C08, Safari Watanabe ‘87, Yoshie Watanabe, Grandmother, 1912, Hyōgo, Yokohama: Minami-ku, Naka-ku
I interviewed my grandmother, Yoshi Watanabe. She was born on February 27, 1913 (Meiji 45). She experienced the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and both world wars.
Q: Can you tell me anything about World War II?
A: When the war broke out, we were living in Yokohama. Later, when the bombing started, I took your father and the rest of the children to Awaji-shima [in Hyōgo], where I was born. It was much safer there, because it was in the countryside.
Q: Did you have any problems there?
A: Of course, we did not have enough to eat. Your grandfather and your father often went to get some food like potatoes. We mainly ate thin okayu [gruel]. It consisted of water and a little bit of rice and vegetables.
Q: How long did the condition continue?
A: Throughout the war. Then, after the war ended, we returned to Yokohama, but the living conditions did not get any better. Rice was still scarce. There was one time when we were able to get a bag of rice. This was extremely precious, so I kept that bag of rice in the closet where I kept my kimono. Then one day, an important guest came to our house. I made some sushi for him, using the bag of rice that I had been keeping in the closet. The guest did not eat all of the sushi, so after he left, I took a bite. I found that the rice smelled like naphthalene, because I had kept it in the closet for too long. It was very embarrassing.
Q: Do you remember anything else?
A: There was another time when someone else visited our house. We had bought some bottles of beer, so I opened one of the bottles and poured its contents into a glass for the guest. However, the bottle did not have beer inside. Instead, the person that sold me those bottles replaced the beer with water. So I was sitting in front of the guest, pouring water into his cup.
Q: What do you think about war?
A: It is terrible. It should never be repeated. You are very lucky to be born in a generation that has never experienced war.