Father in camp but learning from history books

Giant Robot's humble beginnings The birth of Giant Robot Giant Robot, never a drag No other magazine like Giant Robot A diverse audience Father in camp but learning from history books Skateboarding at Manzanar Giant Robot, a stepping stone for young artists Japan's view on Asian American pop culture and art

Transcripts available in the following languages:

Oh, just my father was in concentration camp. Again, it’s a typical Japanese American household, you don’t hear very much about it, it’s kind of quiet, so I think I read more about it in books than I have been hearing about it by my actual, my father, but in the end, he was ten, or ten years old maybe, or twelve years old in the camp so, it was a big part of his childhood, but in the end, it’s still a pretty quiet subject.

I think that, I’m glad I can read about it in books, but in the end, you know, personal experience is important and I’d like to hear more about it. It’s something that you know, I don’t even know if he wants to talk about, it’s not something that he’s angry about, but it’s also something hard for me to ask about, ‘cause I know the answers are usually quite short (laughs).

But, I think in the end, I mean, I you know, did my reading on it, and I know the history behind it. I still don’t know why it had to happen, but in the end, you know, it’s one of those things that where, it’s just a big part of our, you know, part of Japanese American history in America, so I mean, it’s my job to know about it.

Date: November 27, 2005
Location: California, US
Interviewer: John Esaki and Janice Tanaka
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

camps incarceration internment World War II

Get updates

Sign up for email updates

Journal feed
Events feed
Comments feed

Support this project

Discover Nikkei

Discover Nikkei is a place to connect with others and share the Nikkei experience. To continue to sustain and grow this project, we need your help!

Ways to help >>

A project of the Japanese American National Museum


Major support by The Nippon Foundation