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Description
English translation of handwritten annotation from "George Naohara photo album" (csudh_nao_0001), page 5: When I went to the Manzanar camp in California, late Hiromu Sasaki took me to Maryknoll School, which was a Japanese language school located on Alameda Blvd, Los Angeles, California. I remember I packed my birth certificate, clothes, and other necessities into my suitcase. Because of the outbreak of the war, I was sent to the camp. I was convoyed from Maryknoll School to Union Station and directed to a train. I do not remember how many hours I was riding on the train. On the way, they gave me a large box. There was enough food for lunch, including oranges. The train arrived at the Manzanar camp. I saw military police from the train. I was instructed to stay in the train and wait until called. I was called. I received two blankets. The staff guided me to the assigned room. I do not remember how many people were there but maybe five to six people were Kibei young men. I was introduced to them and placed my luggage on my assigned cotton bed. On the first day, the wind grew strong. The windows in barracks were not covered with glass, and the sandy dust came in through the windows. I swept the floor to remove the dust. I saw an unfamiliar young man talking to someone outside. I learned that Dr. Shimizu was also incarcerated in the Manzanar camp. I entered a school in the camp, and later I learned that the school was operated by Dr. Shimizu. There were only Kibei young men in my room. They spoke in Japanese. I learned that they attended the Maryknoll School. Mr. Oshita was one of the Kibei young men and was sent from Marysville to the camp. Mr. Oshita and I were fluent in English and Japanese, and I remember we were asked to perform “Kan’ichi and Omiya” which was a play based on a love story written by Koyo Ozaki. I played a female role, “Omiya,” and Mr. Oshita acted “Kan’ichi.” The play was fun and people liked it very much. I went to work every day, climbing up a hill by truck and digging a 10 x 10 hole for trash. Two to three months later, I went to work for thinning sugar beets which paid one dollar per hour. My destination was Idaho. The George and Mitzi Naohara Papers consists of photo albums and scrapbooks compiled by George and Mitzi Naohara, and other documents pertaining to the Naohara and Masukawa family. Contained are photographs, correspondence, documents, and memorabilia depicting their experiences during World War II. George Nobuo Naohara is a Kibei Nisei, and his experiences include his farm labor in Idaho and Utah, incarceration in the Manzanar, Jerome, and Tule Lake camps, and the U.S. Army language school training and Korean War. He also engaged in Buddhist activities for his whole life and there are moving images depicting Gardena Buddhist Church activities after the war. Mitzi Masukawa Naohara was a preschool teacher at the Poston camp, Arizona, and also a member of a young Nisei women's club, "Sigma Debs.” Her collected materials depict her life as a teacher and social events in the Poston camp during the war.
Type
text
Format
Scrapbooks; Photographs; Narratives 1 page, 8 x 8.75 inches, handwritten; black and white application/pdf
Identity and values--Kibei World War II--Incarceration camps--The journey World War II--Incarceration camps--Social and recreational activities World War II--Leaving camp--Work leave
Place
Incarceration Camps--Manzanar
Source
CSU Dominguez Hills Department of Archives and Special Collections
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