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Fujikawa, Fred (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - One forty-five minute interview was conducted in 1973 as part of a project in an Asian American Studies class, under the direction of Franklin Odo. No details of the interview process were noted. TOPICS - Topics covered on this side of the tape include: Fujikawa's education and medical practice; descriptions of the canneries, housing, the sense of community; the FBI round up of the men; evacuation; 5/14/1973
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- 2020-03-24
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- *** File: tiffujikawa1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-2:51)... Dr. Fujikawa provides his educational background: high school 1923-1927, UCLA 1927-1929, Berkeley 1929-1930, Creighton University where he received his MD in 1934. He had a general practice on Terminal Island. Although most medical practices were generally limited to patients of one's own "race," when the war broke out about half of his patients were "non-oriental." (2:51-5:20)... Terminal Island was a densely populated area. He believes there were approximately 3000 Japanese living within a 1/2 square mile. The houses were owned by the canneries. He describes the conditions there as being similar to concentration camps, the difference being that living on Terminal Island was their own choice. The men, by and large, were engaged in fishing, and their wives worked in the canneries. The whole economy of the area was tied to the canneries. (5:20-8:39)... There were six or seven canneries in the northern part of the island [at the time of the interview] but they were not as active as in the past There were non-Japanese living on Terminal Island. The primary school on the island, part of the Los Angeles School District, was 99 percent Japanese students. The few white students at the school were able to speak Japanese. Both Japanese and English was spoken in the school. There was a beautiful Japanese garden located at the school. The island was a unique community, similar to a mini fishing village in Japan. But the businesses in the area were generally controlled by non-Japanese. (8:39-15:40)... Dr. Fujikawa thinks it was natural that outsiders thought the people who lived on the island were pro-Japan since they celebrated all of the Japanese festivals. After the war started, all of the men on the FBI's list were picked up and taken to the immigration station. It turned out that some of the men that worked in the canneries and hung out in the pool halls were fluent in Japanese and had been placed there by the FBI - they had infiltrated the area prior to the war in order to find out who might be under suspicion. This caused a lot of anxiety for those who were not initially picked up. The evacuation of the island started on December 7. Hundreds of people were rounded up by evening. There was no bridge to the island at the time and they had to take a ferry to get to the mainland. Generally people who were not blacklisted were not bothered by the FBI. No one questioned the FBI men; people were not told what would happen to their family members or when they would return. Later, after the evacuation, people were moved from immigration buildings to detention camps, then shipped to camps throughout the United States. There were separate camps for blacklisted people. The camps were all over the US: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming. They were called relocation camps and assembly centers but in Dr. Fujikawa's opinion were really more like concentration camps. The camps were surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. (14:43-19:28)... He talks about differences between "mainland" Japanese and those that lived on Terminal Island. People on the island were very close knit. The fishermen and their families came from three main provinces in Japan that were known for their fishing industry. Fishermen on the island probably learned the craft from their parents. They were hard workers and honest good people. He believes that mental illness was less prevalent on the island; life was pretty simple and they had no anxieties. (19:28-23:36)... Dr. Fujikawa had patients from Long Beach, Wilmington, San Pedro, and he made house calls in Orange County. About half of his patients did not live on the island. He doesn't recall referring anyone on the island for psychiatric help; it wasn't fashionable to see a psychiatrist at the time. Discussion of one psychiatrist's research of the Japanese. He believes that people had simpler problems back when they lived on the island. (23:36-25:23)... There were judo and kendo schools on Terminal Island. Traditional activities and practices were more popular on the island than on the mainland; it was similar to villages in Japan. (25:23-31:27)... After the war started, there was a blackout on the island making it pitch-black at night. He remembers not being able to find his way home at night after work because of the darkness. One night, on February 26, 1942, he woke up to the sound of guns. An antiaircraft gun was shooting at something in the sky, allegedly a Japanese aircraft , which turned out to be a bundle of balloons. The next day people in the island were given a 48 hour evacuation notice. Japanese that lived on the mainland were given more time. Many people didn't have enough time to pack up their belongings and many were forced to sell their possessions considerably below actual value. He recalls packing up his office, his home and his parent's home. Churches and various organizations provided trucks to help people move their belongings, and various churches took in many people. Many people burned their things before leaving the island. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, people began to expect that they would have to go to camps. (31:27-38:04)... Fujikawa discusses the social structure of the island, comparing it to the "mainland." The people on the island would gather together at churches, temples, and clubs; the YMCA, YWCA and Boy Scouts were popular. There was a big Japanese Fishermen's Association on the island as well. There was a lot of entertainment on the island: movies, judo, kendo, the Terminal Island football team. Because fishing was such difficult physical work, the men on the island were husky. At one game the football team got into a fight, after which the opposition learned they should never pick on Terminal Islanders. At the time of the interview, Dr. Fujikawa belonged to the Terminal Island Association. The organization would hold golf tournaments and parties. He was married seven months before the war started. (38:04-42:45)... Fujikawa believes that many Japanese Americans were very bitter about being interned. His situation was different from the fishermen because he was a doctor and he continued to work in the camps. He was thirty one when he went into the camp, where his wife would later become pregnant. His parents were also with him in the camp. Makeshift hospitals were set up at the camps. The one at the Santa Anita holding center, had six doctors, and they inoculated over 18,000 people. More difficult health cases were sent to the county hospital. Dr. Fujikawa felt that his way of life was not altered much when he went into the camp. He was paid $16 a month. However, he believes that they were a captive people. (42:45-45:05)... Fujikawa remembers being young and still eager to learn while in the camp. He didn't like the idea of having his freedom taken away and feels that people generally didn't have much understanding of rights at the time of the war. He doesn't think the camps benefited the Japanese; rather, it devastated people financially. end of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Fred Fujikawa , a Nisei physician, practiced medicine on Terminal Island until the forcible evacuation of the residents in 1942. The community fully accepted Fujikawa as a "Terminal Islander" although he was originally from San Francisco. The interview with Fujikawa, conducted by Franklin Odo and his students, contains little biographical information. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - One forty-five minute interview was conducted in 1973 as part of a project in an Asian American Studies class, under the direction of Franklin Odo. No details of the interview process were noted. TOPICS - Topics covered on this side of the tape include: Fujikawa's education and medical practice; descriptions of the canneries, housing, the sense of community; the FBI round up of the men; evacuation;
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