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Interview with Hatsumi Nishimoto, 1986 January 31-February 19

 Item
Identifier: SR 985

Scope and Contents

Audio recording of interview with Hatsumi Nishimoto (1900-1999), with abridged English transcript (31 pages). Nishimoto immigrated to the United States with her husband, Otoichi Nishimoto, in 1918. They owned a farm in Pine Grove, south of Hood River, Oregon, and later had two children. Nishimoto discusses her early life in Hiroshima, Japan, and talks about her marriage to Otoichi Nishimoto in 1918. She describes their journey to the United States later that year, and discusses working on apple orchards in Hood River. She discusses the property they purchased in Pine Grove in 1930, and talks about raising a family. She shares her experiences after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, including the arrest of her husband by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She discusses her experiences while incarcerated by the U.S. government during World War II, and talks about living conditions at the Tule Lake incarceration camp in California and the Heart Mountain camp in Wyoming. She discusses returning to the Hood River Valley after the war ended, and closes the interview by reflecting on her experiences as a first-generation Japanese American woman.

Dates

  • Creation: 1986 January 31-February 19

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Extent

7 audiocassettes (6 hr., 42 min., 19 sec.)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: Japanese

From the Collection: English

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

The audio for Tape 2, Side 1, is missing, but the content is reflected in the interview transcript, as translated into English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
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Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
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