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Excerpt, Oral History Interview, Yoshiko Takagi
No full textExcerpt, summary, and index of an oral history interview of Yoshiko Takagi. Conducted by Kayoko Aoki on July 4, 2009, in Klamath Falls, OR. Transcribed by Kayoko Aoki. Edited by Watsunya Ferreira and Brandon H. Unruhe.The Tule Lake Pilgrimage Oral History Project is a series of oral history interviews of participants of the Tule Lake Pilgrimage from 1994 - 2010. The project was conducted by the National Japanese American Historical Society, Inc., in collaboration with the Tule Lake Committee
Excerpt, Oral History Interview, Calvert Kitazumi
No full textExcerpt, summary, and index of an oral history interview of Calvert Kitazumi. Conducted by Kayoko Aoki and Cary Matsumura on July 3, 2009, in Klamath Falls, OR. Transcribed by Elizabeth Smith. Edited by Watsunya Ferreira and Brandon H. Unruhe.The Tule Lake Pilgrimage Oral History Project is a series of oral history interviews of participants of the Tule Lake Pilgrimage from 1994 - 2010. The project was conducted by the National Japanese American Historical Society, Inc., in collaboration with the Tule Lake Committee.NATIONAL JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1684 Post Street
San Francisco, California 94115-3604
An Interview on July 3, 2009 with
Calvert Kitazumi
Conducted by
Kayoko Aoki and Cary Matsumura
Oral History Excerpt, Summary, and Index
“Tule Lake Pilgrimage Oral History Project”
© 2020 NATIONAL JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
NATIONAL JAPANESE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1684 Post Street
San Francisco, California 94115-3604
Interviewee: Calvert Kitazumi
Interviewer: Kayoko Aoki and Cary Matsumura Transcriber: Elizabeth Smith
Editor: Watsunya Ferreira/Brandon H. Unruhe
Location: Tule Lake Pilgrimage, Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls, Oregon
Date: July 3, 2009
Summary: Calvert Kitazumi grew up in Sacramento, California and was a child when he was forced into Tule Lake WRA Concentration Camp in California. After his family answered “yes-yes” on the loyalty questionnaire, Kitazumi was forcibly removed to Amache WRA Concentration Camp in Colorado with some family members, while others left Tule Lake for different destinations. Kitazumi remembers how his feelings about being incarcerated changed as he grew up in concentration camps, and the difficulties that he and his Japanese American peers faced in resettlement. He discusses the unfair nature of the “loyalty” questionnaire and how it caused division amongst Japanese Americans.
Keywords: Immigration | Identity: Nisei | Pearl Harbor: FBI surveillance | Forced Removal: Executive Order 9066 | Tule Lake WRA Concentration Camp | Amache WRA Concentration Camp | Life in Camp: education | “Loyalty” questionnaire: yes-yes | Japanese Americans in the U.S. Military: U.S. Navy, Postwar Occupation of Japan | Leaving Camp: student leave – MN | Post- WWII: employment – bill collector, small business: dry cleaning | Japanese American Legacy: pilgrimage
Oral History Excerpt:
00:20:52 “You know, being that I was underage and not confronted with that questionnaire, I didn’t have any idea of it one way or the other. But if you were to ask me that same question now, at my age, I would say that was the most unfair question that you could put to an internee. First they take away your assets. The hardworking Issei that put their whole effort since coming to Japan [sic], they stripped that away, they deny them the rights to own land… and then they throw you into camp, even though they committed no crime, and the children were all American citizens. And then to ask, are you willing to fight for United States? I would say any answer they gave was the right answer. It’s a personal answer. And if a person says “I’ll fight for U.S., but not against Japan,” now if you think about it, they might have a lot of relatives in Japan. Why would they want to go over there after get treated like this, and kill your own relatives? So I don’t criticize them at all. I’m with them. It’s a lousy question. But, those that decided to say yes, and fight for United States, and they showed their valor and their bravery, courage and so forth… I think the good life that we lead today is because of them. Their heroics. I think if everybody were to answer ‘No No’, I renounce my citizenship, I don’t think we’d have the life that we enjoy today.
But, when you analyze the question, it’s still a stinkin’ question. And there’s no wrong or right answer. It just depends on your ties with Japan, how much you were mistreated.” (pg. 9)
Index:
00:00:00 Coming back to Tule Lake for the first time in 65 years
00:01:08 Basic biographical information; parents’ immigration to the United States from Japan
00:03:37 The different concentration camps and locations he moved to throughout the years
00:04:26 Reacting to the attack on Pearl Harbor; reflections on the incarceration and how he felt at
the time
00:06:49 Going to school in Tule Lake; family answers the “loyalty” questionnaire and divides after leaving Tule Lake to different locations, including Amache WRA Concentration Camp in Colorado
00:09:21 Memories of childhood in Tule Lake
00:10:34 Forced removal to Amache; growing feelings about being incarcerated; brother is followed by the FBI; challenges of resettlement
00:14:54 Work ethic; meeting friend in Tule Lake; learning from the Issei
00:16:42 Resettlement: going to school in Minnesota, joining the Navy and participating in the occupation of Japan
00:20:40 The unfairness of the “loyalty” questionnaire; tension among Japanese Americans over their answers; some families split
00:26:20 Returning from the Army and getting a job as a bill collector
00:28:20 Starting a dry cleaning business
00:29:34 The National Monument at Tule Lake; the significance of Tule Lake
00:31:34 Reuniting with old friends at the pilgrimage
00:32:43 Specific individuals in Tule Lake
Inquiry
Requests for information, onsite research, digital reproduction, or permission to use materials from Japanese American Confine- ment Sites database hosted by the USF Gleeson Library Digital Collections must be made to:
[email protected] 415-921-5007
National Japanese American Historical Society 1684 Post Street
San Francisco, CA. 9411