Faced with the prospect of being left with the sole responsibility for her parents, tired of her mother’s friends trying to marry her off to their sons, and buoyed by Tomi’s scouting report of prospects in Chicago, Kiyo made her own plans to leave. Shig could help her find a job through his university contacts. She would share an apartment with Shig near campus. Her application for leave was granted, and in October of 1944, Kiyo left camp for Chicago—leaving Tomi to take care of Bachan and Jichan for the duration.
1 “Facts about Topaz,” Topaz Museum web site. <https:///topaz-history/facts-about-topaz/> Accessed 5/13/2018.
About the contributor: Ruth Sasaki was born and raised in San Francisco after the War. The Takahashis, her mother’s family, were incarcerated in Tanforan and Topaz. A graduate of UC Berkeley (BA) and SF State (MA), she has lived in England and Japan. Her short story “The Loom” won the American Japanese National Literary Award, and her collection, The Loom and Other Stories, was published in 1991 by Graywolf Press. She shares her more recent writing via her website: www.rasasaki.com. Ruth volunteers as the editor, curator, and webmaster of the Topaz Stories Project.
Copyright 2018, R. A. Sasaki. All rights reserved.
Thank you for sharing these stories. They give a fine tuning to history most US citizens never told.