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TI: So we talked about your father, and now I have a sense of him. How about your mother? How, where was she born?

TK: She was born in Yamaguchi-ken, Japan, same town, as far as I know, yeah.

TI: So how did your father and mother decide to get married? How did that happen?

TK: I have no idea. They never told me, so I don't know.

TI: Do you know what kind of work your mother's family did in Japan?

TK: All I can remember is they raised silkworms and they had an orchard, grapefruit orchard, that's all I can remember about her family.

TI: And so they were also landowners, too. They had...

TK: I guess so, I don't know if they were actually owners of land or they rented it. I don't know that part.

TI: Okay. So in my notes here, I have your mother and father getting married about 1907 in Japan. That your father returned to Japan.

TK: I think it was my brother was born 1908. So yeah, I think so. Something in that area.

TI: So your father returned to Japan, married your mother, and then they came back to Seattle. And then they had, right away they started a family, Yukio was born in 1908. And so, with both your mother and father and starting a family with children, what kind of work did your mother do? Did she help the business?

TK: Yeah, no. She was with him all the time. I think she did a little haircutting, too, barbershop, yeah. Then we had a, as far as I can remember, she had several shops, not at one time, but alternately so, and some of them had a laundry section, so we did laundry, too, and she did a lot of the laundry work.

TI: And so when your mother helped your father, so your mother and father were working together, how about the children? What did you and your brothers, did you ever have to help out with any of the businesses?

TK: Oh yeah, I remember ironing sheets. We had a ironing machine to iron sheets. I remember doing a lot of sheets. I remember doing a lot of washing, too. It was a big washer, you don't scrub or anything, you just throw it in the machine. It's a big rolling type of washer. I remember that, but I can't remember much farther than that.

TI: So when you would do this kind of work, was this in addition to going to school that same day? Did you have to do, like, chores first, or how did that all work out?

TK: Gosh, I don't remember. Well, all during that time it was all mixed up, so I guess we did go to school and everything was done while, a lot of things were done while we were in school, and then what there was leftover, we did to help. I'm not quite sure.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.