<Begin Segment 14>

[Translated from Japanese]

TY: What kind of house did you live in? In what way? What kind of housing did you get after you arrived in Fresno?

YI: We rented a small house and lived there. Then Satoru was born there.

TY: Your first son, Satoru.

YI: He will be seventy in February next year. Since we came here one year earlier, we have been in America for seventy-one years.

TY: Yes.

YI: Although we returned to Japan for two years.

TY: You have lived in America for seventy years...

YI: I don't think I will ever return to Japan. My husband, Reverend Ichikawa, obtained the citizenship long ago.

TY: So, Satoru was born and then Etsuko was born...

YI: Yes, another boy, Kazuya, was born. Akira was born in Seattle. After we came to Seattle, Akira and Hiroko, a girl, were born. She lives in Port Townsend. Then Shinya was born. In the year of the war.

TY: I hear that you took some English lessons in Fresno.

YI: Yes, I went for a short while. About one month. But it was so difficult and then I got pregnant, pregnant with Satoru. So I quit.

TY: Can you tell us about that English language class?

YI: The teacher of the English class was Miss [inaudible]. She was a German and tall. I could write in English but could not read. There was this Chinese woman who could talk but could not write. She did not know even ABC. I remember that the teacher said you two should be combined.

TY: Then you could read and write. [Laughs]

YI: "You can write some but cannot speak. She can speak but cannot read."

TY: It would be perfect if you could be combined. By the way, I would like to ask you about the ceremonial traditions. Were there any differences between Japan and Fresno in terms of weddings, funerals and festivals.

YI: Let me see. Since it was the raisin growing area, there was a raisin festival. There was a parade.

TY: Was it a festival in Fresno?

YI: The festival in Fresno. Among the Caucasians, there seemed a lot of festivals. When I first came to San Francisco, someone took me to a carnival in Alameda. Then I was put on a ride which rotated a way up high. I was so scared. I had never been on anything like that. I still cannot forget about that experience. Also, I was on a ride which flowed down fast from a high place. Then it would suddenly stop. Those are my memories.

TY: Was that after you arrived in San Francisco and before you went to Fresno?

YI: Before we went. A minister said that he would take us to a carnival in Alameda. He put us on that ride. I was so scared. It goes round and rough at a high place. Sitting on a chair. I felt sick. I hated it. [Laughs]

TY: I hear your husband was also on the ride.

YI: It was fun to ride such a thing when I was a child. But it is scary when you grow old.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.