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Ida, Miyo Higashi (audio interview #1 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - The first of two biographical interviews with Miyo Ida focuses primarily on her earlier years, growing up on Terminal Island. The interview was conducted as part of an independent study project. TOPICS - family background; description of housing and community; father's work as a fisherman; children's play; school life; Japanese school;Japanese school on Terminal Island; life in Japan; high school in San Pedro; marriage; roundup of Issei; evacuation; life in Manzanar; farm life in Utah; life in New York; 11/4/1979
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- *** File: timida1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-4:15)... Ida discusses her family. Her paternal grandparents never came to the United States. Her father arrived in 1902, and her mother and maternal grandmother came after her grandfather. Her maternal grandparents immigrated first to Seattle. Her grandfather was successful in fishing. In Japan, he was first a farmer then later a fisherman. After Seattle they moved down to San Pedro near Terminal Island. (4:15-6:27)... Her parents came from the same town and their marriage was arranged. Her father was the youngest son in his family. On Terminal Island, he owned a small boat with a partner. Although many of the other women worked at the cannery, his mother did not. Ida was born November 3, 1919, the oldest of four. All of the children were born on Terminal Island. (6:27-8:23)... Ida grew up on Terminal Island. She describes her home as being like a barrack; it was a wooden house and looked the same as all the others. The cannery owned the homes and rented them out to the employees. There was a Christian church in the neighborhood, three grocery stores, a few restaurants, one post office, one fire station, and schools. (8:23-10:50)... Ida grew up speaking Japanese until she started to attend elementary school. She recalls her mother staying home, taking care of the children and cleaning the house. The house in which they lived had two bedrooms, and all four children stayed in one room. It was a small house, with a small yard in the front. Her family shared a bath with the next door neighbor. The women would prepare the bath, and the kids would bathe together. She remembers the ice man and milk man would come each day. (10:50-13:23)... The bath was shared with another family. The women would prepare the fire to heat the bath. Although each family had a separate toilet, the bath was communal. The men would usually not be home because they were fishing. The tub was filled with running water. It was very large and could fit three people at the same time. Ida recalls that there also being a public bath. (13:23-15:37)... One of the family's neighbors was her father's fishing partner. The women neighbors would see each other often, and her mother would watch the neighbor's children when their mother went to the cannery. She reminisces about her childhood friends with whom played every day. She did not have many toys, so she and her friends would make paper dolls. (15:37-17:29)... When Ida was in the fifth grade her mother became sick and she had to help with the household work, though she usually she did not have any chores or tasks. Her father would work two or three days at a stretch, year round. He would also leave to Mexico for month-long trips. (17:29-19:00)... Ida was free to go as she pleased. Families did not worry about locking their doors. The neighborhood was quiet. Around 1940, things began to change. Many outsiders came in and so the residents had to be much more careful. (19:00-23:47)... The grammar school was within walking distance from her home. She recalls having one Chinese teacher, Mrs. Chang. Many of the other students were children of the cannery employees. Before Ida started school, she did not speak any English. She remembers her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Burbank, having a hard time because the students only knew Japanese. She recalls that the principal of the school liked Japanese people, and before the war, she would do her best to help poor families. (23:47-26:05)... Her mother was involved in the school, but many of the other mothers were not because they worked in the cannery. They would go to work at midnight, when the fishing boats came in. Before her mother was married, she had received some schooling and knew a little English. Her aunt went to school in Pasadena for 13 years, and she eventually graduated from art school. (26:05-27:57)... She remembers going to Japanese school. She learned a great deal, and when she visited Japan in the 4th grade, she did not have any problems. She really enjoyed going to Japanese school, unlike other students. The school was very strict. (27:57-28:35)... There was a Christian group that came from Japan to speak at her church; Christians came from Japan quite often. (28:35-31:47)... Her teacher, Mrs. Chang, would invite her to stay over at her home on weekends in San Pedro. Mrs. Burbank would invite them over as well. The principal would take the students to Los Angeles to dance at a YMCA or some other type of club. She also recalls that the school would have a writing contest . Just a few families on Terminal Island had cars. end of tape *** File: timida2.mp3 (0:00-2:00)... She talks about her experiences in Japanese school. She learned traditional dance while at the school. After she graduated from high school she took Ikebana (flower arranging) lessons every Saturday. (2:00-4:34)... She went to junior high school in Japan. Her parents wanted her to learn Japanese and so she attended an all girls school in Japan. What had initially started out as a visit to Japan ended up with her and her sisters staying there. She stayed with her grandparents who had returned to Japan from the United States ten years previously. Her mother worked at the cannery while she was in Japan, but she fell ill and went to Japan, where she died. After that, her grandparents raised her for several years. She came back to the states in 1938, before the war, but two of her siblings stayed in Japan. (4:34-5:49)... Ida remembers her school days in Japan. She lived in a dormitory and had to wake up early in the morning and carry out chores. She talks about her uniform and inspections. She attended the school for four years. (5:49-6:31)... Her brother also went to school in Japan, but he could not finish. Because of war with China, she and her brother returned to Terminal Island. If they had remained, her brother would have had to fight in the Japanese army. (6:31-7:57)... Ida returned to the US after she had completed some high school in Japan. Her brother attended San Pedro High School. She talks about her friend Mrs. Sato, who left to study in Japan at the same time that Ida was returning to the States. Mrs. Sato studied there for two years, then returned to the US before the war. (7:57-9:54)... When she returned to Terminal Island from Japan, it did not seem to have changed much, although the people seemed a little better off than before. Some had cars, radios, etc. Stores and restaurants appeared more modern. She remembers the long journey she had to take to get to school. She had initially attended San Pedro High, but eventually transferred to Banning High School. (9:54-11:55)... She was older than most of the students and felt a bit out of place. She did have some Japanese friends at Banning High School. She transferred to Banning because there were too many Japanese students at San Pedro High School and they would just speak to each other in Japanese and not learn anything. (11:55-13:12)... Ida talks about her interests in high school. She really enjoyed a course in public speaking, as well as writing. She had learned algebra in Japan, so she received credits for those classes. (13:12-14:41)... She graduated in 1940 and was married right afterward. When she was going to high school, she and her brother lived with her father, and she took care of her brother. Her father died in a boating accident when she was in high school, so she stayed at a cousin's house. After she married, her brother came to live with her. (14:41-16:14)... Ida talks about dating on Terminal Island. She remembers taking the ferry to go to the movies; most people did not have cars. Most of the dates were at a movie theater. Her husband had come from Japan after she had returned. He was a friend of her cousin. (16:14-18:07)... When she was married, she had to hire two buses to take people to her wedding site in Los Angeles. Many people did the same thing, because very few people got married on Terminal Island. There really was no place to have a reception on the island. (18:07-18:51)... When people on Terminal Island died, they were buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles. (18:51-21:36)... Her husband worked at a grocery store, and after the war started, before they had to leave the island (the following February), they did not do anything because the store had been closed. She did not have any idea that they would be forced to leave. She recalls that the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the fishing boats that left Terminal Island were detained. (21:36-25:26)... She thinks that most of the people on the island were pro-Japanese at the outbreak of the war. She remembers being very mad when they received the 48-hour notice to evacuate. They sold all of the canned foods to a market in San Pedro, then closed up the grocery store. Leaving within the 48 hours wasn't too difficult because she had her husband, brother, and brother-in-law to help. She remembers a relative who had a really difficult time packing. There was a general sense that everybody helped out. They had a truck they used to leave. The government offered storage, but it did not help with the move. (25:26-28:16)... After they left the island they went to Whittier to stay with a friend for about a month. From there, they went to Manzanar. There were about 35 families there. Many of the men had already been taken to the camp, so it was then mainly women and children who went together. She remembers feeling more fear than anger at that point. By the time they arrived at the camp, the volunteer group was the only group there. She remembers it was very windy and dusty, and the barracks weren't complete. By the end, living conditions had improved, but they were initially awful. The government provided blankets, but they came with little else. Later on, they were allowed to send for things. She remembers a Reverend Anderson bringing things to them. (30:20-33:04)... While in Manzanar she spent her time working in a mess hall taking care of the children's food. She applied to work in the mess hall and received about $11a month. They were issued uniforms to work in. Blocks 9 and 10 at Manzanar were all people from Terminal Island; people who knew each other tended to stay together. (33:04-36:08)... She took knitting and sewing classes at the camp. Her husband was working outside of the camp at a dam. They were in Manzanar for about three years. They had friends in Utah, who invited them to come and work farming sugar beets. Her brother also went along, as well as another couple. (36:08-38:16)... After working on the farm they then moved to New York City, where they had some friends. Her husband worked at a fish market, and she worked in a dress shop. She had learned to sew on Terminal Island at a sewing school. She found the job through an agency at the Empire State Building that would find work for people who had come from the camps. Her husband, as well as her brother, found a job almost immediately. (38:16-41:33)... Her husband and brother did not go into the service. If they farmed, they did not have to go into the army. They stayed in New York for about 2 years, then returned to California. She didn't want to return to California, but her husband wanted to come back. She enjoyed living in New York, as there were other Japanese families who lived nearby. She worked making silk lingerie, which was sold at a very expensive price. All of the people she worked with were refugees: Jewish, Italian, but no Japanese. end of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Miyo Higashi Ida was born on Terminal Island to parents who were both from Wakayama prefecture. Her father was a fisherman, and her mother was a homemaker. During her junior year in high school, her parents returned with the family to Japan. She and her siblings remained in Japan with their grandparents until her mother's untimely death in 1938, at which time they returned to Terminal Island. Although she was interested in becoming a nurse, she was encouraged to marry instead. Her husband had a partnership in a grocery store on Terminal Island until they were evacuated in 1942 and sent to Manzanar. After leaving Manzanar, they farmed in Utah for a short time, then moved to New York where she worked as a seamstress. They return to California in 1947 and purchased a market in Little Tokyo (Ida Market), which they were still operating at the time of the interview. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - The first of two biographical interviews with Miyo Ida focuses primarily on her earlier years, growing up on Terminal Island. The interview was conducted as part of an independent study project. TOPICS - family background; description of housing and community; father's work as a fisherman; children's play; school life; Japanese school;Japanese school on Terminal Island; life in Japan; high school in San Pedro; marriage; roundup of Issei; evacuation; life in Manzanar; farm life in Utah; life in New York;
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