Partial Transcript: Tommy Masakazu Mayekawa is born on April 22, 1921, in Hawthorne, CA. Tommy's parents are from Mie-ken, Japan, and his mother's maiden name is Sugino. In Japan, Tommy's father is a farmer and immigrates to the United States for more opportunities. When he arrives in San Francisco, CA, he works on the railroads.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: employment; farming; Issei; Issei parents; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's father arrives in San Francisco, CA, and works on the railroads. Later he moves to Hawthorne, CA, to work on the truck farms. Besides harvesting vegetables, he grows flowers too. Tommy helps his father on the farm by cultivating the land. He describes how he plows and prepares the soil.

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Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; farm; Issei parents; Japanese Americans

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Partial Transcript: Tommy discusses horse plowing the farm and how his parents meet. Tommy says his father arrives in the United States first and then marries his mother who is a picture bride. Tommy's parents pass away at an early age.

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Keywords: Issei; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's mother comes from a fishing family in Japan. His mother was very young when she was pregnant with him. Tommy says both of his parents are easygoing. However, when he was younger, his mother is the disciplinarian in the family.

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Keywords: child rearing; family; fishing; Issei parents; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's first childhood home is on a farm. The home has a kitchen and a bedroom. Later the house is extended, and an additional bedroom is added for Tommy's brother and sister. There is running water in the house and an outhouse. On the farm, Tommy's family raises chicken for eating. Besides using a horse to help cultivate the land, Tommy's father rents farm equipment like tractors to help with plowing the fields.

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Keywords: farming; Issei; Issei parents; living conditions; Nisei; siblings

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's childhood home has indoor water and an outhouse (30-40m feet away from the house). He describes what an outhouse is. Inside the house, there are no Japanese decorations or photos.

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Keywords: farm; Issei parents; living conditions; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's family religion is Buddhist. His family goes to church every other week. The holiday Tommy celebrates is New Year. On New Year, he recalls the family making mochi.

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Keywords: family; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; social activities

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's favorite food to eat is a rice bowl with pickled radish. Tommy is the oldest of his siblings. He has one sister, Fumi, and two brothers Masao and Jimmy. Tommy is not close to his siblings because of evacuation. When his family goes to camp, Tommy leaves camp for service.

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Keywords: "evacuation"; Americans of Japanese Ancestry; interment camp; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; social activities; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Tommy attends Center Avenue School and recalls being the teacher's favorite. The teacher is more lenient with him than other students. Later he goes to George Washington High School.

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Keywords: education; high school; Nisei; primary school

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Partial Transcript: Truck farm refers to farmers who have a limited amount of acres to harvest crops. Some farmers rent the land to grow fresh produce. Tommy's family are truck farmers because they have ten to twelve acres of farmland. The fresh produce from the farm is brought to a wholesale market to sell. The customers are mainly wholesale buyers.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Issei parents; Japanese Americans

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Partial Transcript: After graduating high school in 1939, Tommy works on a farm other than his family farm to earn money. Tommy also works at a home appliance store in Gardena, CA, as a delivery man.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: farming; high school; Japanese Americans; Nisei

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Partial Transcript: Tommy grows up in a Japanese American farming community with Issei parents and Nisei children. After high school, Tommy works at a home appliance store as a delivery man. He recalls his deliveries to customers' homes. The most challenging delivery is a refrigerator. However, Tommy did not work at the home appliance store for too long because the war begins.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; farming; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Tommy's Issei parents teach him to be honest, treat people equally, get along with everyone, and be agreeable. Besides attending primary school, Tommy goes to Japanese language school. At home, he speaks Japanese to his parents. Later during wartime, Tommy attends Japanese language school at Fort Snelling for the Military Intelligence Service.

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Keywords: education; Fort Snelling; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Japanese identity and values; Japanese language school; Military Intelligence Service; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Growing up, Tommy does not recall experiencing discrimination or prejudice. As children, you have disagreements once in a while, but no one ever called him a "Jap." Tommy feels like he is the same as everyone else since he was born and raised in the United States. The only difference is he can speak Japanese to his parents. Tommy does not travel to Japan when he is a child. However, his mother takes his sister and younger brother with her to Japan to visit family.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: "Jap"; family; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; siblings; travel

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Partial Transcript: Before Pearl Harbor, Tommy does not know about the world news. On December 7, 1941, Tommy goes to have breakfast at his regular restaurant, Daniel's in Gardena and hears the event about Pearl Harbor. The owners of the restaurant are white and they treat him the same. Tommy did not face any discrimination. The only change that affects Tommy's life after December 7 is evacuation.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: "evacuation"; discrimination; Executive Order 9066; Japanese Americans; Nisei; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: After December 7, Tommy's family moves from Hawthrone to Compton. Compton is a farming community and with a diverse demographic. The Mayekawa family stays at a friend's home and prepares to go to the assembly center.

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Keywords: Assembly Centers; family; farm; Japanese Americans; Nisei; Santa Anita

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Partial Transcript: Tommy recalls hanging out with his friends on the westside on the 136th (between Normandie and Western). There is a roller-skating ring where Tommy and his friends socialize. In addition, Tommy would watch movies occasionally.

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Keywords: childhood activities; Japanese Americans; Nisei; social activities

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Partial Transcript: Tommy discusses the evacuation notices and going to Santa Anita Assembly Center. The attitude towards the move is shikata ga nai. Within a couple of months from the evacuation announcement, the family moves to Santa Anita. Tommy brings what he can carry, and he drives himself to the assembly center. Tommy's family goes by bus. The difficult part of evacuation is leaving behind his car. Tommy recently buys a new 1941 Ford and now has to sell the car for half the price.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Executive Order 9066; family; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; Shikata ga nai; World War Two

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Partial Transcript: Tommy discusses what his family leaves behind and what they can carry to Santa Anita. When he arrives at the assembly center, he notices that the living quarters are horse stalls. He feels degraded that he has to live in those conditions for an American citizen. Tommy says there is nothing you can do but accept the situation, shikata ga nai.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: "evacuation"; Assembly Centers; Executive Order 9066; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; living conditions; Nisei; Shikata ga nai; World War Two

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