Blog 06

Interview with Japanese internment camp survivor:

Jimi Yamaichi

Q: What were the challenges you faced in the camp?

A: They tattooed numbers on to your arm. We lost our identity and our citizenship was taken away. It was a challenge to survive because we were highly discriminated. It was hard to stay sane and trying to keep the family together. 

Q: Was anyone shot in the camp?

A: Yes, one was blind and deaf. He was shot because he couldn't hear the guard. But no one even tried to escape the camp because we knew there was nothing out there for us.

Q: How did you feel when everything was over?

A: It was until about 1960, until Japanese were accepted. Almost anywhere in the south bay including San Jose, Los Gatos, etc. we couldn't move. When I was looking for a house, I couldn't afford a lot of the property and I wasn't accepted in most areas. 

Q: What food did you eat at the camp?

A: Food was provided and there was a lot of pickled fish.

Q: What made you want to stay in the United States?

A: I was born and raised here and I didn't know any other country. My grandfather came in 1889 and we've been here for hundreds of years. I, myself in my working experience and I've traveled the world and there's no place like the U.S.

Q: Do you have a clear memory from the camp?

A: Yes, I was 20 years old. I was a supervisor that maintained the camps. I had about a lot of men working under me and I learned a lot from the older folks. 

Q: What's the first thing you wanted to do when you got out of the camp?

A: In 1941, when I graduated high school, I wanted to do carpentry. I wanted to get a union card right when I got out of camp.