This is a group interview with the Lemon Creek Harmonica Band- George Funamoto, Noji Murase, Junji Ikeno, and George Tsushima. The interview was conducted on October 15, 2010, by Lisa Uyeda.
Their seating order from left to right is George Tsushima, George Funamoto, Junji Ikeno, Noji Murase. (Band member Akira “Ako” Matsubayashi not present, only briefly mentioned that he initially planned to make it to the interview.)
Noji Murase was born in North Vancouver on September 20, 1924 [other sources say January 12, 1925].
Junji Ikeno was born on May 30, 1922, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
George Funamoto was born September 20, 1923 in Kamloops, British Columbia.
George Tsushima was born on November 25, 1925 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The interview is about their story as a harmonica band along with recounts of each individual’s background pre-war, during World War II, and some discussion of their lives post-war. They take turns sharing what they remember about their parents’ immigration stories and their childhoods and their lives in Vancouver, then being displaced to the Lemon Creek internment camp, except for George F. who was in road camps. Discussions about their harmonica playing in the past and the present, The New Canadian and other Japanese Canadian newspapers, language learning, differences of lives and values between generations, perceptions of Japanese Canadians, the environment for education and career development, Thomas Shoyama, and nicknames are interspersed throughout the interview.
Content warning: There is a retelling of the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima.