<Begin Segment 34>

TI: And before we go there, when did you get married, and...

YN: I got married (after graduating college).

TI: Out of college?

YN: The university, just when I graduated and right before I went to the military for my six months of training.

TI: And how did you meet your wife?

YN: I met her, she was a girl that attended not a city school. She attended a school way out of my dream -- Highline High School, but I saw a picture of a girl that was a yell leader, and I said, "Wow. A Buddhahead girl that's a yell leader, cheerleader, not a song leader." And I got to meet her, and she wasn't even from my background; she came from a little place in, farm tenement in Kirkland, and they lived in a project, and the family were Buddhists. Okay? Everybody says that's, what a rare combination. But I fell in love, just like any other human being, and as the world gets settled, I had nothing and she had nothing, but at least I finished school and we were on our way. And from that point we have had impact with each other because we started. And I wouldn't tell this to many people; I'll share it because this is important. I got married by Emery E. Andrews, Pastor Andy, but I also got married in the Buddhist Temple. And nobody on either side liked it. I said, "What a strange feeling." Already I'm the brat. Already I started my married life, instead of being loved by my (religious) community, I'm hated by this community (...). But the two principals, Andy and the Buddhist priest says, "This is wonderful," but my community said, "You're, you're a fake."

TI: And when you say "community," is it your...

YN: The Japanese American community (and the larger religious groups).

TI: But your, was it your family also that was...

YN: Yes, because I did it because her father would have not been able to even grant the wisdom of letting me get married to his daughter if he, he had to go to the Baptist Church. But (...) he was happy that I was (married) at the Buddhist Church. What he didn't know was bliss.

TI: So when you got married twice... [laughs]

YN: Yes. Got two licenses, I didn't have no money, (but we managed two ceremonies).

TI: And so your, so your wife's family only came to the Buddhist ceremony...

YN: Right.

TI: And did your family just go to the Baptist, or did they go to both?

YN: No, mine came both.

TI: Okay.

YN: But, but that's because I was the brat. I'm certain if they had their druthers they wished they only had to go to one, but that's, today it's no big deal. What did you just ask? My doing this, this happens all the time. Not, not any -- I don't want to belittle it and say it's easier, but it's, I'm not considered, you're not considered an oddball like I was. See?

TI: And so how has your wife put up with all your, your activities?

YN: If she was of the norm, and she was not a Japanese American Nisei woman, my marriage would have been over years ago. But we come out of a mold that you just didn't break up that easily. We put up, or we gaman-ed, or we, we did things; we went through hard times.

TI: And what were the difficult things for her? When you say she wouldn't put up with it, what were...

YN: She was not comfortable with what I was saying. She didn't like my attacking white, the white establishment. I said, "Understand, (I) worked for 'em all my life now. Do you not think I really cared about them?" But she says, "You fight them; you tell 'em they're idiots. You can't do that." And I said, I said, "Don't you understand the greatness of these people, they let me do it? And they hold me accountable for it. They don't tell me they're gonna fire me; they fight and argue with me and they say I don't anything, but if that's what I believe, 'Go ahead and do it. You're in charge.'" That's the greatness of, awesomeness of America. It isn't that we agree. The awesomeness of America is the willingness to be fair when you're up to bat. Give me three swings at the ball. If I strike out, I'll go back and shag the ball. But if I hit a home run, let me come up to bat again. That's my principles; why can I play the game in sports is I know the rules. Why I have difficulty in my community is they don't tell me what the rules are.

<End Segment 34> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.