<Begin Segment 11>

AI: Well, now, at about the end of a year or so, you were, you had to return home or you returned home here to Seattle. What happened at that time? There were, things were changing in the world, the Depression had come on and, can you tell me --

MF: Well I was, you know, I kinda think that they wanted me to stay there.

AI: Your parents? Or your grandparents or your parents wanted you to stay?

MF: My mother and father. And they were planning to go back permanently, too. But I guess they didn't have enough money to go back to live as a retirement person. So it just -- Depression came. So that's why I came back because, Depression. My dad lost all his money in Furuya Bank and so I had to come back.

AI: That --

MF: So their plan was to go back permanently. Oh, in those days, in the '30s, if you had three thousand dollars, in American dollar you could live comfortably in Japan. And my father had his home in Fukuoka and I visited it with my grandma and grandpa and she says, "This is your father's home." And later it was transferred to my mother's youngest brother because they weren't gonna go back.

AI: But at that time, you think they were probably planning to?

MF: Yeah. If you had three thousand dollars in American money you could live comfortably. [Laughs]

AI: Well, that must've been a terrible blow to your father to lose his savings.

MF: Yeah. Well, I don't know. My grandfather and grandmother lived here for eleven years, so, you know, they're pretty fluent in English, and they said they kind of miss America. Yeah. The reason that my grandpa wanted to go back was that -- I guess it was a time where we -- there was too much, not much drinking here. What you call it? Prohibition. He missed the drinking. He used to buy sake in a hot water bottle here. Somebody used to make it. And -- [laughs] -- and I could remember the time Grandpa was bringing a hot bottle, bottle home and I said, "Grandpa, what is it?" He says, "My sake." [Laughs] I said, "You like sake?" And he says, "Oh, my best wine." [Laughs]

AI: So your grandfather returned to Japan and he wanted to return, but what about your grandmother? How did she feel about returning to Japan?

MF: I don't know what she felt.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2002 Densho. All Rights Reserved.