<Begin Segment 32>

[Translated from Japanese]

TY: I see some plays here.

YI: Oh, the plays. There was a youth group called Lotus Youth Group. As part of fundraising, they performed once a year.

TY: What kind of a play was it?

YI: What?

TY: What kind of a play was it?

YI: What kind of what?

TY: What kind of story? What kind of story was the play? Was it a Japanese play?

YI: Uh-huh. Japanese. It was a Japanese style.

TY: Did both the first generation and the second generation get together?

YI: Not many first generation people participated. It was mostly the second generation.

TY: Did they all speak Japanese?

YI: They memorized the Japanese lines very well.

TY: Who taught the lines?

YI: There were some people among the first generation who loved this type of thing. They taught them, I think. I don't know if they are still there, but the costumes were stored at the temple. Also the wigs. I don't know if they still keep them.

TY: Because they performed every year?

YI: They don't do that any longer. They went around nearby temples and played. Just when the war broke out, they were in Portland to perform. Then they were told the war had just broken out, and so they returned quickly to Seattle without finishing the performance, a first generation woman once told me.

TY: They were in a hurry so they did not finish.

YI: And then, the (Japanese) people who were leaders in the Japanese community were all taken away by the FBI.

TY: I hear it started the following day. People were taken away. This says "Betsuin Elevation Service". What kind of service is this? It is written as "Betsuin Elevation Service" in English.

Shinya: (It was done) when the temple became Betsuin.

YI: When it became Betsuin. He was the head minister at that time.

TY: All the members came.

YI: Uh-huh. These people are all in San Francisco. He is called socho and he is the very top.

TY: Yes. You made such arrangements ahead of time...

YI: The bishop often comes to an important service.

TY: When did the bishop come beside this occasion?

YI: Let me see. To special anniversaries of the temple. We invite him for such an occasion. The current bishop, Reverend Watanabe, is from near my place. In Japan.

TY: Oh, is he from Yamaguchi?

YI: Yes, he is from Yamaguchi.

TY: This banquet. It was a dinner party for everyone, wasn't it?

YI: Those were all the first generation.

TY: Yes. Who prepared for this type of a large banquet?

YI: You mean the box lunch?

TY: The meals.

YI: I think we had restaurants prepare those. He is still alive. My friend's son [inaudible].

TY: Him.

YI: His name is Yukihiko.

TY: This is a Muen service.

YI: It is called a Muen service. Muen means "no relations." Nowadays everybody has a family. In the olden days among the first generation, there were single men who came here to work and died. It was a memorial service for those people. We had a memorial service once a year for those who died without families. But now everybody has a family. Still it is called a Muen service.

TY: Do they still conduct that service?

YI: We still do in the fall. It is a big service.

TY: To remember the people who died a long time ago.

YI: Yes, the people from a long time ago. There were three missionaries at that time. My husband and two other young men. He is the second generation.

TY: Mr. Matsunaga is the second generation.

YI: He died about three years ago. This is the person who returned to Japan and got ill. He was healthy before. He is from some place in Fukui Prefecture.

<End Segment 32> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.