E04, Marika Ezure ‘94, Emiko Ikenaga, Grandmother’s friend, 1921, Yokohama: Naka-ku, Ibaraki
The woman whom I interviewed was Emiko Ikenaga. She is 71 years old and was born in 1921. Emiko Ikenaga is the friend of my maternal grandmother. The interview took place on November 22, 1992, at the old folks’ homes where her sister lives. When I first asked for the interview, she hesitated, since her life had been greatly influenced by these sorrowful events. However, when I told her that I would accept her testimony seriously, she began to answer my questions. She talked for over 90 minutes.
Marika (= M): How old were you during the war?
Emiko ( = E): I was in my early 20s.
M: What were you doing?
E: I was a newlywed bride. But a few years later, my husband died of tuberculosis. So the insurance company gave me 2000 yen, so I think that my life was a whole lot easier than most other people. You might think that 2000 yen is not a lot, but it would be worth more than 2,000,000 yen today. Since my house in Yokohama had burned down because of the U.S. B-29 air raids, I escaped and went to the Isohara Seaside Hotel in Kashima, on the Ibaraki coast, where my friend worked. I waited for the war to end, but the war still went on, so I went to work at Hitachi Seisakusho factory. I lived in the employee dormitory.
M: How did you avoid danger?
E: When I was working at Hitachi Seisakusho, I was afraid of naval bombardment (kanpō shageki), explosive shells fired from U.S. ships off the Pacific coast. Every time they were launched, I heard the sound: gō … gō … gō. Another thing I was afraid of was the B-29 bombers. When they flew over Kashima, we heard the warning “Keikai Keihō Hatsurei” over the loudspeaker, as a signal that the B-29 bombers were coming closer. Whenever I heard the warning, I hid in the shelter or cave and turned off all of the lights until the planes had passed over us. Some people were killed by B-29 bombs, and they were disastrous. Whenever the bombs fell, I could see the sky turn a bright red, since the houses and buildings were all on fire. Every day, I was afraid of bombs and bullets, as if they were chasing me all the time.
M: What did you eat?
E: There was a rationing system (haikyū seido). That meant that we had to pay a set amount of money to receive coupons, which were worth ten points or twenty points, and so on. There were restrictions, and we were only able to use them for certain items. For example, the maximum that you would pay for a kimono was 50 points. For food, we had to line up to get potatoes, fish, and a small amount of rice. Since the amount of food was so limited, most people made okayu (gruel). We were always hungry. But there was a “back route” to obtain the rice on the black market. I paid double the normal price of the rice in order to get it. The seller bought it directly from farmers in the countryside. Since it was illegal to buy food or clothes other than through the ration coupons, I was caught by the police several times, and they confiscated the rice. I was so hungry that I exchanged my kimono for rice from the farmers. Money was of no use. We were not able to obtain food or clothing, even if we had money. So we were always short of food and clothing. I used to wear monpe (loose trousers) since they were easier to move around in, and I traded all of my kimono for food.
M: Did you see people dying?
E: I saw dead cows and people who had burned to death. [She began crying at this point.] The city was a dangerous place to stay, so I moved even further to the countryside in Katsuta, Ibaraki.
M: What happened to your family?
E: My younger brother received the conscription notification (akagami) for military service. He was only twenty, but he was patriotic and loyal to the country, so he went to the war. He was supposed to be a Kamikaze pilot, but the war ended after a few months, so my brother survived. However, because of exhaustion and disease, he died on the way home. My elder brother was not drafted into the Army, since he was not healthy. Moreover, he had graduated from university and had a high-priority occupation, so he didn’t need to go to the war.
M: Are there other stories that were painful to you?
E: Well, I heard from your grandmother that she and her sister were drinking tea one day, and suddenly there was a naval bombardment, and pieces of the missile hit her sister’s stomach, and she was split in two. Your grandmother saw that happened right in front of her, just one or two meters away. But your grandmother was not hurt. That is how frightening the war was.
M: Do you have any message for young people?
E: The war should never be repeated again. The routine of my life changed by 180 degrees. [She had grown up in a wealthy family, had graduated from a prestigious girls’ school, and lived a luxurious life before the war.] Many people suffered from starvation and poverty and death. Japanese who had to evacuate from Manchuria were forced to give their children to Chinese families to take care of them. People suffered, and young people must appreciate the peace within and outside Japan.