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Play MovieTranscription below by: Jane P (2008)
Edited transcription by: Joseph Werhan (intern)
Please report errors to: info@tellingstories.org
Postwar Reflections
So from Luzon you went straight from there to St. Paul?
No, I went to Tokyo. We joined our unit up in Tokyo, because they had moved up there—maybe about eight months earlier or something—after they had assigned us. Oh, about seven months I guess because we were sent out.
Had you been to Japan before that?
No.
What did you think of it?
By that time—and I have a sister there, and my sister would speak English, that was kind of good—but she had three children, and I don't even remember her because she went back to Japan when I was still a little kid.
So, you go to Tokyo and you join your unit. Then what happened, when you were in Tokyo?
Then actually you stay ... like, I was in that linguist pool, and an officer came and wanted me to go out to buy furniture. Yes, I can remember another one. I got some Australian soldiers. They were making a documentary and they wanted an interpreter. So I went. We had to go somewhere. They wanted to go to a place that was devastated by the war and take pictures. I went with them. I hate to tell you what they asked me later! [Laughs] ... That's all right.
Do you want to tell us, or no?
No.
OK.
Why did I start that?
What did you see? Tell us what you saw.
It was all devastated. It's what they asked me later, after they got through! ... Forget it. I don't even know why I even ...
You'll tell us later, then?
Off camera?
Yes, off camera.
Did you encounter any Japanese people in the villages you visited?
Yes, but you know, the Japanese lost the war. So they accepted it. You hardly found anyone that was really angry.
So you were able to communicate with them?
Yes. They, I think ... the military got their way and they did their thing. The Japanese were ready to be peaceful and go this other way. Actually, the United States was really nice to the Japanese. They got them on this democracy quick. And you know, good, I think. Japan was really lucky, because if they had continued the way they did—and you know they went to China, and they went to North Korea, and they went to Manila—that was the military. In the military, they don't say many good things about the Japanese in the military. But that's why I think that some of the people were just glad to see that the war was over! Meanwhile, they got everything taken away.
So what sorts of conversations would you have with these people?
Just the normal. They were so busy trying to get things set up again—and as far as I'm concerned—we stayed in this NYK. That's this steam-ship line. So it's a little more Western. We were on about the sixth floor. Japan has a lot of earthquakes, and boy when I felt the earthquakes in the buildings, I said 'Boy, when my time is up, I'm not staying.' And so I was in a hurry to get out of the army.
How long did you spend in Japan?
Probably about six months.
Wow.
That's all.
So you stayed in Tokyo, or you traveled all over the place?
No, Tokyo.
Where did you go after you were in Japan?
I came back and I got discharged out of Seattle, Washington. I don't remember any snowstorm, but we had a snowstorm, and it tied up Seattle for about a week. From there—well, since Bainbridge Island is right outside—I went to Bainbridge maybe once or twice, but I had no one there. And people were still trying to get settled.
Did you reunite with your family at that point?
No, my family was in Minnesota.
Oh, right.
But I did meet some of the family there that went back, because about half of the people went back. The other half went elsewhere.
When you first saw Bainbridge for the first time in such a long time, what was your reaction? Was it different?
It was kind of a nice feeling. But by then three years had gone by and everybody had different experiences. Even the guys that were in my class were not around. I met maybe the mothers and fathers of some people and that's about it.
Can you recall any discussions you had with folks on the island that had stayed the whole time?
Stayed in Manzanar?
No, no. I mean, here you are coming back after three years to a community that was there, stayed there, was there, and now you've come back. It sounds like that's an interesting story. You're walking around ... tell us about what kind of conversations you had with people.
Maybe some person would meet us on the ferry and say, 'Hey, aren't you Paul Ohtaki?' and I'd say, 'Yes.' And it was Art Johansson, but my closest friend, George Brockmeyer—he had since become a superintendent up in Seattle schools—so I didn't meet him. And the others didn't go back. Like, there was Malcolm Moran, who does sculpture down in Carmel, and so you know, I really didn't meet many people. I probably met some of the teachers that were there, if they didn't go on elsewhere.
Do you recall any conversations about your departure for internment, and attitudes of the people, that the white folks that stayed back had? Did anyone say anything to you?
No. You know, I didn't even look them up. I guess I didn't stay that long. I didn't stay on Bainbridge Island, I just went and ... of course, I met that newspaper publisher, and that was about it.
What was that like, meeting the Woodwards again?
Yes. And you know, he would tell me that he had a daughter that grew up, and he didn't talk about any of the gossip, about who... He didn't know how I was going to take it, just coming back.
[Note: a 5-minute section was cut at Paul's request, dealing with a psychological incident that he chose not to publish.]
