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DM: And did you go to Japanese language school?

AM: Yes, I did.

DM: How long did you go there?

AM: Well, Maryknoll had attached to it a Japanese language school. It was run by a Japanese teacher, but, so that, that was where I went, had my Japanese language. And I was, I really enjoyed it and did a very good, I think, enjoyed it very much. And until -- I have to tell you this story -- years later, after my mother died, I found some letters that I had written to her in kanji. I cannot even begin to tell you what I had written, but at one time I was, I could write kanji quite fluently. Today, I have kanji flashcards and I can't recognize any of them.

DM: And you said that you had converted to Roman Catholicism, but what did your parents think of that and what was their religious background?

AM: Well, my father was a Buddhist, and he was, did not want me to become a Roman Catholic, he told me he thought I was too young, that I was pretty dead, determined. Well, you can imagine that I was a pretty determined child, only I would never say that out loud, but I was pretty determined, I think, about what I thought was right and wrong. And when I told my dad that I wanted to become a Roman Catholic and said I wanted to become baptized, he said he did not think it was a good idea, I was too young, I didn't know what I was doing, but he would not stop me. So that was my, sort of, left-handed permission, so I became a Roman Catholic. I was a very dedicated Roman Catholic for many years.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright ©2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.