Oshiro finishes up the interview with a few experiences he had while living in occupied Japan. He talks about a nurse that committed suicide, a Soviet prisoner-of-war they found dead, and climbing Mt.Fuji during a fog. He also talks about traveling…
After his time in occupied Japan, Oshiro would be discharged from the Army, as he wanted to pursue his higher education. He discusses the success of the occupation and the role of Nisei linguists and why that model should be used in future…
Oshiro continues speaking on his time in occupied Japan and the language training that he received once he arrived there. He talks about the conditions of the Japanese civilians and the struggles that they faced on a daily basis. He talks about the…
Oshiro begins the interview with a short introduction and talking about his whereabouts during the Japanese surrender during World War Two. Next, he talks about his childhood, growing up in Hawaii and being brought up with a heavy influence of…
Inui discusses about the rebirth of Japan and the successfulness of the Allied Occupation of Japan. He details about occupation and the importance of Nisei linguist. Inui also discusses about his family and shows some photograph.
Inui discusses about his post-war experiences in post-war Japan. He details about his duties with the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) in post-war Japan. Inui also discusses about his civilian work in post-war Japan.
Inui discusses about Military Intelligence Service Language School (MISLS). He details about his experiences in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). Inui also discusses about his post-war experiences in Japan.
Yoshida discusses about leaving camp for college and his experiences at college. He details about his life in the Army and his employment with the Marquardt Corporation and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Yoshida also discusses about his family,…
Yoshida discusses his about family, childhood, and education. He details about Pearl Harbor and the immediate aftermath. Yoshida also discusses about his experiences at Tanforan Temporary Detention Center and later at Topaz Concentration Camp.
Yoshida discusses about his experiences in Kyoto and discusses Japanese culture. He details about traveling in Japan, writing father, and reflects on his military service. Yoshida also discusses about being discharged and gives advice future military…
Yoshida discusses briefly about about his experiences with the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS). He details about what he saw in Tokyo and Kyoto.
Yoshida discusses about being drafted, some of his family history, and his experiences at Military Intelligence Language School (MISLS). He details about thoughts and opinions about Japan before arriving. Yoshida
Kimura discusses how both the Japanese citizenry and Nisei soldiers worked to make Occupied Japan successful. He talks about the value of Nisei and Kibei being participants. He also talks about the cultural resilience of Japan.
Kimura discusses his experiences working in Occupied Japan as both a military lieutenant and later a civilian. He talks about his time in Yokohama and Tokyo, working on translation services. He also shares anecdotes regarding: the Japanese citizenry,…
Hinazumi describes his interactions with Japanese civilians that worked for the military. He talks about visiting a Leper colony. He discusses meeting a Japanese governor. He explains how he communicated with his girlfriend while overseas. He…
The interviewers and Robert Hinazumi introduce themselves. Hinazumi briefly talks about his family of origin. He explains how he learned Japanese. He describes his home life. He discusses the ways his mother supported Japan's military campaign in…
Fukuda discusses about his family, growing up in Hawaii, and aviation hobby. He details about December 7, 1941, volunteering for service, and his experiences at Camp Savage, Minnesota. Fukuda also discusses about his experiences in the Military…
Fukuda discusses Japan's surrender, the end of the war, and grasp of the Japanese language. He details about his experiences in post-war Japan working with the Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU). Fukuda also reflects on his time in Japan
Tanaka discusses his military experiences in Occupied Japan. He talks about cave flushing, working in Saipan, and sightseeing in Japan during his off time. He also talks about his return to Hawaii and his military discharge.
R. Tanaka discusses his experiences in Occupied Japan. He talks about interpreting assignments he had and interactions with Japanese citizens. He also talks about visits with relatives in Fukuoka both as a child and during his furlough in Occupied…
Saito talks about the food supply that the Japanese civilians had access to. He continues to explain how he helped civilians. He explains the United States Military's reliance on Nisei soldiers. He describes how he interpreted Japanese. He discusses…
Saito and the interviewers introduce themselves. Saito talks about his parent's immigration. He discusses his father's values. He talks about the languages spoken in his home. He describes volunteering for military service. He discusses his cultural…
Kosaki continues his discussion on his time in occupied Japan. He speaks about how he was able to travel through different areas of Japan, such Hiroshima and Kochi, where he had family. Next, he talks about his other assignments and duties which were…
Kosaki begins the interview speaking about his childhood and schooling in Hawaii, attending Japanese language school in Waikiki. Next, he jumps into his whereabouts during the attacks on Pearl Harbor. After spending some time at the University of…
Following 20 years of service in the US Army, Muranaka gets his retirement orders and begins college at the University of Puget Sound. After working with alcoholics working for the State of Washington, he received a call from the University of…
Muranaka finds himself at home in Honolulu when the Pearl Harbor attacks occurred, which he recalls hearing a loud noise and seeing a black smoke cloud in the distance. He hitchhikes back to Schofield Barracks and is given a uniform and gun and told…
Muranaka discusses both his father and mother's backgrounds and the influence that they had on his life even as young boy. Though living in poverty, his father was able to buy him an encyclopedia and type writer to instill in him the importance of…
Muranaka goes through his work in the Army after the end of World War Two, where he served in the Korean War. Next, he discusses the importance of Nisei soldiers during the occupation of Japan, and how big of an impact communication is in order to…
Muranaka begins the interview discussing his time in occupied Japan, working with Japanese officials to ease communications between the Japanese government and the United States government, which in the end netted him a gift from the Emperor of…
After the passing of Ray Mayeda's mother, Ray's father sent his two sisters and younger brother to live in Japan with their grandmother. Later, Ray's father and Ray went to live in Japan too. After living in Japan for a few years, in 1939, Ray…
Ray Kuniteru Mayeda was born on October 18, 1922. His parents were from Kagoshima prefecture before immigrating to the United States. Ray's father came from a family of educators in Japan.
In the United States, Ray's father was a successful farmer…
In October 1949, Ray Mayeda worked at the Civil Censorship until it was dissolved. Then Ray worked at Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) as a translator. He translated classified documents into English for a year.
When World War Two ended, Ray Kuniteru Mayeda attended the University of Minnesota for a year, and his finances were running low. Therefore, he decided to volunteer for two years and enlisted when he was in Chicago. Ray went to basic training at Camp…
Hishinuma continues to talk about his work for the Atomic Printing Company. He describes how he and his future wife applied for a marriage license. He discusses his wife application for citizenship. He talks about the female companions that his job…
Hishinuma describes his proficiency in Japanese. He continues to talk about his experiences in Japanese language school. He continues to discuss his induction. He shares his feeling about leaving his home. He talks about the assignments given to…
Hishinuma talks about his birthplace in Oahu, Hawaii. He explains how he got his name. He describes his family's poverty. He discusses his life on a plantation. He talks about his father's early life. He describes the Concentration Camps built for…
Ito discusses his experiences interacting with his extended family members while in Japan during the occupation. He also reflects on the legacy of the participation of Nisei soldiers in World War 2 and how Japanese nationals reacted to U.S.…
Ito briefly talks about his family history and childhood, then he talks about how he got drafted while at an internment camp. Ito recounts the assignments he carried out during the post-war U.S. occupation of Japan. He discusses some specifics of his…
During the occupation of Japan, Paul Ichiuji worked for the CIC to gather information. Paul got information from the butokai and couriers. Although Paul’s Japanese was not that proficient, he knew important words to communicate with the butokai.…
After joining the Air Force, Aki would ask to be sent to occupied Japan, instead of having to serve in the Korean War. He talks about coming into Japan for the first time since his time as a prisoner of war, and comparing the destruction he saw when…
Aki continues to talk about his experiences as a prisoner of war while in Japan. Towards the end of the war, he noticed that a lot of weird things were happening with the Japanese Army guards and that the POWs were taken out of work. He overheard…
Aki continues to talk about his experience as a prisoner of war on Wake Island. There, he would be treated pretty normally, although there were some casualties and they were guarded by the Japanese Army. He also talks about one incident that was…
Aki talks about getting to Wake Island, going on a boat and arriving to a small island, where there was nothing but Marines, some Navy and Pan-American Airlines. He would end up working in the mess hall, while the construction workers would help to…
Aki begins the interview talking about his family, both of his parents were Nisei and had decided to settle in Kauai, his father being a politician, while his mother was a schoolteacher. As a child, he would grow up liking geography, while his…
Mr. Inashima describes his arrival in the Philippines with the MIS and later his assignment to Japan with an industrial survey team. Mr. Inashima describes his typical day in the MIS and talks about the Japanese culture, food, and entertainment he…
Mr. Inashima discusses his early life growing up in Seattle, Washington, describing the Japanese neighborhood he grew up in and the culture he was surrounded with. During childhood, Mr. Inashima attended Japanese language school and following his…
Ikari discusses the bonds of the Nisei veterans and how combat brought those bonds much closer. After this, he shows off some of his artifacts from the war, including an M1 rifle tool, a travel order and his discharge papers.
Before getting discharged from the Army, Ikari was asked to participate in an objective Army program, in which they wanted Nisei soldiers to dress in Japanese uniforms and act as one would in the Japanese Army in order to help train new recruits.…
Ikari talks more about being wounded during combat, getting shot in the legs and nearly losing consciousness before getting saved by the medics. He talks about his mentality when being shot in the line of fire and being taken to the aid station. Once…
Ikari continues talking about his basic training at Camp Shelby, joining E Company and preparing for their shipment overseas. They would ship out from Newport News aboard a liberty ship, gambling, playing cards and listening to music throughout the…
Ikari discusses where his family ended up after Executive Order 9066 was signed, sent to a mixture of Rohwer, Poston and Manzanar Concentration Camps. While visiting on leave, he would see the barbed wire in certain sections of the camp and the…
Ikari continues to talk about his work life before the war, getting his start in chick sexing and discussing the technique to learning whether a baby chick was a male or female at the hatchery. Next, he talks about being at Los Angeles City College…
Norman Ikari begins the interview talking about growing up in Seattle, Washington where he would fish often, and go to a baseball games with his father. Due to the Great Depression, his family would move down to Los Angeles, facing his first bout of…
Yoshimura begins the interview discussing how he came to be on the USS Missouri with General MacArthur when the emperor of Japan was announcing his surrender. As a child, Yoshimura had moved from America to Japan to begin his education and to learn…
Okusa discusses his position as an interrogator during occupied Japan. During his assignments there, he would interrogate a lot of prisoners of war to obtain as much information as possible to send back to the NYK building in Tokyo. He would end up…
Okusa begins the interview speaking about his time living in Japan as a child. He would attend middle school and high school before going back to the United States. Next, he talks about the end of the war and going to the occupied Japan to begin work…
Ishikawa discusses Japan's surrender; his experiences on Negros and Panay Islands; describes a Japanese battle flag he found; and talks about his experiences after landing in Korea including his interactions with Korean civilians and Japanese…
Ishikawa discusses the forced removal of Japanese Americans during World War Two; discrimination against Asian Americans; provides some thoughts regarding citizenship and loyalty; and discusses his experiences at Fort Riley including what happened…
Ishikawa discusses growing up in San Jose, California's Japantown including talking about his parents; discussing childhood discipline and values; recreational activities; his childhood home; and experiences going to a public bathhouse as a child. He…
Kamemoto discusses Korea including talking about the Seoul city gates; transportation; living conditions; and his Army boots. He then talks about getting discharged; returning to the United States; and going back to the University of Hawaii to finish…
Kamemoto provides his thoughts about citizenship and loyalty in regards to World War Two; describes the term "yamato-damashii"; and discusses the attack on Pearl Harbor and aftermath including his experiences with blackouts and rationing. He then…
Kamemoto talks about his father and the reasons why he immigrated to the United States; discusses his mother; and talks about visiting his relatives in Japan during his leave from the United States Army, as well as his post-war visits. He then talks…
Maya Miyamoto narrates photographs from the occupation of Japan. The pictures range from baseball games, family, relatives, friends, Japanese nationalist's daily life, and pets.
Maya also shares how he met his wife at Poston. His grandson,…
During the occupation of Japan, Maya Miyamoto worked in Tokyo. He had a driver's license and could drive jeeps, tanks, and other vehicles. Therefore, a Lieutenant asked him to stay in Tokyo.
Maya Miyamoto was born on January 28, 1922, in Carmel Valley, CA. His father and mother were from Kumamoto, Japan. Maya's father taught him respect, how to get along with others, honesty, and do not shame the family. Maya said his parents wished him…
Sakagami discusses more about his journey back home. He details about how he met his wife and his post-military life. Sakagami also gives a message to future generations.
Sakagami discusses his voyage overseas. He details about his experiences at the Gothic Line. Sakagami also discusses about when he first joined up with the 100th Infantry Battalion.
Sakagami discusses more about his experiences at Pindale, but also his time at Tule Lake. He details about being drafted and basic training. Sakagami also discusses about the period before he was shipped out.
