<Begin Segment 7>

MA: And you took a trip to Japan. Can you talk about that trip? How old were you when you were...

GK: I think I was about eight or nine, and my sisters were like eight and three. So we sailed to Japan. In those days, it took about two weeks to cross the Pacific, and we went on a ship called Montevideo, which originated in South America. And first we went to visit Gifu where my father was from. And one thing I remember about Gifu is their (...) show where the cormorant birds, they would tighten their necks, and then they would go into the lake and then get the fish and keep them stored in their throats. And then they kept them there to feed the young, and there were a lot of boats there and they were all decorated with colorful lanterns, and this was held mostly in the evening. So people from all over Japan would come to see this event. And then my mother took us to Hokkaido, to the northern island, and my mother came from a large family so we got to meet, first, her parents, who were very nice, our grandmother and grandfather. And then we got to meet her sisters and some of her brothers. And one uncle in particular, Kiyoshi, gave us a ride on his bicycle, I remember. So we enjoyed it. We enjoyed Sapporo very much.

MA: And do you remember when you were in Japan, I mean, as an American but someone of Japanese ancestry, how were you treated by just, I mean, people in Japan maybe on the street? Or did people know that you were American or, I guess, did they assume you were Japanese?

GK: Yes. Well, back in those days, I didn't notice too much how they perceived us, how the Japanese people perceived us. But later on, after becoming an adult, there is a big difference in how we were perceived. But at that time, we were like, just eight or nine. So I did not notice that they were, that they thought we were different.

MA: And how long were you in Japan?

GK: The whole summer vacation, so about three months.

MA: And was that your only, only trip back there in your childhood?

GK: Yes, during my childhood that was the only trip.

MA: Did your father travel back and forth at all?

GK: You mean to Japan?

MA: Yes, to Japan?

GK: No. And then on that particular trip, he did not go with us. So he stayed in the States and just my mother took us children.

MA: Okay. I imagine he was quite busy with his church.

GK: That's right.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright ©2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.