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Interview with Asayo Noji, 1986 April 28-May 10

 Item
Identifier: SR 982

Scope and Contents

Audio recording of interview with Asayo Noji (1897-1994). Noji immigrated to the United States in 1916 to join her husband, Kichizo Noji, whom she had married earlier that year. They farmed in Parkdale, south of Hood River, Oregon, and later had four children. Noji discusses her early life in Hiroshima, Japan; her marriage as a “picture bride” to Kichizo Noji; and her journey by ship to the United States. She talks about adjusting to life in Parkdale, and about raising a family. She shares her experiences after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. She talks about the arrangements the family made for the care of their property before the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. She talks about living conditions at the Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, California, at the Tule Lake incarceration camp in California, and at the Minidoka camp in Idaho. She discusses returning to the Hood River Valley after the end of the war. She closes the interview by talking about her activities at the time of the interview, and by reflecting on her experiences as a first-generation Japanese American woman.

Dates

  • Creation: 1986 April 28-May 10

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Extent

9 audiocassettes (7 hr., 43 min., 6 sec.)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: Japanese

From the Collection: English

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

The audio on Tape 6, Side 2 cuts in and out, and the missing part of that interview session, originally conducted on May 7, 1986, was re-recorded on Tape 7, Side 2, on May 10, 1986. The audio on Tape 8, Side 1, also cuts in and out.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240