<Begin Segment 14>

AI: Well, and then as you mentioned earlier, then, Bessie had started at University of Washington already and was already attending and then you also started going to UW. And that was, was that in the fall of 1939 that you went, started at university?

RI: Uh-huh, yes, because I graduated '39 and, yeah, in the fall. But she was already -- then she was second year whereas I was first year. But I started out at the UW in Home Ec., because at that time I thought that I was good in handwork. I liked to sew and so it was home economics and textiles and then I started out taking all kinds of art courses, drawing. And I said, "What am I doing?" because I'm, I don't, I don't have, no artistic talent. But it was taking art history. I don't know why but home economics was that the first year. But somehow I got through. But the more I thought about it and well, I didn't like it. I didn't like thinking that I wanted to do this the rest of my life. And then I had to take a drawing class and drawing in charcoal. I said, "I can't draw." So that's about the time when I decided I should do something else.

So I remember that I was working at the restaurant with my father. My father was the cook and I was the waitress. And I told my father what I -- think I wanted to change to pre-med. Well, he doesn't say anything right away. He's very quiet and he's thinking about it. And then I go out front and wait on a few customers. I come back and he's not saying anything. Finally he says, "Well, why do you want to become a doctor?" And I said, "Well, to begin with, I'm very healthy," and I knew that good health is very important. I'm healthy, I did well in school, and I said, "I don't like my Home Ec. class, classes," and I, and then I said I wanted to do something that would help the community. So, his immediate response was, "Well, you're a girl, woman. And you know you're supposed to get married and have a family. That's what usually women do. And besides, you're, you're a woman, you don't know how you'll do." But I must have put up some kind of argument because I said, "Well, I don't have to get married right away, or have a family. I'd like to try." And then, finally, I think he waited a day or two to tell me this, but he told me that, "Okay, if you really want to pursue that course," it's all right with him. So he must've talked it over with my mother, but, because I don't remember any other discussion. So I changed right away and of course I lost credits. I had to take some credits, some courses that I didn't take earlier, but I was into pre-med then. And there were --

DG: So this was in 1940, we're talking?

RI: Yes, 1940 into '41. And there were several Japanese boys in that same course, because I had to take a anatomy course and there were a couple of Japanese boys, one George Sawada, he even was an instructor in, in anatomy. And I think that these boys, even though they were in a pre-medical course, were unable to get into a medical school. But, I wasn't gonna worry about that, I was just starting, so I had to just concentrate on my studies. But there were lots of laboratory classes, chemistry, and zoology and physics. And so --

DG: Was Dr. Ben around then?

RI: What?

DG: Was Dr. Ben around?

RI: He was supposedly one year ahead of me. Yeah, Dr. Ben must've been around because my friend, Kazuko Uno, she told me -- she was in pre-med, too, at the UW -- and she says she and Ben had many classes together. So, her being one year ahead, maybe she, her classes were not same as me. But I remember seeing her on campus but I never had any classes with her. But when Ben died she was telling me about how she knew Ben from university. So, they were both in pre-med together.

DG: Were there a number of Japanese at the U at that time?

RI: Yes. Quite a number. There was a Fuyokai, which was a women's group, I guess social group. And there was a Japanese Student's Club. I don't know whether they were all boys or not. I think there were quite a few Japanese. I wouldn't, never know how many but, enough. Because there was a big Japanese population in Seattle. And all of us were growing up and there were all, lot of people our age.

AI: Did you belong to theFuyokai?

RI: No, I didn't because I wasn't a social, sociable kind of person. But I think that lot of people at the Fuyokai were maybe girls who were from out of town. Because maybe they lived, I don't know whether Fuyokai had a house or not. I think the Japanese Student's Club had a house, but I don't know about the Fuyokai girls. But I didn't, I wasn't a Fuyokai person. And I didn't go to any of the dances and things like that. I wasn't a sociable kind of person. I was just a studious girl, you know, who, but because of work, working, too, very limited time.

AI: Well, you mentioned about how, so there were several of you who were in the pre-medical courses at UW, and, but there really weren't very many Japanese doctors. Japanese American doctors --

RI: At that time?

AI: -- at that time, were there?

RI: Well, there was Dr. Shigaya and Dr. Suzuki. I don't know... oh --

AI: A few.

RI: I don't know whether there was, there was a Dr. Koike, I think he was a ear/nose/throat doctor. But I think he went to Japan. I don't know. When we were children I remember one time we had Dr. Suzuki come to our house. But other than that we also had a hakujin doctor downtown. My mother had appendicitis, had to have surgery and I think it was Dr. Sharples, I think he was downtown in the Cobb Building. So, I have a feeling that the Japanese doctors, because of the big population of Japanese people, they probably had their hands full, and they probably had plenty of business and maybe too busy. That's what I think.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.