 18:35 Yeah, canned goods. And you know, I'm, I'm sure they must have had something like what we did too. We had a lunch meat and uh, the Moody Bible Institute students used to come in the evening and they'd have a few, few pennies and these, they'd want to spend it for something and they'd buy a bottle of pop or something with a, uh, one of those little cakes, you know, they, I mean, it was sad to see grown up people, you know, counting their pennies and coming just to our little store to buy that and go home, you know. But, uh, yeah, they, they were very nice people of course.

AT: 19:17 And did you, um, did you make friends when you arrived to Chicago?

SO: 19:21 When...in high school. Just high school, not neighborhood, you know.

AT: 19:28 Were you a part of any social clubs, or?

SO: 19:31 No, no. Well, I did go to, um, I went to a, um, fellowship group through church and I met some people there. Yes.

AT: 19:43 Which church was that?

SO: 19:45 Uh, let's see, the St. Paul Fellowship, St. Paul Church. But I don't know if those, this fellowship was St. Paul Fellowship Church. So, that's how I met some of my friends. They were Japanese. So of course just like us, you know.

AT: 20:03 Other folks that were in camp, or?

SO: 20:06 They, they left camp and moved, yeah. Different camps. So, they were brand new people that I met there.

AT: 20:16 And when you started having children, did you share with them about your experiences in camp?

SO: 20:23 Well, you know, I, I don't really remember that much. We didn't, you know, we tried not to talk about it too much. So, um, I think that was why I didn't share a lot of things with them. They ask me now, well, why didn't you teach us all these things, you know, but we tried not to. When you're going through the war and being discriminated, you know, we kind of were careful. So, so I, we didn't do too much. So that's what I tell them. I couldn't tell them, talk about it a lot of times.

AT: 21:00 Um, well thank you so much for, for sharing it with me.

SO: 21:06 Alright.

AT: 21:07 Um, is there anything else that you'd want to add or that maybe I missed?

SO: 21:11 No, I don't think so, I told you enough [laughs].

AT: 21:14 Well, thank you again. I really appreciate it. I'm sure your family does too.

SO: 21:19 Thank you.