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AH: The role of the oldest son in a Japanese American family is frequently talked about and usually in stereotypical terms. Tell me a little bit about what you felt it meant to be the oldest son, and what was the difference between your sibling's experience, your one brother, and yours. He's younger than you. I know the economic situation had changed for him, for the worse, but how would you describe the different experience of yourself and your brother in the family?

JA: Like me, my father used to say, "Not only should you be smart, you got to be able to learn how to take care of yourself." Therefore, you do judo, kendo, or whatever. And I was very good at all of that. Like me, I think I was only seventeen or so to become shodan kendo, and that's something that they never heard of, and I was very good at it. And then I did wrestling, and I was very good at that. And I was a good swimmer. So by the time I went to University of Washington, they want for me to become a swimmer, wrestler -- fencer, because I challenge Professor Aronheimer, he was a fencer, teaching fencing and he was never able to touch me, but I'd get through to him all the time. And he said, "You must be a kendo person," and I said, "Yes, and I'm shodan." And I was just about eighteen years old then, but doing kendo with Issei, I'd be right on top. I'd be... trophy after trophy, I'd win.

AH: And then your brother's situation is what?

JA: Okay, he was younger and that's why I did all the fighting for him. They'd pick on him and I'd -- "Hey, hold it, don't do it." And I was not too long-tempered, I was short-. And when I say stop, they'd better stop or bang, I'd have 'em down. And that was my... many times that was my problem, was that I'd hit somebody after I'd tell them to stop. If you didn't know, that's it. And that's why I got into a lot of trouble -- because for him, but it was protecting him.

AH: He went into architecture as opposed to engineering. Do you think his choice of that field and your choice of your field has something to do with the way you were brought up?

JA: No, his choice to become an architect... he was always the artist of the family -- between my brother and me -- he was the artist. And when he went to camp, he became a draftsman also at a camp's building department. And that's where he was introduced to architect and his superior or his boss, a Japanese American, he was an architect, so that's where he got involved into architect.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.