Partial Transcript: Dan Uchimoto is born October 9, 1921, in Loomis, California. Dan only goes by Dan, not Daniel. Dan's father is Zennosuke Uchimoto, and people would call him Zen. Dan's mother is Kane Koyama. Dan's family moves to Suisun, California near Fairfield.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; farm; Issei; Issei parents; Nisei

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan's parents are sharecrop farmers, raising canning tomatoes. Previously in California, people of Japanese descent are not allowed to buy land. Therefore, his parents rent the land for farming. By the age of fourteen, Dan would help on the farm picking fruit. Dan's father is born in Wakayama-Ken, Japan. He immigrates to the United States at age seventeen. Dan does not have plans to go to Japan. However, he has been to Hawaii.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: employment; farm; farming; Hawaii; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; travel; wedding

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan's father immigrates to the United States at age seventeen. Dan's father lives in Southern California before moving up north. Several years later, he goes to Japan to marry his mother.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; wedding

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan says his father's parents are rice farmers. Dan's father is the firstborn, and he gives up his inheritance of the rice farm when he leaves Japan. The rice farm is then inherited by his younger brothers.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: family; farm; farming; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; siblings

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan's father passes away in 1985, at 98 1/2 years old. Dan's mother is Kane Koyama. She is from Wakayama-ken, Japan, and is a school teacher. Dan's parents met through an arrange married called baishakunin.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: employment; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan does not have the opportunity to meet his grandparents on his father and mother's side in Japan. Dan has one brother and two sisters. Dan is the oldest sibling. Dan says being a metaphysical student helps him stay healthy. He recalls in high school at Armijo High, he would go to the public library. He starts reading Mary Baker Eddy scriptures and is hooked. Dan enjoys reading religious books. The books provide him courage and insight.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: childhood activities; correspondence; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei soldiers

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan is the oldest child in the family. The next child is Warren, who is two years younger and lives in flatland Saratoga. Dan discusses the difference between the wealthy Saratoga and the flatland Saratoga. After Warren graduates college, he joins the Military during the Occupation force in Germany and later discharged.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: family; Germany; higher education; Japanese American soldiers; Japanese Americans; Nisei; occupation

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: The third child in the family is Amy. Amy is three years younger than Dan. Amy lives in Costa Mesa, California. The fourth child is Laura. Laura is seven years younger than Dan. Dan discusses Amy and Laura's reaction when Dan is drafted into the Army. Before receiving his draft notice, Dan is attending school in Iowa. Dan says the Caucasians who entered service had choices where they can serve either the Air Force or Marine Corps. The Japanese Americans only have one choice, combat unit.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: draft; family; Japanese American soldiers; Japanese Americans; Nisei; Nisei soldiers; World War Two

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan lives in Suisun Valley, a farming community. He attends a small local school for several months before transferring to Fairfield Grammar School. After graduating from Fairfield Grammar School, he attends Armijo High School in Fairfield, CA.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: education; high school; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan recalls his third-grade teacher. She would bring the students roses. Dan says she was kind compare to the other teachers. Dan can feel the other teachers are prejudice towards Japanese American students which is a negative effect. The demographic at the Fairfield Grammar School is primarily Caucasians with a few Asian Americans.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: discrimination; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school; racism; rural communities

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan discusses the ethnic terms used on Asian students at school. Dan does not experience discrimination himself at school but his younger sister Laura does. After December 7, Laura's School Principal says do not talk about the war. There might be spies in this room. In Laura's class, there are approximately two other Japanese Americans.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Americans of Japanese Ancestry; discrimination; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Every day at school Dan says it is a ritual to do the pledge of allegiance. In high school, Dan enjoys science and math classes more than English.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: high school; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan says he is not good at sports because he is not athletic. Therefore he does not participate in basketball and baseball in High School like his friends. When Dan is in the 442nd, he says he is not the best soldier because he is not athletically inclined. There are limited choices in the Army in which unit you can join. Dan feels he would have excelled in another department other than being an infantryman. Growing up Dan is not involve with the Boy Scouts. However, later in life when his son William is involved, Dan volunteers.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: 442nd; friendship; high school; Japanese Americans; Nisei; World War Two; youth organizations

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: During Dan's youth, he likes watching ice skating rather than football, baseball, or basketball. Some hobbies Dan enjoys are stamp collecting, vintage cars and trucks, and reading. The favorite place Dan likes to go is the public library to read.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: childhood activities; Japanese Americans; Nisei; sports

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: In high school and college, Dan would help his parents on the farm. When Dan returns home from the University of California Berkeley, he works on the farm all summer six days a week. After graduating high school, Dan could not afford to go to college. He works on the farm for a year to save enough money to enroll in college. Although Dan's life is a struggle, he is grateful for the opportunities and to earn a college degree.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: employment; higher education; Japanese Americans; Nisei

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: During the Great Depression 1935, Dan is a freshman in high school. Life is a struggle, but the Uchimoto family can make enough money to survive. The residence in Suisun are sharecroppers and have a similar experience during the Great Depression. The lowest pay Dan work for is ten cents an hour and the highest pay is 20 cents an hour. If Dan works ten hours in the field he can earn two dollars a day.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: farm; farming; high school; Japanese Americans; Nisei

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan says his family owns a radio later in life, but there is no favorite radio show he listens to. Dan recalls his childhood home. Dan's parents could not own land because of the Alien Land Law. There is an organization called the Japanese Association of Suisun Valley that leases land. Dan's parents lease a small plot of land from this organization and build a home. When Dan is six years old, the family moves into the newly built home. The house has running water but no toilet. However, there is an outhouse. In the bathroom there is an ofuro. At home, Dan speaks mainly Japanese to his parents, and the siblings speak English to each other.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Alien land laws; community organizations; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; living conditions; Nisei; siblings

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan briefly attends Japanese School on Saturdays but stops going. Dan says he finds the Japanese language a little difficult to learn. He can speak Japanese but does not know how to read and write Japanese. Dan working on the farm every day and does not have an opportunity to visit the Japan Town in San Francisco, CA. Dan's father enjoys spending time at home rather than going out and socializing.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: education; farm; farming; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan's family does not have time to go on vacation because they work the farm. Dan recalls at school the teacher asking students about their vacation. However, Dan did not have a vacation story to share like the other students. At home, Dan does not practice Japanese customs. His parents allowed their children to be Americanized. On the fourth of July, Dan recalls being allowed to watch fireworks. Living on the farm, Dan says he eats the tomatoes. Even until this day he still enjoys eating tomatoes. Dan remembers on the farm the caterpillars would eat the tomatoes but you pull them off. Some fruits require spraying to protect the fruits from insects.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: childhood activities; farm; farming; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; travel

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan recalls learning geography at school. His primary school did not teach him about Japan or Japanese culture not any more than European culture. Dan's parents are part of Japanese teaching called Seicho-no-le. Seicho-no-le originated in Japan. Mr. Masaharu Taniguchi starts the program in the 1940s. Dan finds this program helpful in his own life and enjoys reading the monthly magazine.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: education; high school; Issei; Issei parents; Japanese Americans; Nisei; primary school

Subjects:

Partial Transcript: Dan discusses Jim Thorpe, a former Olympian. He also recalls another celebrity who passes through Suisun by train. This celebrity is waving at the locals.

Segment Synopsis:

Keywords: Japanese Americans; Nisei

Subjects: