Kenji-Fort Minor

[ti:kenji] [ar:fort minor] [al:231523] [offset:0] [00:06.86]My father came from Japan in 1905 [00:10.08]He was 15 when he immigrated from Japan [00:13.54]He he he worked until he was able to buy this patch [00:16.92]And build a store [00:17.75]Let me tell you the story in the form of a dream [00:19.87]I don't know why I have to tell it but I know what it means [00:22.71]Close your eyes just picture the scene [00:23.81]As I paint it for you it was World War II [00:26.09]When this man named Kenji woke up [00:27.64]Ken was not a soldier [00:28.70]He was just a man with a family who owned a store in LA [00:32.20]That day he crawled out of bed like he always did [00:35.85]Bacon and eggs with wife and kids [00:37.68]He lived on the second floor of a little store he ran [00:40.54]He moved to LA from Japan [00:42.13]They called him 'Immigrant ' [00:43.45]In Japanese he'd say he was called Esay [00:45.92]That meant 'First Generation In The United States ' [00:49.36]When everyone was afraid of the Germans afraid of the Japs [00:52.11]But most of all afraid of a homeland attack [00:54.47]And that morning when Ken went out on the doormat [00:57.09]His world went black 'cause [00:58.49]Right there front page news [01:00.27]Three weeks before 1942 [01:01.81]Pearl Harbour's Been Bombed And The Japs Are Comin' [01:05.26]Pictures of soldiers dyin' and runnin' [01:07.03]Ken knew what it would lead to [01:08.69]Just like he guessed the President said [01:10.75]The evil Japanese in our home country will be locked away [01:13.48] [01:14.85]They gave Ken a couple of days [01:16.57]To get his whole life packed in two bags [01:18.74]Just two bags couldn't even pack his clothes [01:21.27]Some folks didn't even have a suitcase to pack anything in [01:24.12] [01:24.95]So two trash bags was all they gave them [01:27.08]When the kids asked mum Where are we goin' [01:29.30]Nobody even knew what to say to them [01:31.48]Ken didn't wanna lie he said The US is lookin' for spies [01:33.79]So we have to live in a place called Mandinar [01:37.19]Where a lot of Japanese people are [01:39.41]Stop it don't look at the gunmen [01:40.99]You don't wanna get the soldiers wonderin' [01:43.43]If you gonna run or not [01:45.03]'Cause if you run then you might get shot [01:46.87]Other than that try not to think about it [01:48.88]Try not to worry 'bout it bein' so crowded [01:51.17]Someday we'll get out someday someday [01:54.23] [01:56.04]As soon as war broke out [01:57.48]The G I came and they just come to the house and [02:01.32]You have to come [02:02.51]All the Japanese have to go [02:04.26]They took Mr Lee [02:06.01]People didn't understand [02:07.69]Why did they have to take him [02:09.39]Because he's an innocent labourer [02:11.44]So now they're in a town with soldiers surroundin' them [02:13.66]Every day every night look down at them [02:16.40]From watch towers up on the wall [02:18.32]Ken couldn't really hate them at all [02:20.20]They were just doin' their job and [02:22.13]He wasn't gonna make any problems [02:24.59]He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits that [02:28.05]He gave to the troops in a basket his wife made [02:30.11]But in the back of his mind he wanted his families life saved [02:32.71]Prisoners of war in their own damn country [02:35.48]What for [02:36.03]Time passed in the prison town [02:38.02]He wanted them to live it down when they were free [02:40.62]The only way out was joinin' the army [02:42.64]And supposedly some men went out for the army signed on [02:46.31]And ended up flyin' to Japan with a bomb [02:48.77]That 15 kilotonne blast put an end to the war pretty fast [02:53.10]Two cities were blown to bits the end of the war came quick [02:56.70]Ken got out big hopes of a normal life with his kids and his wife [03:00.41]But when they got back to their home [03:02.72]What they saw made them feel so alone [03:04.91]These people had trashed every room [03:06.66]Smashed in the windows and bashed in the doors [03:09.02]Written on the walls and the floor [03:11.09]Japs not welcome anymore [03:12.00]And Kenji dropped both of his bags at his sides and just stood outside [03:16.66]He looked at his wife without words to say [03:19.16]She looked back at him wiped the tears away [03:21.45]And said Someday we'll be okay someday [03:25.04]Now the names have been changed but the story's true [03:27.33]My family was locked up back in '42 [03:29.52]My family was there it was dark and damp [03:31.87]And they called it an internment camp [03:34.34]When we first got back from camp uhh [03:36.51]It was pretty pretty bad [03:38.82]I I remember my husband said [03:41.92]Are we gonna stay 'til last [03:44.35]Then my husband died before they close the [03:47.94]END [03:48.91]