<Begin Segment 7>

TI: So I, I kind of want to move on, because when you were around twelve years old, you went to Japan. And I wanted to understand how you came to that decision, or how it came to be that you went to Japan.

GH: Well, there was three, I had two close friends named Tom Horiuchi and Kenji Nomura. And the three of us used to chum around. As a matter of fact, Peter Katsuno had said we were the three chipmunks. [Laughs] We were all small in size. And one summer we went fishing, and while we were, the fishing was very poor, and the conversation turned to their visit to Japan. And I was listening and I heard something like you have to take your shoes off to enter the house, people drive on the wrong side of the street, and it just aroused my curiosity. And so I said, if I'm going to be one of the members, I should make a trip to Japan and have the same experience. So the one-on-one occasion with my father was when I got a haircut or when he repaired my shoe, and so whenever he gave me a haircut, I always bring the subject up, and I was very persistent. And finally, I said, "Dad, if you're not going to send me, I'm going to swim across the Pacific," and that impressed my dad.

TI: Going back to what your, your friends said, so both of them had spent about how long in Japan?

GH: Yes, the two had spent summer vacation in Japan, and that's where they got their experience. And I, too, wanted to spend some time in Japan, but my father said, "Look, Son, there's eight of you, and I can't afford to send each of you to Japan during summer vacation." And finally, my father said he would offer me a deal: that if I would study for two years in Japan, then it would be worth my trip.

TI: So your, it sounds like your father was pretty pragmatic. So he knew that you really wanted to go, it really wasn't, I mean, it was expensive for him to do that, but he figured if you really wanted to go and you would be willing to study seriously for at least two years, he would, he would make that investment, essentially. Thinking that it would be a good background for you, because your Japanese at that point wasn't that good?

GH: Right, uh-huh.

TI: And in your mind, did you think of Japan as being this grand adventure, it sounds like? Or what did you really think Japan was going to be like?

GH: I was just curious, yeah.

TI: So do you remember going on the ship to go to Japan?

GH: Yes. Fortunately, my father's friend, Mr. Mizuno, was the captain of Heian-maru, so I did go with him. And I had a third-class ticket, and I stayed in the, at the captain's cabin. [Laughs] So I had a nice trip.

TI: So when you stayed with the, the captain's cabin, what was that like? I've never heard a story of going across in the captain's cabin.

GH: Oh, there was a boy who worked and, I think his name was Yoshio, he would bring food, he would make the bed, and we got, I got a very good treatment, yes.

TI: Was there anything in particular that stands out in your mind about the trip across to Japan on the ship? Anything special that happened?

GH: Well, of course, I would sleep in the cabin and then go down and play with my friends who were downstairs. [Laughs] As I recall, I was a pretty good sailor.

TI: Okay, well, that sounds like a special trip. Now, when you arrived in Japan, what was that like?

GH: Well, of course, I didn't know my uncle, so Mr. Mizuno got the idea, he got a white flag and wrote my name, "Hirabayashi," and I waved the flag. [Laughs] And that's how we made connection with my uncle and aunt.

TI: So who came to pick you up at the...

GH: My uncle and aunt.

TI: And where did they live? I mean, how far did you have to go to their place?

GH: About, it was eight-hours' drive, I mean, eight-hours' train ride.

TI: And how, how well could you communicate with your aunt and uncle?

GH: I guess I was able to communicate not that well, but I'm sure I used a lot of English, but I did manage to get my thoughts across.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.