Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/680/

Search of family home by the FBI following the bombing of Pearl Harbor

But apparently they came very early in the morning and they kind of—my mom went to answer the door and they kind of shoved her aside, not brutally, but shoved her aside, and then they kind of just stormed the house and shook my father, made him get up. When they started going upstairs, my mom shouted upstairs to my sisters who said “Get dressed! Get dressed!” because one of my sisters loved to run around nude. And [Laughs] apparently the men thought that my mom was giving some kind of signal or something 'cause apparently they drew out their guns and rushed upstairs. And then they barged into my sisters' bedroom and asked my sisters if they have ever seen anything like this and showed them the gun. “Does your father have one like this?” And they said only the toy. My other sister remembers the men putting their hands through the sugar bowls and through the rice bowls, and she was thinking, “Oh, that's dirty” and apparently ransacked closets looking for things.


World War II

Date: May 27, 1998

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Lori Hoshino

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei female. Born February 1937 in Seattle, Washington. Spent prewar childhood in Seattle. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington; Minidoka incarceration camp, Idaho; and Crystal City internment camp, Texas. In postwar years, became a teacher, principal, and multicultural specialist for Washington State's Superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction. Developed and directed the Japanese American Cultural Heritage Program and the Rainbow Program, one of the first multiethnic educational programs in the country. She passed away on April 4, 2021 at age 84. (July 2021)

Kochiyama,Yuri

Conditions of assembly centers

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Visit to assembly centers by E. Stanley Jones

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Postcards to Nisei soldiers

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Hiding what happened in camp

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Arrest of father

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Camp as a positive thing

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Mr. Finch, godfather of the 442nd

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Kochiyama,Yuri

Rounding up Issei and Nikkei

(1922–2014) Political and civil rights activist.

Matsumoto,Roy H.

Mixed emotions after declaration of war on Japan

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

Matsumoto,Roy H.

Finding work in the assembly center

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

Matsumoto,Roy H.

Train ride to Jerome Relocation Center

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

Matsumoto,Roy H.

Atmosphere in his Merrill’s Marauders unit when surrounded by Japanese soldiers

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

Matsumoto,Roy H.

Finding his relative among Japanese prisoners

(b.1913) Kibei from California who served in the MIS with Merrill’s Marauders during WWII.

Bain,Peggie Nishimura

Evacuation

(b.1909) Nisei from Washington. Incarcerated at Tule Lake and Minidoka during WWII. Resettled in Chicago after WWII

Bain,Peggie Nishimura

Conditions at Pinedale Assembly Center

(b.1909) Nisei from Washington. Incarcerated at Tule Lake and Minidoka during WWII. Resettled in Chicago after WWII