Densho Digital Repository - Kenji Tomita Interview (Densho ID: ddr-ajah-1-3)

<Begin Segment 5>

JT: And did you go to Nihon gakko, Japanese school?

KT: Yeah.

JT: Where did you go to Japanese school?

KT: At the church.

JT: Okay, it was at the church. Do you remember any of your teachers, their names?

KT: Not really.

JT: Yeah, I don't remember any of them either. But was it held in the church, at the church building?

KT: Yeah.

MT: What church are you talking about?

KT: Buena Vista Methodist Church.

MT: You went to Japanese school there?

KT: Yeah.

MT: How long?

KT: Until about... probably, let's see...

MT: Because I thought you said your father was one of the founders of the other...

KT: The other Nihon gakko.

JT: Where was that?

KT: Right across from the church.

JT: Oh. In 1930?

KT: Yeah.

JT: Okay, that was that other building. That was between...

KT: Near the Buddhist Temple.

JT: Yes, 2730 Buena Vista. That was the Nihon gakko, and they had offices there, too, in that building. Oh, you remember that? Do you remember who ran that school? Who ran that school? Was it the Methodist Church or the Buddhist Temple?

KT: Well, it was mostly Buddhist, because the church had its own language school.

JT: I see.

KT: And then my father and Mr. Kako said that maybe if you had only one school, you learned Japanese much better than the way it was. But then the church didn't go for that. But at that time, my father and Mr. Kako decided to go to the other Japanese language school.

JT: Okay. On Buena Vista at the Buddhist church, temple.

KT: Yeah. And I don't think that there was a Buddhist building.

JT: No. Do you remember what time, was it every day that you went?

KT: Yeah.

JT: Every day after school, after Porter, you went there.

KT: Right.

JT: How did you like that?

KT: Didn't. [Laughs]

JT: Why?

KT: Well, you'd rather play.

JT: Exactly, exactly. And when you did play, what kind of things did you play? Besides throwing balls, did you do anything else?

KT: I liked to play basketball.

JT: Okay.

KT: And there was a court in the backyard of the church.

JT: Of Buena Vista?

KT: Yeah.

JT: Oh, I didn't know that. Who else played with you?

KT: Oh, like Takeo Nakata, I guess Dan Mashihara, and Stanley Aoyagi.

JT: Okay, so you were buddies with those people, those guys.

KT: And we sort of formed a team. We went to the YMCA in Oakland and played in their league.

JT: Oh, my. And in their gym at the YMCA?

KT: Right.

JT: In those days, how did you get there?

KT: (Bus), I guess...

JT: Did one of you have a car or were you still too young to drive?

KT: I mean, after we got older, then some people had access to a car.

JT: Did you?

KT: No. [Laughs] Well, actually, my brother was able to drive. And he probably was one of the people that...

JT: Took you back and forth.

KT: Yeah.