<Begin Segment 25>

[Translated from Japanese]

TY: Going back to American holidays, you talked about the turkey on Thanksgiving Day. There are other Christian holidays such as Christmas or Easter commonly celebrated in America. What did you do about those?

YI: We celebrated, too. We decorated the home. The second and third generation people decorated in American style. Even the members of the Buddhist temple decorated. We hung beautiful things. Everybody did it.

TY: Did you also celebrate at home?

YI: Yes. The children learned at school. So we did some.

TY: Did your husband say anything about that? About celebrating Christian holidays at the home of a Buddhist priest?

YI: What about Buddhism?

TY: About celebrating Christian holidays at the home of a Buddhist.

YI: Well, even if you are a Buddhist, it is an American lifestyle. These days everybody decorates the home and celebrates Christmas.

TY: It is a common holiday for a family, isn't it?

YI: Yes, that's why. Even if you don't know the birth date of Buddha which is April 8th, everybody knows Christmas, the Christian birth date, including Buddhist children. [Laughs] It cannot be helped. They grew up in this country.

TY: Did you do anything special on April 8th?

YI: Oh, on April 8th, every temple has a lot of activities.

TY: I bet you were busy preparing.

YI: We put together a small shrine decorated with live flowers. We poured sweet tea over the Buddha statue.

TY: Did the women's organization do most of the preparation for those?

YI: No, the temple did most of the work. The church people. The women's organization helped. We also made some sushi and had a party. Also food.

TY: When was the busiest season at the church -- I'm sorry -- at the temple?

YI: Well, I think it was the flower festival.

TY: How about Obon?

YI: Obon was also busy. We did Obon dance.

TY: When you were there, was there Obon, Obon dance?

YI: Yes, there was. We always had that. Even at the old temple. From the time of the first generation. But we did not have any food booths in those days. Here too, when I came here first, the only food booths were hot dogs and something skewered like meat. Now we have much more. You see a variety of food booths.

TY: In Seattle?

YI: Here.

TY: In Portland?

YI: There were many booths in Seattle, too. Satoru said that it was too much work and too tiring. They would reduce the number of booths. They had a beer parlor. According to the newspaper this year, there was a beer parlor, but there were not as many as in the old days. But there is also a display of bonsai or embroidery in the building every year.

<End Segment 25> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.