<Begin Segment 21>

BH: Now, we don't know too much about Joe's history, but I guess we should just go with what we've got. He grew up in Montana.

KH: That's right.

BH: And he was one of how many siblings?

KH: Seven. There were seven children in the family, and I guess being that they were the only Japanese family in the area, they weren't known as Hashisaki, they were known as the "Hashy-sacks." And they would all talk about going down to the "Hashy-sacks'" and Joe's father used to raise vegetables, and somebody would come by and say, "I'm going down Hashy-sacks'" to get some vegetables from Joe's father. His father's name was Suyeji, and his mother was Motomu Narita. They were both from Sendai in Japan, and that's, because of that, they got together. Joe's father had gone as a field worker down to Hawaii and worked in the plantation fields, and he saw more opportunity by going to the States working on the railroad. So he landed in the, working as a railroad worker in Montana, and when they finished work on the railroad, they would all gamble and drink. Joe's father was quite old when he realized that, "This is not the kind of life for me to be having." He says, "I should look for a wife." And so he tried to save some money, he ended up in Seattle, and he went to Fujin Home, and that's where all the Japanese ladies were, single ones were living. And Joe's mother happened to be there at the time, and Joe's father walked in and introduced himself, and he said, "Is there any women from Sendai here?" And Joe's mother said, "I'm from Sendai." And so he talked to her and he made a proposition. He says, "Would you marry me and move to Montana with me?" And she said, "Yes," and so that's how they moved to Montana together.

BH: So in one day they decided to go?

KH: Oh, I don't know how long the courtship lasted, this is the story that I got from Aunt Toshi, Joe's sister. Then I found out that he had all these siblings, and the oldest one was Kazuo, name Kazuo, and he went to school and then the teachers didn't know how to spell Kazuo, never heard of Kazuo. So they said, "His parents must mean Cassio," and so they called him Cassio, and his school record says "Cassio Hashisaki" all the way. Then the second brother was Hede, and when he went to school he was named Hideo. Well, the teachers never heard of Hideo, they said, "His mother must mean Hede." So his record is H-E-D-E. Then they had Takeo, who was older than Hede, but, "Takeo, never heard of Takeo, T-A-K-E-O, his mother must mean Tokyo," and they put down "Tokyo Hashisaki." His diploma is "Tokyo Hashisaki." And when Toshi came by, it was T-O-S-I instead of T-O-S-H-I, Toshi. Then when Joe came along, his mother said, "With all this confusion in the school system," she says, "I'm gonna name him Joe." J-O-E. And so he was named Joe, and then the next, next two that was born was Marie and Mary, and Joe's mother didn't know that Marie and Mary are essentially the same, Mary and Marie, but that's how they were named and sent to school. And then Joe became Joseph when went into the army. He says, "Joe Hashisaki," and the lieutenant, I think it was a sergeant, he says, "It's Joseph from now on. You're in the army." So it's Joseph Hashisaki. And I think the Hashisaki name should have been Hashizaki, Z-A-K-I, and the parents changed it to S-A-K-I to be acceptable to the American community. So it's Hashisaki instead of Hashizaki.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.