Wartime Memories

Tag: 1929

  • Tetsuko Iwasaki

    A04, Tetsuko Iwasaki ‘85, Manabu Iwasaki, Grandfather, 1929,   Tōkyō, Yokohama: Tsurumi-ku, Shizuoka The experience of a world war naturally occupies a large part of a person’s memory. Each day was a struggle to keep on living. Soldiers were in danger of being shot to death at any moment. The constant fear of death over…

  • Tomomi Yoshida

    B14, Tomomi Yoshida ‘86, Mr Ishikawa, Neighbor, 1929, Mie, Miyagi In May 1985, I interviewed Mr Ishikawa, who lives next door. He is now 56 years old, and he had experienced combat since he was 16 years old. During this interview, my mother interrupted and talked about herself and her father (that is, my grandfather).…

  • Yūko Yamada

    D07, Yūko Yamada ‘91, Yasuo Yamada, Father, 1929, Yokohama: Naka-ku In November 1989, I interviewed my father, Yasuo Yamada, who is 60 years old. We sat down together in the kitchen after dinner. Q: How old were you when World War II started? A: I was 12 years old. Q: What was the position of…

  • Mai Kawasaki

    F03, Mai Kawasaki ‘97, Itoko Kawauchi, Grandmother, 1929 I interviewed my maternal grandmother over the phone on December 3, 1995. She was born on May 5, 1929, and she is 66 years old now. Q: Where were you during World War II?A: I was evacuated with a lot of other people, along with my mother…

  • Ai Fujita

    G01, Ai Fujita ‘99, Sumako Ikeda, Grandmother, 1929, Tōkyō In November 1997, I interviewed my maternal grandmother, Sumako Ikeda, at my grandparents’ house in Umejima, Tōkyō. She was born in 1929 and is 68 years old now. Q: Please tell me your situation when World War II began. A: I was 12 years old when…

  • Tatsuya Kotake

    M02, Tatsuya Kotake ‘06, Yoshiko Kitano, Grandmother, 1929, Tōkyō, Niigata When World War II began, my grandmother, Yoshiko Kitano, was twelve years old. She had been born in 1929 (Shōwa 4). She was living in the working-class shitamachi area of Tōkyō with her family. Her neighborhood had a narrow street with five houses on each…

  • Yurika Yo

    M04C, Yurika Yo ‘06, Yo (Yu) Aiko, Grandmother, 1929, Ōsaka, Hyōgo, China I interviewed my paternal grandmother, who survived World War II. Her name is Yo (originally Yu) Aiko, and she is 73 years old. Her parents were immigrants from China, and my grandmother was born in Kōbe. She went to a Chinese elementary school…

  • Miyu Nagashima

    U04, Miyu Nagashima ‘20, Grandmother, 1929, Kanagawa: Kamakura-shi, Yokohama: Kanazawa-ku I interviewed my grandmother at home on October 15, 2018. She was born in 1929 and is 89 years old. This is her story during World War II. My family had a sushi restaurant in Kamakura, near our house. Although not as successful as my…

  • Marina Ōhashi

    K07, Marina Ōhashi ‘02, Shinpei Ōhashi, Grandfather, 1929, Yokohama: Nishi-ku I interviewed my grandfather, who lives close to me. His name is Shinpei Ōhashi, and he is 71 years old now. I interviewed him in his shop, Ōhashi Shōten, on November 8, 2000. I started off the conversation by asking the question, “Do you remember…

  • Mariko Kōda

    L08, Mariko Kōda ‘04, Grandmother, 1929, Ōsaka I interviewed my grandmother about the beginning of World War II, when she was only 12 years old. She lived on the outskirts of Ōsaka, so she wasn’t attacked directly. American planes bombed the center of the city in March 1945. She went to school until she was…