Interviews
Starting business in Portland after the war
I came back to Portland in 1946. When I heard that some, when an insurance company was looking for Nisei. So I came back to the interview for that and decided to take the job. I never was a sales person, but I decided to try it, and got into the insurance business. That was 1946. In 1949, I opened up the insurance office in Japantown. By this time, U.S. government was releasing Japanese to go back to Japan. Issei wanted to go back to pay respect to the dead and visit their relatives. They came to my insurance office. Help me to have me help them to get traveling papers. That’s how I got into the travel business, just by helping get their papers.
I*: So you were from insurance to travel agency.
For a while, I had both businesses. But eventually, I ended up in the travel business.
I: I see.
*”I” indicates an interviewer (Akemi Kikumura Yano).
Date: December 5, 2005
Location: Oregon, US
Interviewer: Akemi Kikumura Yano, Sojin Kim
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum.