HATA​,​ Shizuo

I came to America when I was little, and later went back to Japan for school. I studied up through middle school there, then my father called me back to America in 1918. You could say I was one of those who were “sent for.” During the war, I was in one of the camps. It was hard, of course, but I’d say it was a good experience too. Everyone eventually settled down somewhere, but there were just three of us left—my father passed away in the camp. After that, with help from the government, we stopped in Chicago for a while and then came to New York. New York really is a good place. Of course, California has its good points too. But there are so many things you don’t really get to know there. In New York, you have museums and art galleries, and I try to be careful about what I eat and go out as much as I can. Sometimes I do a bit of handicraft work, too. My wife was Nisei, born in 1915. We didn’t have any children. This interview is part of the DMHJNY's new exhibit Issei: Portraits Of The First-Generation Japanese New Yorkers which is on view here: https://www.historyofjapaneseinny.org/issei/