C04, Nanako Okayama ‘87, Shige Okayama, Grandmother, 1906, Manchuria, Fukuoka
My grandmother is named Shige Okayama. She lives with us now. I talked with in May 1986. She is 80 years old, so she does not remember very much about the past.
Q: Grandmother, please tell me about World War II.
A: Your grandfather and I lived in Manchuria, which is now part of China. We were quite wealthy, so we lived in a large house and had housemaids, cooks, drivers, and dressmakers. Manchuria was a very cold place, and our house was surrounded by ice in the winter. Children often went ice skating on the river.
Your grandfather was an architect and the head of his firm. Many Chinese and Koreans worked for him. He was respected and admired by them. When your mother was born, she slept under a velvet blanket. But towards the end of the war, Chinese soldiers invaded our house and took all of our valuables, including watches and jewelry, and they even ripped up the carpet and took it. We were all frightened by the soldiers. Grandfather opened up the safe and showed all of the gold and money inside to the children. He said “You probably will not be able to see this much money for the rest of your life.” Many Japanese were killed and lynched.
Grandfather was worried about us, so he asked his Korean worker to help us escape by ship along with the Koreans. He paid him 30,000 yen per family member. Many ships sank, but ours survived. I took all of my seven children on the ship, and I never thought of leaving them behind. If I had left your mother there, she would have become an orphan (zanryū-koji) who is still searching for her real family.
Your grandfather could not leave China at that point, since he had to work for the Chinese government. Since he was talented, he was forced to stay there. We reached Kagoshima in southern Kyūshū, where your grandfather’s family lived. I sold seashells to feed my children. My oldest daughter and son were already in high school, so they helped me. When your grandfather finally returned, we moved to Fukuoka, and that’s where our house is now. He built our house very quickly, planning to build a better one later, but before he could do so, he died.
Q: That’s such a sad story. Are you happy now?
A: Even though I had a hard time in the past, now all of my children have grown up, and I am happy now. But I wished that Grandfather could have lived longer.
Q: Do you blame the war?
A: I used to, but not anymore. I like Japan, because it is a good country, and although some of the Chinese were scary, many of them helped and supported us.
I was very impressed by her past. I didn’t know that she had overcome such trouble and then was able to live the rest of her life in Japan. She said that she wanted to return to China once, but now she is too old to travel. I admire her, and I hope that she lives longer and longer so that I can learn more about her.