Oral History Interview with Chii Miyazaki Watanabe
1998-03-02
Issei female, born November 26, 1905 to a farm family. In order to meet a 1924 U.S. Immigration law deadline, she entered into an arranged marriage with Kiyoshi Watanabe. Chii arrived in Seattle, Washington at age nineteen in May 1924 and Kiyoshi farmed nearby. Eventually they moved to French Camp, California and managed their own farm. They participated in a training program by accepting agricultural students from Japan annually and teaching them basic farming skills. Chii took them into her home and cooked and cared for them. In time, the Watanabes were presented with a certificate of honor from Prince Takamatsu at the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco. Chii�s reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor was one of shock and disbelief as Japan had neither the ability nor resources to win a war with America. The family went to Manzanar in May 1942 when Chii was thirty-seven, her youngest child was born there. In 1944 the family was moved to Tule Lake, California. She worried about her children�s future as their lives and education were disrupted, their freedom denied�barbed wire fences were a constant reminder. The Watanabes left camp in 1945 and returned to French Camp.
Transcript available at Sacramento State University, Sacramento University Library
eng
jpn
Sound
2 Tapes of 2
Master
Copyright status unknown. This work may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, its reproduction may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. This work is accessible for purposes of education and research. Transmission or reproduction of works protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. California State University, Sacramento Library attempted to find rights owners without success but is eager to hear from them so that we may obtain permission, if needed. Upon request to info@csus.edu digitized works can be removed from public view if there are rights issues that need to be resolved.
US
TC336
Department of Special Collections and University Archives, California State University, Sacramento, 2000 State University Drive, Sacramento, CA, 95819-6039, US, Telephone: (916) 278-5240, email: lib-scua@saclink.csus.edu, http://library.csus.edu/scua