Mr. Peter Iwao Sano Talks about
His Experiences in Former Soviet Union
as an Internee after WW II Part I - Backgrounds
Interview Date: September 10, 2014
Place: Mr. Sano’s residence in Palo Alto, California
Interviewee: Mr. Peter Iwao Sano
He is the author of the book, “1000 days in Siberia.” Born in Brawley, California in 1924. Later, he was adopted to his uncle and aunt’s family in Japan when he was 15 and gained Japanese citizenship. Drafted into the Japanese army during WWII, and then was taken to Siberia after WWII was over while was stationed in Manchuria. After he returned from Siberia, he came back to the United States, he regained his American citizenship and settled in Palo Alto. Then he worked as a draftsman of architectural drawing until retirement. Minako, his wife, is the translator of the Japanese version of his book.
Planning/Japanese Translation/Interviewer: Haruko Oshima Sakakibara
Born in Tokyo. She has been a lecturer of Japanese in East Asian Language and Culture at University of California, Davis since 1986. She published the bilingual website, “Japanese in Siberia” in 2015. Her uncle was interned in Siberia.
japaneseinsiberia.ucdavis.edu
Excerpts 1
When I was fifteen years old, I went to Japan and took up Japanese citizenship because it was necessary when I was being adapted. Because I had Japanese citizenship, I was drafted into Japanese military.
The Sano family was split into two sides when the WWII began because you were there in Japan at that time. As a result, the same family experienced two different kinds of imprisonment.
My family in the US was taken to the camp at the different times. As soon as the executive order was issued, FBI came to my father’s place and took my father to camp. He was not taken to one of the ten camps and in those days I think they called it a department of, I don’t know what they refer to, but it is a camp in North Dakota. I think they had two of those camps, one in North Dakota and one in Texas. And that’s where they took the prisoners and my father was taken to North Dakota. That’s just like what I mentioned when the order was issued and the rest of the family was taken, four months later, they were taken to Poston, Arizona, to the camp there.
“Did the Sano family know that you were put into harsh labor in Siberia?”
“I am sorry I don’t know the detail of it. It was way after the war ended they found about that. ”
Interview 1
Sakakibara: Thank you so much for having us at your home in Palo Alto today, Mr. and Mrs. Sano. How many children and grandchildren do you have?
Sano: We have two children and one boy and one boy. We have two grandchildren?
Sano: One boy one girl.
How nice, how nice! Do they visit you often?
Sano: They all live in Palo Alto, so we get together for occasions. It’s been really nice.
Sakakibara: How wonderful!
Sakakibara: Would you tell me your birthday and the current age, Peter?
Mr. Sano: I was born in June 9th 1924, so I was 80 years old last June.
Sakakibara: How many years have you been married, Minako?
Sano: 56 years.
Sakakibara : And you are from Japan, right?
Sano: I am from Tokyo.
Sakakibara : How many years have you been retired, Peter?
Sano: 2 years. I retired from work last year.
Sakakibara : And what were you doing?
Sano: I was a draftsman and I was doing architectural drawing. I was working for a company, but I retired from that company probably twenty years ago. Then I had my own little business and I was going for contractors.
Sakakaibara: Did you also do the gardening structures? You have a beautiful Japanese garden.
Sano: Well, I do, but it’s sort of getting harder to do nowadays.
Sakakaibara: What have you been enjoying doing since your retirement?
Sano: Since I retired, I have been reading. I have over 100 books on the subject of Japanese prisoners of war in Siberia and all of them are written in Japanese. I have a hard time reading in Japanese, so I spend a lot of time reading. I don’t know if I will be able to read all the books I have.
Sakakaibara: Minakosan, do you do something together with him?
Mrs. Sano: Something together? Well, we go out to walk to do some exercise, and what I enjoy is to get together with the family because everybody in this family lives in Palo Alto.
Sakakaibara: I see and I understand you are a quite a musician.
Sano: Well, I like music. Thank you.
Sakakaibara: Today, you are going to share your valuable life’s experiences with us regarding the period while you were interned in Siberia. I learned so much about it from your book, 1000 days in Siberia. (Show the book.) Actually this was translated into Japanese. This was published in 1997, and two years later, Mrs. Sano, Minako Sano translated into Japanese, so it’s available in both languages. And this book I read is such a moving book and is written with lots of humor and insight even though you were in such a dangerous and cruel environment. Your illustrations add a lot too. In fact, reading your book will tell us a lot more things in detail.
Sano: Thank you.
Sakakaibara: Your case is so unique because you were there as a Japanese, but you were really born and raised as an American.
Sano: Yes. When I was fifteen years old, I went to Japan and took up Japanese citizenship because it was necessary when I was being adapted. Because I had Japanese citizenship, I was drafted into Japanese military. However, in Siberia, what I would like to mention is the fact that as soon as I arrived at Siberia, we had to tell our personal history. For some reason, the group leader told me “Suzuki, don’t write the fact that you were born in the United States. Just make your note there that you were born in Japan and you had all your life in Japan. “ I don’t know why he said that, but that stuck with me and I always kept it that way. And many years later, I found out that it was a wise thing to do because in other people’s experiences, because when they found out the prisoner was a Nisei, or somebody Japanese American born in the United States, that they had a very difficult time when Russians found out about this. When I came back to Japan, and decided to return to the US, the US government, I don’t know which branches of military it was but they started to checking up on me and of course right away they found out that I was a prisoner in Siberia, and one of the first questions that they asked me was “How come you were able to come back from Siberia earlier than when the majority came back?” And I told them “I was a patient and I had Malaria so they sent me back. “ And he said, “Well that might be true, but I think there is another reason. “ I said, “I don’t know what you are saying.” He said, “Here is what happened. The Russians found out that you were born in the United States. Therefore, you must know English, so they pulled you out and told you, we’ll send you back to Japan, However…We’ll send you back early, but they said, “Here is your part of bargain. When you go back to Japan, you work for the occupation and when you go out and talk to the Japanese people whatever, about what Americans are doing in Japan and what they are saying about what kind of Government the United States has and they are supposed to make you a democratic country, you twist it around to make it somehow sneak in the fact that the United States is completely wrong and real good government is what the Soviet Union government has. That's the deal you made with Russians. You came back early, but you have to work for them. Isn’t that the reason why you were able to come back early?” And I said, “No. Nothing like that happened.” And he said, “There was a guy just like you from Texas and he had to finally take the lying detector test on him and every time he failed. So I said, “I am willing to take lying detector test if you can not believe me.” And that subject was dropped after that.
Sakakibara: Your were miraculously able to make it back to Japan, and went back to your uncle and aunt’s home. However, you made a decision to permanently come back to the Sano family in California and re-obtain the American citizenship. Do you think you made a right decision?
Sano: Yes, I think it was a right decision I made although I never talked about it with my parents and with my Japanese parents either. I just never brought up the subject up like that.
Sakakibara: The Sano family was split into two sides when the WWII began because you were there in Japan at that time. As a result, the same family experienced two different kinds of imprisonment. Your family was put into the Japanese internment camp until the end of the war, and you were taken to Siberian labor camps by Stalin’s national order 9898 after the WWII ended. Although two experiences happened in different ways, one in the east and one in the west, there is a common structure because innocent people were deprived of their freedom under the war hysteria. First, can we talk about the internment experience of the Sano family in the US?
Sano: Yes, thank you.
Sakakaibara: When President Franklin Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 was issued on Feb.19, 1942 after the Pearl Harbor attack, over 127,000 United States citizens of Japanese ancestry were imprisoned into ten relocation camps in remote areas. Where was your family sent?
Sano: Yes, my family was taken to the camp at the different times. As soon as the executive order was issued, FBI came to my father’s place and took my father to camp. He was not taken to one of the ten camps and in those days I think they called it a department of , I don’t know what they refer to, but it is a camp in North Dakota. I think they had two of those camps, one in North Dakota and one in Texas. And that’s where they took the prisoners and my father was taken to North Dakota. That’s just like what I mentioned when the order was issued and the rest of the family was taken, four months later, they were taken to Poston, Arizona, to the camp there.
Sakakaibara: What type of experiences did they have in the camp?
Sano: Well, I think it was a rough time. Especially, people who suffered most was Isseis, the first generations. For instance, my siblings were young and, in some ways, it was a time when they were with friends every day, but I am sure it was difficult for them. My older brother went to the camp, and I don’t think he had dinner with family too often. He would be together with his friends. I think it was a difficult time and those who suffered the most ,I am sure, were the parents and Isseis.
Sakakaibara: Did the Sano family know that you were put into harsh labor in Siberia?
Sano: I am sorry I don’t know the detail of it. It was way after the war ended they found about that. That was when my brother went to Japan and visited my Japanese family. At that time, he was told that I was sent to Manchuria, and therefore, I must be in Siberia. So it was at that time they found out I was a prisoner in Siberia.
Sakakaibara: How was reuniting with your family in the United States when you finally came home safely?
Sano: Well, as a young man, I was not emotional about it, but I am sure my parents were happy to see me back in Japan because much later I heard from my older brother how they suffered when they sent me to Japan. They had a very difficult time. So therefore, they must have been very happy to see me back again.
Sakakaibara: That was very nice. Thank you very much for all your stories for this part.