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Sound / Oral History Interview with Chizu Iiyama and Ernest Satoshi Iiyama

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Title
Oral History Interview with Chizu Iiyama and Ernest Satoshi Iiyama
Creator
Florin Japanese American Citizens League
Iritani, Taeko Joanne
Iiyama, Chizu
Iiyama, Ernest Satoshi
Date Created and/or Issued
[2000-04-28,2000-05-25]
Contributing Institution
California State University, Sacramento Library
Collection
California Revealed from California State University, Sacramento
Rights Information
Copyright status unknown. This work may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, its reproduction may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. This work is accessible for purposes of education and research. Transmission or reproduction of works protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. California State University, Sacramento Library attempted to find rights owners without success but is eager to hear from them so that we may obtain permission, if needed. Upon request to info@csus.edu digitized works can be removed from public view if there are rights issues that need to be resolved.
Description
Issei male, born in 1912 and brought to America when he was six months old. His father was a boiler maker and chief machinist for the Santa Fe Rail Road Company. Kenneth was educated in Bakersfield public schools through junior college. He hoped to be a pharmacist but as an Issei was unable to qualify for a license. He farmed with his brother, a Nisei, who purchased land in his own name. Two years after his marriage to a Nisei, he was arrested by the FBI on March 26, 1942 and sent to Santa Fe, New Mexico. When asked by an FBI agent why he wasn’t naturalized, Kenneth explained that Asian immigrants were ineligible for citizenship. The agent was unaware of this. Kenneth’s father and cousin were also arrested. His stepmother, sister, wife and two infant sons were evacuated to Poston, Arizona in May 1942. After interrogation by a lawyer in Santa Fe, Kenneth and his father were released to their families in Poston in July. After the war Kenneth took his family to Arkansas and worked as a sharecropper but returned to Bakersfield after a year to work as a gardener. His three sons became dentists.
Type
sound
Format
Copy
Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
5 Tapes of 5
Identifier
css_000124_t01; css_000124_t02; css_000124_t03; css_000124_t04; css_000124_t05
Subject
Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
Japanese Internment Camps
World War, 1939-1945--California--Japanese Americans
World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--California
Internment
Provenance
California State University, Sacramento
California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

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