C05, Kei (Kay) Tatsumi ‘87, Grandmother, 1919, Tōkyō, Hokkaidō
In May 1986, I interviewed my grandmother. She is 67 years old, and she told me about the events of World War II.
Q: What did you do when the U.S. planes bombed Tōkyō?
A: We all had to dig a hole in the ground, which was called a bōkūgō (air raid shelter). Four families could fit in. We also had to turn off all the lights and wear a bōsai-zukin (disaster helmet) to protect our heads. Even though your uncle was only about one year old, he had a habit of bringing me the bōsai-zukin. Men weren’t allowed to wear Western clothes; instead they had to wear kokumin-fuku (national uniform), which looked like a soldier’s uniform or the school uniform worn by high school boys now. We had to attach a tag to our clothes with our name, blood type, address, and age, in case of emergency.
Q: Where did you live at this time?
A: We were living at Ōmori 8-chōme in Ōta-ku [southern Tōkyō]. There were many kūshū (bombing raids) at night. Even though our house wasn’t damaged, mothers with children under three years old had to evacuate (sokai). I went to Lake Ōnuma in Hokkaidō. That was where I had been born and where I grew up. I stayed with my mother. While I was there, your mother was born.
Q: How was shopping for food and daily needs?
A: We had some rice, since we got it from Grandfather’s company, and it was distributed by the government. But there was always a shortage of eggs, sugar, salt, miso, and so on. To buy potatoes and fish, we had to stand in a long line.
Q: Did you have to go shopping?
A: No, I didn’t have to, because my mother did all of the shopping. I guess this was because I was her real daughter and not her son’s wife. But many people had to borrow items like salt, sugar, and miso from their neighbors, since they weren’t available. There was this one neighbor who always came to borrow from us. I don’t really remember, but I think she never gave it back!
Q: So everybody had to help each other at this time?
A: Yes, everyone had to cooperate.
Q: Even the soldiers and the police?
A: They were just bossing us around. I’m glad that there aren’t any more soldiers in Japan. I’m really happy that Japan only has a Self-Defense Force.
Q: What happened to Grandfather when you went to Hokkaidō?
A: He had to stay at our house. He went to Chiba to dig many air raid shelters. His draft notification (akagami) came just at the end of the war, so he never had to go to fight. He stayed in Japan and worked. His company became an ammunition factory. All the companies then had to manufacture something for the war.
Q: What did you learn from the news then?
A: The newspapers and radio? You never knew if they were telling the truth or not. They always said that Japan was winning, but the Army and Navy were actually losing. They were under pressure from the government, so you could never trust the newspapers. They only wrote that Japan will win and celebrate the victory. And of course, Japan lost the war.
Q: Was money valuable?
A: No, not really, because since there was a shortage of items like clothing, a lot of barter (butsu-butsu kōkan) going on. During this time, there was no cotton, so there was a cloth called sufu. It was very thin and looked like cotton, but once you washed it, it became like gauze.
Q: What were women forced to do?
A: Women had to practice takeyari (combat with bamboo spears) and bucket relays. Now I think it was foolish, but at the time we were all taking it seriously. The bucket relays were supposed to help put out a fire, and the takeyari were supposed to defend Japan when the enemy attacked.
Q: Do you think you were one of the people with the hardest time?
A: No, because we still had our house in Tōkyō, and I evacuated to Hokkaidō, so there wasn’t much of an impact there.
Thank you very much for letting me take up your time today. Say “yoroshiku” to Grandpa when he comes home!