Wartime Memories

Tag: Hyōgo

  • Safari Watanabe

    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,…

  • Irwine Chang

    A01C, Irwine Chang ‘85, Mother, c 1933, China, Hyōgo The following are my mother’s memories of her wartime experiences. I interviewed her in May 1984. She is 51 years old now and was born around 1933. I came to Japan when I was four years old. I was born in Guangzhou [Canton], but because of…

  • Maria Roe

    A07U, Maria Roe ‘85, Yoshie Spangler, c 1940, Daniel Abe, c 1940, Hyōgo, Chiba, Family friends I’ve collected some comments on World War II and the American Occupation, from friends of my mother. They were both too busy for full interviews, so I talked to two different people in May 1984. They are both in…

  • Lina Ritchie

    B11P, Lina Ritchie ‘86, Father, 1932, Hyōgo On Wednesday, May 22, 1985, I interviewed my father at home after supper about his experiences in World War II. He was born in 1932 and is 53 years old now. Q: Where were you during World War II? A: I was in Kōbe when the war began.…

  • Aileen Jo

    D02C, Aileen Jo ‘91, “Anyan,” Grandmother, c 1924, Hyōgo, Nagano, China, Yokohama: Naka-ku In November 1989, I asked my grandmother (whom I call “Anyan”) about her wartime memories. She was a teenager and young adult during the worst years of the war.  Q: Anyan, I’d like to ask you some questions about your experiences during…

  • 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…

  • Freddie Jinzaki

    M01C, Freddie Jinzaki ‘06, Grandmother, 1936, Hyōgo My grandmother was born in 1936 and experienced the war when she was in elementary school. She lived in Kōbe, as the oldest child of her family, and she remembers quite a lot about this time period. She remembers very clearly the keihō warning sirens. There were two…

  • Rei Kokubu

    U03, Rei Kokubu ‘20, Kanbei Kokubu, Grandfather, 1939, Hyōgo, Tōkyō My grandfather, Kanbei Kokubu, is 79 years old. I interviewed him on November 4, 2018, at my house where we live together. Rei (I):  When were you born? Grandfather (G): In 1939 (Shōwa 14). I: So were you born just before Japan went to war…