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TI: And how did you introduce music to your children?

MN: We always had music in the house, always.

TI: Like what? I mean, just on the record player?

MN: I had classical radio or classical music records going all the time.

TI: So just like in the background, just always in...

MN: Uh-huh, all the time. And so the kids would come and say, "Oh, Mom's listening to that kind of music again," but they learned to like it. Now they can enjoy it as I do.

TI: And how about singing? As a family, did you do much singing?

MN: The kids, my three girls and I always sang harmony or something, doing dishes, cleaning the house or whatever, we always sang. So even to this day, we can still harmonize and do things. My second daughter harmonizes naturally, and she also has a wonderful voice. She's asked to sing a lot, but she doesn't sing too much now. She sings at weddings and receptions and things like that.

TI: And so do you think that's kind of one of the... what's the right word? Good things to do with children, just having music around and singing?

MN: I think so. It's very important to have something that the family can do together and enjoy, and music was one of those things. You know, there are people that can do artwork. Some of my kids are good in artwork. It just comes from being from the family that loved any kind of art. So my youngest daughter did beautiful artwork, she did beautiful macrame, she did everything beautifully with her hands, but she didn't sing. But she would sing with the sisters, harmonize.

TI: And how about Shi? When he was alive, with kids growing up with music and singing, did he sing along, too?

MN: He had a wonderful voice, he would never sing for us. One time we came home from someplace, he was working on his books singing away, recording it. Saying things like, "Four dollars and thirty-nine cents," or something, he would write it down, and he would start singing away. And we came home unexpectedly, and we were listening, and we were flabbergasted that he had such a lovely voice. But he always loved music. His mother even played shamisen. She was not very good at it, but she played shamisen. My brother-in-law did the Gedayu like my mother taught, like we just belonged together, music and arts. But it was funny that (Shi) loved music, and maybe that's why he married me. [Laughs]

<End Segment 28> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.