<Begin Segment 10>

TI: Any other ones? This is interesting, these little jobs. So Pike Place Market, you worked cleaning bathtubs. How about things like, did you ever do anything like at the Nippon Kan Theatre, things like that?

TK: Yeah, I sold cushions, I mean people would come in, you know, they were folding chairs and then they're bare and people would want cushions. So, there's a man there had the concession of selling or renting those cushions. I think it was five cents per cushion, or something like that. And then, we helped him get the cushions out and everything. Arrange it and put it on the chairs when then the people wanted them. And some of them are reserved seats, we put the cushions already on the reserved seats. And we would get a dollar a night, but we had to wait 'til the end and collect all the cushions and fold up the chairs and stuff like that.

TI: So you'd have to get there early, get the cushions ready, and then would you stay for the performance?

TK: Yeah, if we wanted to, but most of the performance, we didn't care about watching it, so we'd come back later.

TI: Well, describe some of the performances that you saw there. I'm curious...

TK: It was a shibai or a Japanese shibai or odori or something like that, which was of no interest to me.

TI: So these were more like traditional Japanese type of performances. So tell me who would go to these performances. Who were some of the audience? Who would be in the audience?

TK: Gosh, I don't know who was in the audience. It would be the Isseis as far as I could remember. But there were, I don't know if you remember the name, or if you know the name Yamamoto? He was nicknamed Kinpachi, he had pretty good control of the whole thing, I understand. And he had control of the screen advertising, too, this big screen with all advertising, they put up so much money they get their name on the screen, or something like that. I can't remember how it exactly worked.

TI: So did Mr. Yamamoto, did he own the theater? When you say control, how did he control this?

TK: No, I don't know, I don't know how that worked. But he seemed to be the landlord, not the landlord, but the... what do they call that? The, head of the gangster group.

TI: Yeah, 'cause I've done a little bit of research about... I've heard Kinpachi, the name there, so he was a noted, I guess, oh, I'm not sure what the right word, you know, kind of gangster, for lack of better words. Can you describe a little bit about what you know about kind of that sort of more criminal or underworld element? Like what kind of activities was he involved in?

TK: I think he was in charge of the Japanese gambling group, as far as I know. And I think they were involved in, at that time there was Prohibition, too. So he was involved in that, too. I think he paid off policemen and things like that, to keep his places open, drinking places open. As far as I know, but I'm not sure exactly.

TI: So he would do activities like gambling and Prohibition, so serving alcohol. Was this located right in sort of Nihonmachi? In that area?

TK: As far as I know. I used to see his car parked around Nihonmachi. He had what they called a Duesenberg at that time. It was a front-wheel drive, it was a really expensive car. I remember him owning that car and I used to look at it. I don't know if I admired it or not, but anyway, I knew it was his car.

TI: About how old were you when this was, when you would see...

TK: About ten or twelve, I think.

TI: Okay, so this is in about 1922, '23, '24.

TK: Something in that area.

TI: So 1920s.

TK: Maybe a little later, too. No, I don't, I think it, no, I wasn't past high school. I was still in probably, yeah, maybe around freshmen, maybe, around high school, somewhere around there.

TI: So the research I've done indicates that in addition to gambling and the Prohibition, there's also things like, you know, prostitution.

TK: I think he was, I'm not sure about that part.

TI: Okay, but that was all sort of going on in Nihonmachi.

TK: Oh yeah.

TI: Whether or not he was involved. So tell me a little bit, how would you describe him? What kind of person was he?

TK: Far as I know, he was a short fellow. You wouldn't, if you saw him on the street, I don't think you'd know him from anybody else. All I know is he carried two guns, I could see them when he came into the Nippon Kan Hall. His coat was a little bit open and his two gun hanging there. That's all I know about him.

TI: Did you ever notice how other Isseis were around him? Were they kind of wary, or were they friendly?

TK: No, you couldn't tell him apart from anybody else, far as I could tell.

TI: So he was, so when you ever gave him his cushion at the Nippon Kan or anything, did he ever say anything to you, or did you ever say anything?

TK: No, he never talked to us.

TI: Did he have any sort of physical markings or anything that...

TK: Not that I know of.

TI: One of the things at least, more recently, when I think of like Japanese gangsters, like yakuza or something, they would have things like their fingers...

TK: I didn't notice that at that time. 'Cause I didn't know anything about the finger thing then.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.