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AI: Well, I wanted to go back to what, something that you said about your first English words. And if you could... what was your first language at home? Was...

EH: Oh, it was Japanese. (Yes). Because my mother, my mother would speak Japanese. But by the time my youngest sister, who's eleven years younger than I am... in fact, Anna also, who's three years older than Sara, by the time they came along, they weren't speaking that much Japanese. And especially in their teen years, my mother would say things in, in Japanese and they would respond in English. So that's probably pretty common. Kids --

AI: But when you were, when you were very young --

EH: (Yes).

AI: -- you spoke Japanese in the home.

EH: Japanese. Espec-, also because I went to Japanese school. My sister Martha broke her leg when she was in third grade, and she wouldn't go back to Japanese school, because she didn't want to be behind in lessons. She could have easily caught up. She was a bright kid. But she never went back until she was about thirteen. She realized that everybody was learning Japanese and kanji, and my mother found a friend who was teaching Japanese in her own home. She just made a kind of classroom out of her basement, and so Martha began to go to the Inouyes'. And there must have been six or eight kids there. But Martha consequently never spoke Japanese much. I, in fact, I, I don't ever remember, she was only fifteen months younger than I, but I don't ever remember hearing her speak Japanese, especially in her teen, well, in, in, even in her married life. She would say simple phrases, but generally speaking to my mother, she was speaking English. In fact, it was funny 'cause her, her husband came from a fairly prominent trade family, trading family in San Francisco, and I never heard Yosh speak any English, even to my mother. And when I went to Japan, my aunts would say that I'm a chatterbox and always a good conversant because -- and then she'd say, "Martha never said anything." And they would say, "If Yosh wasn't there, they wouldn't be able to communicate." And I said, "Wow." Yosh spoke Japanese and that, that's another idiosyncrasy that among siblings, that we don't hear in-laws speaking (Japanese). But, but he, he must have -- well, one of the problem, problems (in) Yosh's family is, his mother became... she lost her hearing either when Yosh was born or the child above -- below Yosh. She lost her hearing, so then Yosh's father had to arrange for everybody learning signing language. And that probably cut down -- he, I'm sure Yosh must have gone to Japanese school, but... and I never met his parents, I met his parents two or three times. When his mother and I had to communicate, it was always by notes. So the other interesting thing was when, when my family, Martha or somebody, produced pictures of my mother on the ship coming (to the U.S.), and there was a group picture. And when Yosh saw it, he said, "Hey. That's my grandfather behind you." In that... his grandfather had gone back Japan to find a bride for his son. And it's a small world, amazingly.

AI: Well, so, so since you were speaking Japanese as your first language, and then it sounds like, was it your father then who was teaching you English, did, did you... do you recall having much trouble with English?

EH: No. I don't re-, I don't remember any struggle with language, though I do remember my father would always come to pick me up from a half-day kindergarten session. And Chico State College was a major teaching college -- I mean, teacher training college. And that was I think right next door. The campus started where the Presbyterian Church ended, so it was just on the other side of it. And I don't remember how... I don't remember walking to kindergarten by myself, but, in that my father picked me up. And I'm, I'm wondering, somebody must have walked me to kindergarten. [Laughs] And I'm not sure that that lasted maybe more than maybe a half a year. I can't imagine that they would do this every year. It was maybe a four or five block walk. But, (yes), I remember his sta-, standing waiting for me outside the kindergarten bungalow.

And I don't remember much about first grade. I do, I do remember being reprimanded when we were all allowed to go pick one rose, and in, must, it must have been Chico State campus. And I had pulled all the leaves off of my stem, and I got scolded for that, because you're supposed to see beauty in leaves also. But at six years old I just only saw the rose. But all my friends, George Hayashi and George Kinoshita both were in my first grade class.

I, my grandmother had sent -- did I tell you, the hinamatsuri dolls, and, and my mother invited the kindergarten class to, to see them. And she served osenbei and bancha, which is barley tea, roasted barley. And this whole kindergarten class would not touch the tea, because they were trained that tea and coffee is only for adults. Children don't drink tea and coffee. And no matter how much my mother tried to explain and showed, brought out the barley in her hands and, and told everybody to taste it, they, they might have tasted it, but they never, they could never bridge the gap that that was healthy tea.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.