E15, Sakura Sugibayashi ‘94, Kuni Yamanaka, Grandmother, 1915, Yokohama: Naka-ku, Midori-ku, Mongolia
I interviewed my maternal grandmother at her shop, on December 2, 1992. She is 77 years old and was born in 1915.
Q: How old were you during World War II?
A: Let’s see . . . I was about 26 when the war began, and I was 30 when it ended.
Q: Did Grandfather go to the war?
A: Yes, he did. He was one of the best soldiers. He fought in the Battle of Nomonhan [in 1939, against the Soviet Red Army in Mongolia] and in the Greater East Asia War (Dai-Tō-A Sensō, or World War II). Nomonhan was one of the biggest battles, in which only one soldier out of thirty survived. Japan was defeated badly and had to retreat. He came back injured. I was so happy to see him again that I could not say a word. But then in 1942 he was sent to fight against the United States and its allies, and I never thought that he would be able to come back.
Q: Do you know how he was able to survive?
A: Sure, I do! He was a lucky man. There was a big rock, and behind that rock, there were many dead soldiers. He went behind the rock and hid beneath the dead bodies, pretending he was dead. Clever man, isn’t he? [She laughs.]
Q: How did you feel every day during the war?
A: Oh, I cannot express my feelings. I just tried my best at everything, in order to survive, to support my family, and so on. I’m sure you won’t understand these feelings, but I was just so worried and anxious, and I feared everything. Most of all, I was worried about your grandfather’s survival. I prayed every day.
Q: How many children did you have during the war?
A: When Grandfather left for the Battle of Nomonhan, we already had three children. They were still small, and I really tried my best to raise them. By the time he had to leave for World War II, we had five children. They were small, but the three older ones helped me out a lot.
Q: How did you feel about Grandfather going back into combat?
A: Of course, I didn’t want him to go, but it was something that neither of us had control over. He had to go. But he was such a great soldier.
Q: How did you spend your life every day during the war?
A: Well, I was a farmer. I worked and worked really hard every day. I had to support my five children along with my father-in-law, who lived with us. My children helped me on the farm. I did my best to survive. I felt a strong responsibility to my family while your grandfather was gone, and I could not let them starve to death. I just worked and worked, nothing else. I did most of the men’s jobs myself. I stayed on the farm from morning until night, and the neighbors worried about me because I was working too hard. I cannot forget how nice they were! I worked harder than any other women that I know of. But I did not feel bad about working so hard. Maybe it’s because I was young, and also I had no greed. I’m proud of that. Just being able to survive was a difficult task.
Q: What did you eat every day? Was there a chance of starvation?
A: Well, I ate various grains and suipan (a type of noodles) almost every day. Since we were farmers, we could eat pork, chicken, and eggs too. We didn’t have a problem of starvation. Grandfather had a business, as well as owning the farm, so we had more money than other people. We helped those who were really starving. You know what? We were the first ones in our town to have a refrigerator.
Q: Did any of your friends or relatives die during the war?
A: Oh, sure. Many. Almost all of the men from our town who went to war died. It was only your grandfather who was able to come back alive. He was really a lucky man. Many of my relatives died too. It’s such a terrible story.
Q: Did you ever experience an evacuation?
A: Well, it wasn’t really an evacuation, but when it became too dangerous for my relatives to live in the Honmoku area of Yokohama, I took them and my neighbors to my brother’s house in Hachiōji. But we stayed there for only two days, and then we decided to go back, since we felt that it didn’t really matter where we were. Everywhere was dangerous anyway, and when we die, we die. So we went back to Yokohama after two days. But then I received a message from my grandfather telling me to move to a more rural area, so we went to my mother’s house in Midori-ku. He said that he was so worried about us and that he prays every day, wishing that my children and I will stay safe. He didn’t wish for anything except our safety. It was such a lovely message that I can never forget about it. As he wished, we moved to my mother’s house in Midori-ku, where I still live now, and we were safe here.
Q: Were you scared of the war?
A: Oh, of course I was. I was really scared every day. The bombs, the sounds of the planes, the screams, everything. I can still remember exactly how scared I was.
Q: What is your overall opinion of the war?
A: I never want to experience that life again. It should never happen again. It was terrible suffering, pain, and fear. That was enough, I mean really enough, for my whole life.
Q: What will you do if war starts again?
A: I would never ever want to experience that again, but if it starts, I guess that’s life. I don’t have any control over it. It would be the government’s decision.
I really learned a lot from interviewing my grandmother. She spoke to me very emotionally, so that I felt her pain and suffering. I am proud of my grandfather. As my grandmother said, he was really a great man. I wish that he were alive, because I wanted to learn more from him. I feel lucky that I live in a world today when I don’t have to experience the fear, pain, and suffering that my grandparents and many other people had to go through.