Kazuko Tsubouchi Fujishima

KAZUKO TSUBOUCHI FUJISHIMA
Family # 24796
Camps: Jerome, AR; Rohwer, AR
Addresses: 35-5-A; 29-9-D

My father Chukuro Tsubouchi was 16 years old when he left Japan and arrived in Portland, in 1916. He worked in the paper mills. Later my father managed a 50-acre orchard in Hardwick, CA, 30 miles south of Fresno, which had a general store, post office, garage, blacksmith shop, meat market, packing house, and elementary school.

I am the third of four girls. My oldest sister was Sumiko; then came Akiko, myself, and my youngest sister Takayo.

I was a sophomore at Laton High School, where I played third violin in the school orchestra and was in the tennis club, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. We didn’t know what to expect or who to trust. Our dog was poisoned.

The evacuation came at a time when our economic conditions were improving. My father had to sell a new car, the console radio-phonograph player, a refrigerator, and washing machine in a mere two-week period. A kindly old lady was gracious enough to store our personal belongings and ship them to us after our release, when we relocated to Chicago.

My father loved to listen to Japanese records, which he buried with his shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and our family Buddhist altar so the police would not find Japanese articles in our house. We took our omyogo (Buddhist altar symbol), our violins, clothing, photos, and books.

In mid-May 1942, our family went to the Fresno Assembly Center (the Fresno Fairgrounds). My oldest sister was just graduating from high school, and her dreams of attending college were shattered. In October 1942, we were assigned to Jerome, AR. The train ride was arduous. It took so long and I had motion sickness all the way.

In Jerome, our family was given two rooms. Each block had a mess hall with a kitchen, laundry facilities, and shower stalls, one side for men and one side for women. The women’s toilet facilities could be occupied by three people at any one time, and there was constant flushing. There was absolutely no privacy anywhere and we were crammed into such small quarters! The girls in our block formed a club, The Victorettes, and we had a baseball team. My older sister knew the violin too, so we played duets at talent shows. In my senior year, I had only two classes, so I was able to work in the co-op store and earned $19 a month.

Shortly after my graduation from Denson High School (the camp high school) in June 1944, Jerome closed and we were transferred to Rohwer Relocation Center, where I met my future husband. We married four years later, after his service in the navy.

In September 1944, I left Rohwer Relocation Center to work as a maid in a home in Highland Park, IL. I was given a one-way ticket to Chicago and $50.

When the question of “loyalty” came up in camp, my mother decided she wanted to go back to Japan, and so we were to be transferred to the camp at Tule Lake. Her desire to return to her homeland was a response to her camp experience. At the last minute, my oldest sister said she was going to get married to avoid going to Japan. My father said he would not split the family, and would remain in the United States.

Once my mother left camp and we relocated to Chicago, her attitude changed and she was glad she had not gone back to Japan. My parents both became American citizens when the laws changed in the 1950s to allow them to. They were proud of their citizenship, voted in all elections and took an interest in world events and issues.

Not satisfied with being a maid, my third job was with an export firm, where I worked for 56 years, retiring at the age of 74.

We were not politically involved in the redress movement that surfaced in the 1980s, but supported it financially and by attending meetings.

Looking back on my camp experience, I believe, as a Buddhist, that changes were occurring constantly. Accept it and go with the flow. Let the past be a lesson, but don’t dwell on it. Go forward with pride and conviction. Be honest, do the best you can and believe in yourself.

Wind and Dust
This wind and dust I have to bear
How hard it blows I do not care.
But when the wind begins to blow –
My morale is pretty low.
I know that I can see it through
Because others have to bear it too.
So I will bear it with the rest
And hope the outcome is the best.
– George Nishimura, age 16 (Manzanar, 1943)

Read this to learn more about the demographics of each of the ten facilities administered by the War Relocation Authority.

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