Series

Oral history interview with George Iwasaki

• 1992-08-19 - 1992-09-16 (Creation)

.1 cubic feet; 2 audiocassettes (1 hr., 58 min., 10 sec.) + transcript (48 pages) + 1 photograph (color)

This oral history interview with George Iwasaki was conducted by Etsu Osaki at the Oregon Buddhist Church in Portland, Oregon, from August 19 to September 16, 1992. The interview was recorded as part of the Japanese American Oral History Project, which was conducted by the Oregon Historical Society to preserve the stories of Japanese Americans in Oregon. The interview was conducted in two sessions.

In the first interview session, conducted on August 19, 1992, Iwasaki discusses his family background and early life on a farm in Hillsboro, Oregon. He talks about the Japanese-American community in Oregon and about his education. He then discusses working on the family farm during the Depression, his marriage to Tomiko Natsuhara, and the lead-up to the U.S. government's incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, including making arrangements for the family farmland. He talks about his family's experiences while they were detained at the Portland Assembly Center and about accepting the option to work as fieldworkers in Nyssa, Oregon, including living conditions in the agricultural camp run by the Farm Security Administration. He then discusses returning to Hillsboro after the family's release in 1945.

In the second and final interview session, conducted on September 16, 1992, Iwasaki continues discussing the family's return to Hillsboro after their release in 1945, and describes how the family recovered their farmland and restarted their business. He talks about the evolution of the family farming business, now known as Iwasaki Bros., to focus on bedding plants. He also speaks about his involvement in Japanese American community organizations, including the Oregon Buddhist Church. He closes the interview by talking about his children, their families, and their careers.

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

• English

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with George Iwasaki, by Etsu Osaki, SR 958, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Forms part of the Japanese American Oral History Project.

Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.

Sarah Stroman

• Japanese Americans--Oregon
• Agricultural laborers » Farmers » Farmers--Oregon--Hillsboro
• Farm life--Oregon
• Japanese Americans--Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
• Labor camps--Oregon--Nyssa
• World War, 1939-1945--Japanese Americans

• Osaki, Etsu (Contributor)

• Interviews