<Begin Segment 22>

TI: I'm curious, you said so during that course of the year, quite a few Japanese came back to attend school.

RM: Yes.

TI: Were there reasons why so many Japanese were coming back to the United States during this period?

RM: Well, the family are here, so that's why, they joined the family. And they, they don't have any job or somethin', just went to school. So the purpose was to give 'em a Japanese education. I don't know why, why needed Japanese education in the United States. But they thought, well, they make money to go back, but a lot of people couldn't, the Depression, and war and everything else and they get stuck here and more or less. But my, like my grandfather was fortunate because what he did was he played smart and everybody planted, he just delayed. Then before next crop come out, he's, the supply and demand, so if scarce, price goes up and made money there. So luck.

TI: So this very similar to --

RM: But that means smart, see.

TI: Well, this is very similar to what he did with the fishing. So he, he would time his sort of supply at a time when the demand was high. So, so in the crops he would delay planting so that when his crops were done, then no one else had their crops ready.

RM: Right.

TI: And the same thing you told the story about fishing, where he would catch fish --

RM: Right, right.

TI: -- and hold it until it was either a rainy day or in the winter.

RM: Right, so people, fishermen don't go out, see.

TI: And he would get better prices for his products.

RM: Yeah.

TI: He was smart.

RM: Smart. And also, the same things my uncle and my mother's side, you know, maternal side. And I didn't mention that, didn't write down, but story is when 1918, that epidemic, you know, the Spanish Flu there, and lotta people died from that. So lotta orphan created, see. And my grandfather and grandmother, maternal side, took care of them. And some of 'em, I look at the, see, then the start from Saburo and down but there must be on top of that maybe Jiro, chonan, Taro or whatever, but "Saburo" means "third son," see. But not listed there in my, I just show Tom that... this family tree and said that, but some of 'em adopted, and some just a foster and took care of kids. And so, the appreciative village give 'em -- what happened was when the railroad was there, then they made a highway there. So what happened was the bay, it's a cove there, was cut over then straightened that and made a dike there so the beach was, created a pond. So when the high tide water come in there through the gate, so keep water there and it made a fish pond. And donated, I mean, and left, give it to him to live on, and according to that book that my nephew just completed in the story, tell, he, one of, didn't want to live in a crowded place, so isolated place. So that's right there. Then create the land, the fill, and so this land, they give it to him for appreciation of what he had done to...

AI: At that time.

RM: At that time taking care of the people.

TI: And this was your maternal grandfather?

RM: Maternal grandfather.

TI: Okay.

RM: And then he died, so I never met because 1918 I wasn't there, I was here. That was 1918 after they make the -- that's what other people told me. So everybody respect, respect him and so what he did was, my uncle, that is, you know, my maternal grandfather's son, way down there, they had a dozen, probably nine or ten kids, I suppose, and on the family tree it shows that Koichi, just one above my mother, and he was a fisherman and then catch fish in summertime he put 'em in the pond there and they let it grow. In the wintertime what he'd do was he laid the earth pipe, like a sewer pipe, lay in ground, shallow part. Then when he want to catch it he pound with a bamboo stick to make, pound the surface water and the fish got scared and they hide in there, see. Then when he lift 'em up, and the fish is inside, you stick your hand in and get it and take it to market, and a good price. Summertime not, scarce in the wintertime and then in bad weather, that's what he did before, I understand. Then my maternal grandmother tells me how to do it, so if they need fish I just pound it on top of surface with bamboo stick, then the fish gonna hide, so I just lift 'em up. They're shallow because part. And a lot of deeper part, too, but pound the deeper part and fish come to shallow part, see, scared, and I had a good fun, not only nice lady there, but anyway, I had a good time there, so... same thing is I think that grandfather, don't have to sell it right now because he's retired already. He retired in about fifty. And when I was there he celebrate kanreki, the sixtieth anniversary. I remember that he invited other people, too, but he had a good time. But he had a hard time probably working hard. But he did a lot of good things, too, you know, neighbors and villagers and relatives and he was very respected. So that benefited me. Every time I visit friends they welcome me because, kind of pay back what my grandfather taught them.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.