<Begin Segment 59>

TY: [Jpn.] Now, would you please talk about this? [hands a bag to MK]

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Oh, this is also...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] What do you call this? What kind of tree of California is this?

TY: [Jpn.] It was a Redwood.

MK: [Jpn.] What?

TY: [Jpn.] It was a Redwood.

MK: [Jpn.] What kind of tree was this? If somebody tells me, I will recognize it. Can't think of an English word. What was this tree? It was a light-weight tree.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Everybody, people in the camp made a lot of things from this wood. Small pieces of furniture and such. And then, when you know, they want some writing, picture, then make it big, flat... a flat one. Then they drew a picture on it.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] And then you paint shellac this way. It covers it.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] With it, we made beautiful things. In those days. They painted beautiful pictures.

TY: [Jpn.] There were really talented people there.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. And also, um, I heard that people made various things.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] We had unlimited time on hand. And some of us were carpenters.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] So they can make anything. There were so many different people, and so we could do anything. It was a big camp. There was nothing we couldn't do. We could do anything within our group.

TY: [Jpn.] And do you remember this? Your embroidery...

MK: [Eng.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Didn't you make this part of the bag?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. I made this, but...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] But my husband made this.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] So in this way. Well, I was at seventy-three, seventy-eight. The very end. The first spot. Uh-huh. And this is my husband, Roy.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Roy. "N" is Naoe.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Kurosu. See?

TY: [Jpn.] And Misses, right?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Naoe Kurosu. Uh-huh. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] How did you pick this design?

MK: [Jpn.] No. I was told to use this design.

TY: [Jpn.] Oh, is that right?

MK: [Eng.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] And it was used in your class.

MK: [Jpn.] So I followed it. Uh-huh. But if I am told to embroider this now, I wouldn't know where to start. I really won't know.

TY: [Jpn.] I see. So you were making these types of things often.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Many people were making various things.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. We tried various things. Some of us made pins.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Masamune Sado. Oh, Masami. Masami Sado is the person who lived next door to us.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] I mean, of the barrack.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. She was... what was it? That "gan," what was it?

TY: [Jpn.] You mean geese. Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Yes, geese. That's right. Geese. She made a lot of pins of geese and other birds.

TY: [Jpn.] Using sea shells?

MK: [Jpn.] And she painted them beautifully.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] And she sold them at Penny's.

TY: [Jpn.] Oh.

MK: [Jpn.] She was quite good. She even added legs.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] She added legs. And the birds perched on trees. I should have one somewhere.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Shall I bring it?

Lilian, MK's daughter: [To Marian] [Eng.] You don't know where it's at, Mom.

MK: [To daughter] [Jpn.] No. It's somewhere. I have it somewhere.

Lilian: [Eng.] Mom, did you say it was Fred Sado's?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Yeah. Fre...

Lorraine, MK's granddaughter: [Eng.] Or was it Masami?

MK: [Jpn.] Masami Sado.

Lorraine: [Eng.] Oh, Sado.

MK: [Jpn.] Her name was Masami Sado. She made many beautiful things. She lived next door and made those diligently. And she is quite good. Her painting from this wing to this body was particularly good. She was good at expressing characteristics of each bird. They were beautiful. She also had birds perch on a tree. She made them just so perfectly.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. With metal...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Using wire...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] And she brings a branch this way and catches the wire. And she puts (the bird) just there.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] So I have one. If I had known, I would have shown it to you. I could have looked for it earlier. I have it somewhere. It's worth seeing. It's beautiful.

TY: [Jpn.] Then you can show me later, when you find it?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. It's beautiful. Uh-huh.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Masami is still alive.

TY: [Jpn.] Is that right?

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. I remember seeing her somewhere.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Eng.] Uh-huh. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] So you found time to spend with other people in the camp.

MK: [Jpn.] Yes. That's right. But many people passed away.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes, that's true.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. They passed away.

TY: [Jpn.] It's been a long time.

MK: [Jpn.] Even some young people passed away.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Uh-huh. Yeah. That's the story. [hands the bag back]

<End Segment 59> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.