<Begin Segment 7>

[Translated from Japanese]

KS: So, you moved to L.A., and what did you think when you first saw it? What were your first impressions?

TT: Hmm, well, back then, there weren't that many Japanese. I had a few friends who worked at the vegetable stand. I could meet Japanese at the vegetable stand, but other than that, there weren't many Japanese, so I felt lonesome.

KS: Do you remember Little Tokyo back then?

TT: I didn't really have a chance to go to Little Tokyo.

AI: Did she talk about haiseki, discrimination, haiseki?

KS: In L.A., did you encounter any discrimination, or anything like that, against the Japanese? Any discrimination, or any experiences --

TT: A few years after we arrived, for some reason, the vegetable stand was moved around a lot, here and there. And then, we moved to Boyle Heights. And there, there were many Japanese.

KS: How did you feel about moving to a place with many Japanese?

TT: Well, what can I say, I had a child already and was busy taking care of the child.

KS: And then Eiko was born in 1931, right?

TT: Yes.

KS: And were you planning to teach Japanese to Eiko at all?

TT: Yes.

KS: Did you send her to a Japanese school?

TT: Well, she was still a little too young for Japanese school. She had a few years before she could go.

KS: But at home, didn't you mostly speak in Japanese?

TT: Yes, that's right.

KS: And then in 1933, your second daughter, Adeline was born --

TT: Right.

KS: -- and after that, was it Keiji?

TT: Kei.

KS: Could you tell us about what it was like when your children were born? About your feelings, anything you might remember about raising three kids in Los Angeles.

TT: Back then, we were poor, so we couldn't worry about celebrating a birthday or anything like that. We didn't have things like that.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.