Takao Richard Kihara

Me, my grandpa and my sister (Probably around 1988)

My grandfather was born as Takao Kihara in 1928.  He was born in Irvington, California as the youngest of five children.

My grandfather is vivacious, stubborn and cannot sit still.  He has dark tan skin, a full head of hair and leather like hands that are rough from yard work and gardening.

The first thing that I think of when I think about my grandpa is his garden.  This garden is his sanctuary and is what has given him great pride over the years.  The Japanese style garden is filled with stones, bricks, a red bridge and a pond filled with Koi fish.  Plants and trees overflow from the yard and shade the entirety of the backyard.  At any season you can find fresh fruits and vegetables including: persimmons, lemons, oranges, avocados, cucumbers, tomatoes and artichokes.

My grandpa holding a tomato grown from his garden.

Besides gardening my grandpa loves cars.  More specifically Cadillacs.  As far I can remember he always drove Cadillacs and treated them with meticulous care. My mother remembers as a child that when he opened the hood of the car it was always shiny and looked brand new.  He would often spend his time walking around the neighborhood going from dealership to dealership to talk cars- never actually planning to buy any.

When talking to my grandpa about his life there are certain things that he doesn't remember at all.  But once I get him talking he can be so specific and can give exact dates for when things happened.  For instance, his father.  As the youngest child he was very young when his father died.  He doesn't have many specific memories of him.  Most are from what his older siblings have told him.

My great grandfather, Tomekichi Kihara, came to the United States in the year 1900 when he was only 17 years old.

"The way I understand he (my father) came from Canada. I know that he worked in the railroad. But see... Alice (his older sister) was telling me that it was so hard when he was working on the railroad."

"Most of the Chinese were working on the railroad.  The way I understand I think it's how he came here to the United States. Because of the contract of the railroad. Till they got released."

Work on the railroad was known to be arduous and back breaking work.  Luckily by the time my great grandfather came to America the railroad unions had been established and the conditions were much better than what they had been just ten years before.

This is possibly the first photo of my great grandfather Tomekichi coming to America at only 17 years old.  He is the young boy on the far right.

After my great grandfather was released from the railroad he started a life as a farmer in California.  A part of that new life was finding a wife.

Similar to my grandmother's parents my grandpa's parents had an arranged marriage.  Both my great grandfather, and my great grandmother were from Hiroshima, Japan. By the time they were wed and came back to the United States my grandmother was 18 years old and my great grandfather 15 years her senior at 33 years old.  She would have her oldest son three years later.

Years later while my grandfather was serving in the United States Army he he had the opportunity to meet some distant family members who told him about the elaborate party his father had thrown for his parents wedding.

"You know in Japan they had great big 'ol barrel, tubs of sake. They don't buy sake by the gallon.  But they didn't show the wedding part but they were showing that there was barrels of sake. So you know he made it sound like he's doing good over here. But he was just a farmer."

My great grandmother Michiko Kitagawa

My great grandfather likely saved up money for a very long time so he could go back to Japan and find  a suitable wife. Since their marriage was arranged it was important to show that you were well off and could be a good provider.  In reality his life back in the United States was much different.

"Dexter (his older brother) told me that we were living in a shack in the Berryessa area!"

Unfortunately for my great grandmother her life here in America was not as easy as she may have originally thought. Her oldest son, Susumo, died at only one years old and shortly after she would lose one more child and her husband.

Their story continues next week...

Surviving the War

"Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible."
-Maya Angelou 

In 1942 Japanese people were forced from their homes into internment camps.  Seen as the enemy the government feared that Japanese people would help sabotage the war.  During this time thousands of people were forced from their homes into conditions that were inhumane and unjust.  Two thirds of the people forced into camps were American citizens- including my grandmother and her siblings.

To avoid being taken away my great grandfather moved the family to Sacramento. Not knowing where or when they would be back they had a family friend watch over the house.

"My father had a business on Franklin Street and the next door neighbor was a shoe repair guy. He was a young Italian. So they took over the house. You know, they took care of the house."

My great grandfather's other underground business may have been what helped keep them safe during this traumatic time.

"He bought the police. Because when we went to camp a lot of Japanese got hauled in.  The people who had businesses and they were sent to Crystal City in Texas.They were the ones dragged in by the FBI. They just grabbed them and took them in.  You know my father I'm sure bought the police. You know we never had any trouble at all. They never came to our house."

My grandmother's family was initially placed in Tule Lake in Northern California. Today this is perhaps one of the most well known camps because of its notorious reputation.  Groups within the camp protested and rebelled against their living conditions and treatment. One of the protesters was my great uncle.

The internment camps were surrounded by barb wire and armed guards

"Joji was really kinda on the threshold there. He thought we're being treated badly. Why should I be loyal to the U.S.? You know? So my father went and got him and says, "Don't say that. No matter what you're thinking.  Just say the opposite.  That you like it here.""

Tule Lake, CA

As protests and resistance amplified so did tensions around camp.  The United States government began to have all Japanese people sign a loyalty oath- proclaiming their loyalty to the United States.  Those who refused to sign were to stay at Tule Lake which became a holding place specifically for disloyals.

Though my great grandfather disagreed with their treatment he had to protect his family first.  He struggled to find common ground with his son Joji who was convinced that they should go back to Japan.

"So my father pulled him out of there and told him, " No, no, no you're not gonna do that. Cause we're gonna stay here. They're not gonna treat us any better if we go to Japan cause you're an American.""

My great grandfather thought that if he could get Joji out of camp then he could keep him out of trouble where he could be safe.  He came up with the plan for him to marry the woman he was dating.

"My father went to talk to May's mother and says, I think they should get married otherwise Joji is going to get dragged into those people."

"So that's what happened.  My father went to the PX and bought a wedding set."

After signing the loyalty oath my grandmother's family was moved to Granada, Colorado by train where they spent the remainder of the war at Camp Amache.  Meanwhile during all of this they were sleeping on mats made of hay and going to schools that were haphazardly put together.

"It was a total mess up.  You only got Pass or Not Pass. P or NP. You didn't get grades because they didn't know you."

"Until it was organized though my oldest brother was an algebra teacher. And those kind of people. And then it wasn't too long until they brought in a bunch of white people."

Life after camp was also hard.  Years of propaganda poisoned the minds of many.  Her experience with kids at school was mixed.  Some students were prejudice.

Propaganda during the war poisoned the minds of many and led to discrimination and segregation.

"Some were. You just avoided them that's all."

Others didn't even seem to know what was going on.

"Kids are so different from nowadays. Cause when I came back this girl she said, Geee! Where were you anyway.?" She had no idea there was a war either!"

Perhaps because her father was an adult he experienced more upfront hatred.

"Well you know we had this Philipino guy live down the street. He ignored us forever and ever and ever. And he was a barber. And my father tried to get a haircut. And he said, "No Japanese!" I mean they were friends before. Because he could hardly speak English and neither could my father. Then later on the guy comes over and apologizes and said I'm sorry I don't know what I'm doing anymore.  But this was forever later."

Propoganda during the war was quite common. Articles like this were even published in major magazines like TIME Maga

 Besides being denied services my great grandfather's businesses came to a halt.

"My father never worked afterwards. My mother used to work in the cannery. But you know she liked it because you know all the women worked in the cannery. It was a social thing."

My grandmother and her family continued life in Monterey.  My grandmother went onto graduate from college and met my grandfather at a friend's party. Dating for what my grandfather says, was a "long time" they eventually married in Reno.

My great grandfather died in 1956 and my great grandmother died in 1991. The Monterey house is still in my family.

My grandmother's family overcame many obstacles and I think there are many details about camp that I will never know.  When talking about visiting Tule Lake a long time ago she said she wished she hadn't. That it was too soon. I wonder if it will always be too soon.

It is my goal to visit Tule Lake with all of my cousins so we can physically see the place that is such a poignant part of my grandparent's life.

Though their struggles were severe I like to think their triumphs are a bigger part of who they are. They have taught me so many lessons just by leading by example.  The biggest being the power of a positive attitude, hard work and resiliency.  Even after such prejudice both my grandma and grandpa are joyful, happy and positive people.

I think that these attributes are what helped them get through camp and return to a world that resisted them.  And in my grandfather's case survive losing a father and a brother at a young age along with serving a country that initially treated him so terribly.

My grandfather's story is coming up next week.... Stay tuned...

My grandparent's wedding in Reno. I love how happy and goofy they look.

My grandmother's childhood home in Monterey. Pictured is my grandmother (being blocked), my Aunt Kim, my Aunt Suzanne and my great grandmother.

The Kitahara Family's Immigration: The Gamble of a Lifetime

"What is life if not a gamble?"

                         - F.E.Higgins

Stories of gambling come up often in my family. You could say it's in my blood. Even my grandparents make frequent trips to Reno where they receive the perks of the VIPs.  

My great grandparent's immigration to the United States was perhaps the biggest gamble. Knowing no one they moved alone to a new country hoping it would be the start of something new and prosperous.

Both of my grandmother's parents were immigrants from Japan and were from the same village Kozeta inside the limits of Okayama.  Through an arranged marriage my great grandmother, Takako, was wed at the age of 18 to a man that was 16 years her senior.

My great- grandmother Takako Kitahara (Fukanaga)

Marriages in Japan are heavily researched.  Even still before one is married there is a deep and critical look into the spouse's past to see what sort of family they come from and whether there are any skeletons in the closet.  Coming from the same village my great grandmother was paired with my great grandfather Kotaro.  From the outside this seemed like a great opportunity- a wealthy business man living in the United States. Surely they could have a prosperous life.

Kotaro was a young and rebellious guy who was pushed to the United States after veering from the traditional path that his family had chosen for him.

" He was the oldest son. And his family were (rice) farmers. And generally the person who gets the farm is the oldest son.  They made him handle the money."

" Well you know, he likes to gamble.. So things are going good and he is setting aside the money won. But next thing you know it's all gone.  So his father threw him out." 

After that his father told him to go to the United States to avoid further trouble.  From his records he reported coming to the United States in 1900 when he was only 17 years old.  

My great-grandfather Kotaro Kitahara

Most people on the boat coming to America were coming to work the railroads.  To get onto the boat my great grandfather pretended that he was interested meanwhile having his own plans.

"So when he got dropped off in San Francisco he went to the Salvation Army acting like he always wanted to be a Salvation Army person. There he learned English. In the meantime he was gambling and met a lot of people in China Town."

"Finally the Salvation Army- they found him a job as a house boy for some, you know, white people. That's where he learned more English and how to cook and stuff like that."

After moving around and working more as a houseboy (and continuing to gamble) he ended up in Monterey where he opened two businesses. One on the books, the other underground.

Funneling his love for gambling my great grandfather opened an underground casino.

"You had to know someone who knew someone who knew someone," my grandmother said. "You couldn't just walk in there."

Owning an underground casino didn't exactly make him the most popular guy in town though.

 "All the wives hated him because their husbands would lose money."

Besides gambling he also owned a business that was on the books.   

"He had a legitimate fishnet company that he imported from Japan. That was a pretty good business actually... Monterey was a big fishing town at that time."

"But when the war started he said well that's doomed. But he didn't have to wait too long because they put us in camp anyway."

My grandmother and her family's journey came to an abrupt stop when they were forced into Internment Camps during World War II.  Their story continues next week.

Me and my great grandmother in 1985. I was a BIG baby!

Nisei

ni·sei

nēˈsā,ˈnēsā/

noun

NORTH AMERICAN

1. a person born in the US or Canada whose parents were immigrants from Japan.

   
   

My mother's mother, Kazuko Kitahara was born August 31, 1930 in Monterey, CA. She is the second to youngest child and the only daughter.  Her five brothers are Junki, Yukio, Michio, Joji and Sakae.

My grandmother is a tiny woman. Barely hovering over five feet tall and less than 100 pounds she's surprisingly mobile despite being 86 years old.  She spends her days knitting, quilting and for a while constantly playing Nintendo Game Boy and Tetris.

Every summer both my sister and I would spend the week with my grandparents. I have many memories religiously watching the Price is Right every morning.  Throughout the week they would take us to the beach in Santa Cruz, play Nintendo and Game Boy with us as we ate an endless amount of watermelon, musube and giant tomatoes grown from their garden.

After a week with my grandparents they would drop us off at Girl Scout camp where my grandmothers would pack us the most epic care package filled with candy, Ho Hos, Home Run Pies and all the other stuff our parents never let us eat.

As I sat and spoke with my grandmother she claimed to have no family history and that there was nothing very interesting that happened to our family.  But as we talked more and more she remembered specific memories and details of her childhood, many that made her smile and laugh.

Her childhood was vague but her memories of Internment Camp were still very clear.  Even her memories of her parents were scattered and random. 

"There are certain things that I still remember so clearly, " she said.

                    

At some point my great grandmother took both my Grandma and her brother Michio back to Japan. At only four years old she wasn't really sure why.

"I don't really know what the problem was... But my brother said that he didn't think that we were coming back."

"Once we got there it was so hot. Maybe it got warmer and warmer and warmer.. I don't know..." "And then they told me not to walk in the rice patty because of leeches. I went in there anyway and there were all these leeches hanging out!  I was screaming and hollering. I remember stuff like that..."

My grandmother also remembers the boat ride to and from Japan.

"Going my mother was seasick all the time.  She was in bed all the time showing up and just laying real still."

"Nick and I just roamed the boat. All I remember is that it's no wonder we didn't fall off. We were hanging on the rail like."

After what seemed like a long time my grandmother came back to California.  When they came back their father was waiting for them as they departed the board. Having been gone so long my grandmother remembers not being able to speak English.

"We came back in August and then September I went to Kindergarten. I didn't know what they were talking about!  I thought that in this day and age you would never do that to a kid."

My grandmother went on to graduate from UC Berkeley, got married and had four children.  Her history is deep including being moved around the country by government force, overcoming prejudice. All alongside a family who was willing to take the biggest gamble. Coming to America.  More of her story will continue next week. 

My grandmother and her brothers at their mother's funeral.
From left to right: Joji, Kazuko, Junki, Yukio and Michio