Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1699/

Neighbor took care of her mother after grandfather was taken by FBI

My mom had the really interesting story which is her father, Koichi Suzuki was the principal of Nihon Gakuen in San Francisco. So when Pearl Harbor came around they had him on their list, the FBI had him on the list and so they came and took him away. And my grandmother on that side had died and so it was just my mother who was, I believe, either 12 or 14 and her sister who was two years older than her and her brother who was four years younger and they were sitting in their house in San Francisco and not knowing what was happening with their father. They had no money, they had no food, and the FBI didn’t care that there was nobody there to take care of these three children. So, finally it got dark and they trucked downstairs because it was sorta a duplex, and they said to their families, their neighbors, who were also Japanese Americans, and said you know our dad, our dad got taken away. And they sorta took them in, and they took care of them.

So, and ultimately they also went to Tanforan where they lived like everybody else in a horse stall sleeping on bales of hay and then they were sent to Topaz.


World War II

Date: July 11, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Kayla Tanaka

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum; Japanese American Bar Association

Interviewee Bio

Judge Holly J. Fujie is a Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California since 2012. She grew up in West Oakland, California in a diverse neighborhood. Both of her parents were incarcerated as children during World War II, but did not share their experiences with her until she was an adult. This affected her view on laws and government and led her to pursue a career as an attorney and later as a judge.

As a lawyer, she became involved with various minority bar association, including the Japanese American Bar Association, and mentorship programs. She became the first Asian American President of the State Bar of California in 2008. (July 2019)

*This is one of the main projects completed by The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) Program intern each summer, which the Japanese American Bar Association and the Japanese American National Museum have co-hosted.

Ariyoshi,George

Prom during the war

(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i

Ariyoshi,George

Influence of veterans

(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i

Ariyoshi,Jean Hayashi

Day Pearl Harbor was bombed

Former First Lady of Hawai'i

Funai,Kazuo

Japan vs. the United States (Japanese)

(1900-2005) Issei businessman

Funai,Kazuo

Company in Tokyo burned down (Japanese)

(1900-2005) Issei businessman

Hirabayashi,James

Life in camp as teenager

(1926 - 2012) Scholar and professor of anthropology. Leader in the establishment of ethnic studies as an academic discipline

Katayama,Robert

Being ordered to keep a diary that was later confiscated, ostensibly by the FBI

Hawaiian Nisei who served in World War II with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Kawakami,Barbara

Bombing of Pearl Harbor

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

Kawakami,Barbara

Helping soldiers

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

Kawakami,Barbara

Brother leaves for war, survival

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Didn't have rights that whites had

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Californians didn't know about evacuation

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

The day Pearl Harbor was bombed

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Father as prisoner of war in hospital

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Patriotism versus loyalty

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.