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MA: So then you were in Hawaii for three years, and why did you return to, was it, did you go back to Petaluma after you finished in Hawaii?

IN: In the meantime, my parents had moved to Berkeley, they retired. They sold the ranch to my eldest son. By the way, who had a philosophy degree from University of California, but he couldn't find a decent job. So one example of that is he tried out for a civil service test for a postal person, to deliver mail. Took a job, I mean, a test, and I'm sure he did well. And they have the choice of the first three got tested, and he was never selected. So, my eldest brother, with a degree, he was very brilliant. He worked in a laundry for a while and then decided, since my parents wanted to retire, to buy the farm. So he did. So my father retired to Berkeley.

MA: And then your brother was operating the farm back in Petaluma. Okay, so your parents were in Berkeley, so you returned then to Berkeley when you came back from Hawaii.

IN: That's right. Well, my mother wanted (me) to come back. She was not in the best of health. My mother was always frail. Maybe it was because my father was so authoritarian, she had a very hard life. And so, I decided that my mother was not that well, her arthritis was acting up. I decided to come back.

MA: And you stayed with your parents then for a while?

IN: That's right. Uh-huh.

MA: What work did you do in the meantime? Cause you took a break from teaching, is that right?

IN: Yes, I wanted to take a break. And I worked with a Japanese export-import company. For about, I'd say two years, San Francisco. And then, I got married and I decided I wanted something closer. You know, I had to go across the bridge, the Oakland Bridge, so that was too far. So I got a job in a legal office with four lawyers. One of them, by the way, was a Mr. Yonemura who was a Japanese attorney. And I worked for all four of them. I was pregnant with my first child, and I worked, I think, until about three or four days before I delivered. [Laughs]

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.