<Begin Segment 7>

AI: Well, during this time as you were growing up and getting older, what kinds of lessons did your mother and father give you? Or what kind -- did they ever talk to you about what was important for you as a Japanese girl or as an American girl, or... what kinds of things did they emphasize to you that were important?

MF: [Laughs] I don't remember.

AI: Did they ever talk about being Nihonjin or as a Japanese girl, how they would like you to behave, that type of thing?

MF: Well, they taught us to be honest and, and behave like a woman, a lady. My mother was -- you know, she had high school education. At those days, you know, lotta the mothers didn't have that. They just went through grammar school and my mother was the president of the Buddhist Women's Association and all that stuff. And she was sort of a leader, I noticed.

AI: It sounds like she was very active?

MF: Oh, she was very active, especially after the war she was. Oh, before the war she was raising her kids and there was five of us.

AI: Well, now, even though your mother was a Buddhist, what about you? Did your parents teach you any particular religion or encourage you?

MF: No. I somehow, we lived among the Caucasian people and of course they're Christians. And so, oh, one of our friends, girlfriend invited us to Whitman Memorial Church. It's a, it's in Wallingford. We had to walk quite a bit to that church. But I was baptized at Wallingford at, when I was thirteen years old. And so we went there until we moved.

AI: Did you go to many church activities?

MF: No, not too many. I went to the church every Sunday, and then they call it Christian Endeavor, and I belonged to that. And then we had Christmas parties and picnics and things like that, we all went, five of us, and so we all went to whatever they had. I don't know whether that church is still open or not, very old church. It was very nice people.

AI: Well, now, you were, you mentioned that you graduated high school in 1930 and I was wondering if you could just tell me a little bit about when you were graduating, what were some of your hopes and dreams for the future?

MF: Golly, I don't remember. Well, I know that... well, I could remember that I made my own graduation dress. And I, the graduation picture I'm right in the middle in the front row 'cause I was so short. [Laughs] And our teacher was -- two teachers were both on the end of the pictures when we're sitting, first row was sitting and the other row -- the next row was, the students were standing up without the chair.

AI: Well, and then were you planning to go on to a college education at that time?

MF: Yes. Well, my father and mother said, "You must have a little bit more education," so I went one year and -- I think I went one year and a half, and then I went to Japan.

AI: Where did you go to college?

MF: Then I went there --

AI: Oh, excuse me --

MF: -- and stayed there for one year.

AI: Oh, excuse me. Before we go on to your trip to Japan, where did you go to college?

MF: When I went to college?

AI: Yes. It was here --

MF: University of Washington, uh-huh.

AI: University of Washington.

MF: Uh-huh.

AI: And what were you interested in, or what did you study there?

MF: Home-Ec, 'cause I liked sewing and cooking.

AI: And then did you belong to any groups there, or have any activities?

MF: Oh, there was a Fuyokai, Japanese sorority.

AI: Well, for people who don't know about the Fuyokai, could you tell a little bit about it? What kind of sorority activities you had?

MF: Well, it was just a group of girls that went to University. And I still have that beautiful pin. It looked liked Mt. Fuji and it has a little diamond in it. And the Mt. Fuji is blue, beautiful blue. And it cost us seventy-five dollars and you know, it was a lot of money. I just hated to ask my father and mother but they were willing to sacrifice and...

AI: Well, that must have been very special.

MF: It was very special because everybody had it. And we didn't have a house, sorority house, so we borrowed a boys' student club to have our meetings and things. And lotta the girls met their friends, and they got married.

AI: What about you? Did you meet anyone special at that time?

MF: Well, I, I knew one boy that I liked but he, he was a junior in University. He was from Spokane. He passed away with pneumonia or something. But I wasn't interested in marrying at that time.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2002 Densho. All Rights Reserved.