Oral History Interview with Harry Hideo Yoshimura

Issei male, born October 1, 1902. Two older brothers came to America first, followed by their father in 1918. Only a father or uncle could �call� for Harry to come. Harry arrived in 1917 and lived with the brother who worked in a restaurant in Baker, Oregon. Although he completed high school in Japan, he attended local public schools to learn English. He managed a hotel for twelve years in Portland. When war was declared on December 8, 1941, Harry had been in America for twenty-two years and he was a strong supporter of America. In the spring of 1942, when he was forty, Harry was sent to Pinedale Assembly Center in Fresno, California, then to Tule Lake, California where he spent four years. He met and married his second wife, a Nisei, through an arranged marriage. He earned $16 per month as a dishwasher and a side income writing a textbook for a camp Japanese language school. He learned shijin in camp from master teacher, Mr. Sugita. This is an art form of poetry recited in a chanting mode unaccompanied by instruments. He was awarded first place trophies made of wood found at Tule Lake. His shijin name is Kokuin and he has been headmaster in the Sacramento area with sixty-five students and six teacher-caliber followers. Pages 19-29 in his bound oral history describe shijin. The appendix in the bound copy includes his shijin convention booklet with names of California participants.