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Furutani, Chuck (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - One interview was conducted with Furutani in 1973 as part of a project in an Asian American Studies class, under the direction of Franklin Odo. TOPICS - the uniqueness of Terminal Island community; housing; prostitution and marijuana trade; gambling; evacuation;social and recreational activities of youth; arranged marriages; gambling; longshoremen; Depression; nationalism;Nisei enlistment; the non-Japanese population on Terminal Island; racism; postwar occupation; 5/14/1973
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- *** File: ticfurutani1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:42)... Tape identification. Terminal Island was barely influenced by Anglo-Europen society. It was divided into two areas: the Western area was Fish Harbor, the Eastern side was called Terminal Island. He remembers when the houses were built. They were built by the Japanese, and were six feet off the ground. The young people would wander around under the houses. No Japanese owned property on the Island and some of the houses were owned by the canneries. (3:42-7:16)... His father's business was a garage, service station and foundry where they cast brass propellers for the fishing boats. Across from the business were "sporting houses," otherwise known as whore houses. As a child he didn't know the women, who were all white, who worked at the sporting houses were whores. There was a lot of nationalist identification among the Japanese on Terminal Island. They had town hall meetings once a month and also held cultural events and competitions, including Kendo and Judo among the young people. The community developed differently than others. However, he didn't feel any animosity when he went to high school in San Pedro. (7:16-9:04)... Furutani discusses his parents, both of who were from Hawaii. Both sets of grandparents had settled in Hawaii. His parents first moved to Eagle Rock, then later to Terminal Island, where they wanted to start a business. His father worked for a man who had a boat dock, where he repaired boats. (9:04-10:51)... He describes the Brighton Beach area before the Navy took it over and opened an airport. It had been a resort area for Asians. There was a boardwalk where dances were held in the evening. (10:51-13:29)... His father worked in the canneries. The fishing industry was much more stable than farming. In the summer, young boys would go out to work on the boats. Everybody went to Japanese school and took judo or kendo. There was a lot of discipline ; rules were set by the older people. It was very much like Japan. (13:29-17:32)... He was an only child and his mother did most of the child rearing. All fishing villages have legends and folk heroes. On Terminal Island, the individual with the biggest boat was looked up to in the community. He compares the fishing community with the farming community. Houses were not painted; they were built from redwood and all of them looked the same. He remembers the smell of the fish and salt from the nets. The water was pretty polluted because businesses pumped their sewage into the area. He refers to something he read about marine life mutations in the area. (17:32-19:49)... He left Terminal Island when he was fifteen. He thinks it was an ideal place to grow up. They had built-in recreation: the beach, bay and places to explore. Kids would explore the entire Island. The island was the center of a marijuana trade - he didn't know what it was. Not too many people smoked it. There was a small "arty" community where they would sell the marijuana. It was legal till 1936 but generally wasn't recognized as a problem. Prostitution was a real problem on the Island. (19:49-24:22)... Large luxury boats would stop at Terminal Island. Tuna Street was the main street in the area. All of the businesses there were owned by Japanese. Chicanos, Anglos, Filipinos and a few Japanese lived on the east side of the island. His mother worked for the Immigration Service. There were a lot of illegal immigrants; people would jump off the boats at the breakwater and swim to Terminal Island. They blended in and would later move on. The community helped the illegal aliens; it was an accepted situation. They would provide them shelter and money. People that were deported would return again soon after. No attempts were made to change the attitudes of the Islanders towards illegal immigrants. (24:22-27:03)... Anglos were afraid to enter Fish Harbor at night., even though there were no incidents of people being beaten up. It was a very competitive and clannish society. Old retired fishermen would sit around and make bets about how much fish would be brought in. As a child, he would go watch the old men fight. The Terminal Island baseball teams were known for fighting. (27:03-28:35)... He didn't go to Manzanar when they were evacuated. His father had a truck at the time and they moved out of Terminal Island to Norwalk; then they went sent to a camp in Arkansas. A teacher invited people to store their stuff at an old Japanese school in Norwalk. end of tape *** File: ticfurutani2.mp3 (0:00-4:03)... Groups that went to San Pedro High School were very clannish. Terminal Islanders stuck together; there were enough Japanese that any racism was shot down. The Japanese that played sports at San Pedro High School were mainly from San Pedro. (4:03-7:00)... There were a lot of cultural activities for women. His mother taught dance and the tea ceremony, and girls were often taught traditional dance. A lot of the women on the island worked, but it was considered shameful if a daughter had to work before she finished school. He doesn't remember any divorce on the island. His mother-in-law was a picture bride, but she was unwilling to talk about it. (7:00-9:59)... There were professional go-betweens that arranged marriages. They were paid to investigate families. There was a definite social hierarchy in the community; there was a caste system similar to Japan's. People who made shoes or did cleanup work were considered low class. (9:59-11:47)... There was a lot of gambling on the Island. There were halls where people played all sorts of games and lost wages, even boats. He recalls watching them as a child. Gambling was not condemned in the society. (11:47-15:03)... He fought a lot because his mother was a teacher at the Japanese school. After the war started, it was very tense. At San Pedro High School they would always travel in groups, and they backed each other up in case a fight broke out. People are proud that they came from Terminal Island. They didn't experience the racism that other Asian groups felt. His parents thought Terminal Island was similar to Hawaii. (15:03-17:37)... There were longshoremen and lumber companies on Terminal Island. These groups had unions and would strike often. He doesn't know much about the cannery workers unions. During the Depression survival was essential. Terminal Island weathered the Depression relatively well; nobody starved. They bartered with farmers, exchanging fish for vegetables at the market. (17:37-20:20)... He talks about a scab for the lumber companies. He remembers hearing gun battles at night. The history of longshoremen on Terminal Island and San Pedro was bloody. To be a member of the Island community one had to swim the channel. Beacon Street, located across the bay, averaged one murder a day. (20:20-23:08)... When they were evacuated, the canneries replaced them with whoever they could get. During the Depression a lot of "Dust Bowl" migrants came to the Island; and they became part of the community. They were accepted because the Asians were still the power on the Island. Filipinos on the Island had businesses and worked in the canneries. There were also a lot of people from Hawaii. There weren't any racial problems. They had competitive sports between Terminal Island and Fish Harbor. (23:08-27:28)... He talks about nationalism. At the time of evacuation his mother was not immediately sent to a camp because she worked in the immigration office. Terminal Island was really like Japan. Japanese school was more important than American school. He went to a Christian Japanese school; it was not as structured. Honoring of the emperor occurred before and after the war. After the war began, they didn't have judo anymore. (27:28-30:26)... The people on the island gathered soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A community meeting was held at a baseball diamond and people talked about what happened and what they were going to do. Many of the people were on Japan's side. People were angered when some young Nisei enlisted during the war. end of tape *** File: ticfurutani3.mp3 (0:00-2:01)... People tried to talk anyone out of joining the service. There were fights over this and many families disowned their children. A lot of first born sons were sent back to Japan. They were sneaked onto boats illegally; their families collaborated with seamen. (2:01-6:13)... The Filipino community on the Island was loosely knit. There were quite a few Filipino kids at his school and he doesn't remember making racial distinctions. The Filipinos on Terminal Island were all married. They would have picnics on Terminal Island and a large annual festival. There was also a White Russian settlement on the Fish Harbor side. Everybody on Terminal Island got along well. It was a good place for young people to grow up. (6:13-8:41)... The upper society on Terminal Island was white and they were the land owners. They looked down on minorities. There was a racist group of whites that owned houses on the island. (8:41-13:18)... His uncle was on the staff of the local newspaper. A film was made about the Island, showing various events, schools, people. The nationalism that existed on the island is apparent in the film. Terminal Islanders have songs that were written just for the Island. (13:18-17:00)... Island reunions are held every year. Fish Harbor people and Terminal Island people have separate picnics. There was one white man, Mr. Hudson, that was idolized by everyone. When evacuation occurred, no White people offered assistance. As he looks back on his experiences he realizes things now that didn't occur to him back then. (17:00-20:26)... After the war, Terminal Islanders did not return to the island. Some of the nicer houses were moved from the Island to Long Beach. Very few Japanese returned to work in the canneries. There were instances of people who turned their boats over at the start of the war and got them back at the end, but most people were ripped off. However, a lot of the fishermen went back to work. He feels that going back to the canneries would have been going backwards for the Japanese. (20:26-23:30)... He discusses one individual who made films and took many photos on the island. There were some people in San Pedro that worked in the canneries. His family moved to San Pedro after the war. Everything in the canneries worked off of whistles. end of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Chuck Furutani was the only child of parents who were both born in Hawaii. His father ran a business, which was a combined garage, service station and foundry (casting the boat propellers), and his mother worked for the Immigration Service. She was also the Japanese language teacher. Like many of the other boys in the community, he learned judo and went to the Christian language school. He was fifteen when the family was evacuated. They temporarily moved to Norwalk and stored their belongings. Because they were sent to camp from Norwalk, and not directly from Terminal Island, they went to Arkansas, rather than to Manzanar, where most of the other residents of Terminal Island were sent. The interview, conducted by Franklin Odo and his students, includes very candid comments on the nationalism of the Terminal Island residents and the various illegal activities that thrived there. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - One interview was conducted with Furutani in 1973 as part of a project in an Asian American Studies class, under the direction of Franklin Odo. TOPICS - the uniqueness of Terminal Island community; housing; prostitution and marijuana trade; gambling; evacuation;social and recreational activities of youth; arranged marriages; gambling; longshoremen; Depression; nationalism;Nisei enlistment; the non-Japanese population on Terminal Island; racism; postwar occupation;
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