Charles Kikuchi

Following are excerpts from the journal of Berkeley student Charles Kikuchi, in which he describes the scene at the departure point for Japanese evacuees from the San Francisco area and his family's arrival at the Tanforan assembly center outside of San Bruno, California. Kikuchi depicts the surprising lack of sadness among the American-born Japanese (Nisei), who seemed to be preparing for evacuation as if it were a vacation. Upon their arrival at Tanforan, a racetrack until it was hastily converted to an assembly center, Kikuchi and his family set about trying to make a livable home in the crowded and chaotic atmosphere.

April 30, 1942, Berkeley: Today is the day that we are going to get kicked out of Berkeley. It certainly is degrading. I am down here in the control station [collecting points for Japanese Americans awaiting evacuation to...