SHIOTANI​,​ Tatsuji

My family operated a blacksmith shop. I wanted to learn how automobiles were made in America, but by that time, automobile production in America consisted mostly of assembling parts. In Japan, if a fender broke, we would make a replacement by hammering sheet metal into shape. Things were completely different here. My plans did not work out as expected. I came to New York when I was twenty-four or twenty-five years old. At first, I worked at a place like a game arcade in Coney Island. It was remarkable in those days. About half of the Japanese people could not speak English, but they were working everywhere. I also traveled to many country fairs, calling out things like, “Ten balls, ten cents.” At that time, the only choices were to work for a family or to work in a restaurant. So, I worked for a family. When the war began, I decided to return to Japan, and I attended a school for watch repair. Later, I started my own shop. At the time, it brought in fairly good money. I saved my money and began operating two apartment buildings. I continued buying properties one after another and eventually owned around ten. I still own four of them. I was detained for more than two years in Chicago, Maryland, Idaho, and other places. At the time, Japanese people were not eligible for citizenship. My records had been lost, so the FBI investigated the places where I had previously worked. However, many of the wealthy older people I had worked for had either retired or died. Most people would say, “I don’t know this man.” Because of that, the FBI decided I was suspicious and took me into custody. The fact that I had owned a Japanese boat also made a bad impression. I married for the first time when I was fifty. My wife was thirty-one at the time. A Japanese man needed considerable means to marry a white woman. He needed to belong to the upper class and have an income of about four or five thousand dollars. Otherwise, because she had married a “Jap,” [the following passage is unclear]. Japanese men do not know how to attend to women. By the third generation, however, they become more open. I dislike the Japanese way of life. I have disliked it since I was a child. The Emperor was worshiped almost as though he were a god. I am neither for nor against the Emperor, but that was the system, so there was nothing one could do about it. Life in Japan is restrictive. You must always think about your social obligations and your relationships with other people. That was what was wrong with Japan. In this country, even if you are poor, you can receive a higher education. If you have no income, the government helps you. Poor people are given what they need. For thirty or forty years, I have read The New York Times here every day. Individual thought is what creates the greatness of America. I have no 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/