<Begin Segment 5>

MA: Okay, so your father was serving at the Evergreen Baptist Church, and that was the main Japanese Baptist church of that area?

GK: Yes, of that area.

MA: And do you know a little bit about the history of that church? Was it in Boyle Heights?

GK: Yes, it was right in Boyle Heights at, I think, Second and Evergreen Avenues. And I really don't know too much about the history of the church. But my father had a nice congregation there, and I have pictures, many photographs of the church members, they all stood in front of the church, and it was a group photograph that was taken. And it looked like one happy family. [Laughs]

MA: And I imagine there was also a Buddhist church, Japanese Buddhist church?

GK: (Yes), there were, and then I think something called Nichiren. And yes, there were other (churches) because a lot of the Japanese people were not Christians. They believed in other things like Buddhist and Nichiren, and I can't remember what other, but it was not all Christian.

MA: Right. Do you know what relationships were like between the various churches? Like the Buddhist church, for example, and the Baptist church, were they...

GK: As far as I know, they didn't do too many things together like they do now, you know. Now it's more ecumenical and all the religions tried to work together. But back in those days, they stayed in their own groups.

MA: I wonder about a lot of the Japanese Christian community in the United States and if they came over and then became interested in Christianity, or it happened more in Japan and then they... do you have any idea about when then that happened?

GK: I think for our parents' generation, I think they were, they became Christians in Japan and then they came over. I believe that's the way it was. And a few may have become Christians after they came here, but I kind of think they were already Christians in Japan when they came.

MA: Okay.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright ©2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.