<Begin Segment 46>

AI: Well, in fact, before, before you were asked, I wanted to find out about -- that was another question. Because many other times you mentioned how Kibei were looked down on. And sometimes the Nisei, who had never been to Japan, would be negative toward people who had been in Japan.

RM: Right.

AI: So even in Jerome, was that still happening?

RM: Yes.

AI: That, so...

RM: But to me, strictly speaking, I'm Kibei, more, I had more of a concentrated Japanese training and learning and everything else. So I speak perfect Japanese as far as, to certain people. But to certain people it's, Japanese is poor, but majority of people thinks I speak better Japanese than Japanese themselves. Well, then I know the reason because my grandfather taught me the things, old-time things, and lotta people don't know about idiom or things like that or old things, but I understand each one of 'em, but they don't teach at the schools and I know all the kanji they don't use any more but I could still read that. And newspaper kanji is limited to fifteen hundred, so, but I knew many times of that.

AI: So --

RM: One time, well, one time, well, I get in trouble because people asking me, "How much Japanese words you know?" The hakujin guy asking me. Then roughly I said twenty thousand. Unbelievable, usually... but, I mean, when you put the compound together, words, there is, I look at dictionary so I wanna guess and see how much I know, but officially abbreviate number would be fifteen hundred approximately, maybe now they cut down little more shorter, but about fifteen hundred. That's all you have to learn to read newspaper. But to me, I learn all the things my, before, see, because I'm older than other people so I knew more things before the one that recently done. And then I got my ass chewed because I was bragging, and you shouldn't say that. But, I mean, I just saw the facts. But now I said, every time I open mouth I get in trouble so I said, I not gonna say anything. That's why I kept quiet, and people say, "This guy didn't know anything." But then, on the other hand, see, we had about... I don't know how many people there at Savage, but only took fourteen and I'm one of 'em, so if I'm not capable I don't think they choose me. Of course, a friend of mine, I know who did it was Hank Gosho, and sat next to me and I know I could do the job and he know I went to high school and he went to college, too. And he's the one who suggested, "Take Matsumoto, too."

AI: Well, we'll talk about that tomorrow.

<End Segment 46> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.