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TI: So as he's doing this, give me a sense of what your father was like. I mean, how would you, how did people describe him, or you would describe him? What was he like?

MS: Well, he was a very opinionated person, but he also was a very likable person. They say he was quite a cut up when he was young, and seemed to know how to enjoy life. But then I knew him as a very warm and loving dad. My friends have told me about times when they, the times they were growing up, their parents were very authoritarian. But my dad was never like that. Maybe it was because he learned something at USC. [Laughs]

TI: In psychology.

MS: Right, uh-huh.

TI: Well, and so do you remember anything in terms of, perhaps, how he raised you that would indicate a psychologist or a psychology major in terms of what he might have done?

MS: Well, he was a single parent because my mother passed away when I was a year and a half, so although I wasn't with him during my early developmental years, he never spanked, and he never yelled, he never raised his voice. When he said, "We need to talk," that's when I thought, "Uh-oh." [Laughs] So everything was, you know, done on a... what's the word?

TI: Like more positive?

MS: Yeah, more positive or encouraging level.

TI: Encouraging.

MS: Yeah.

TI: So he used, essentially, positive reinforcement is one, probably, psychology...

MS: Yeah, and for that period of time, child-raising era, that was a little bit different.

TI: And how about verbally? Did he talk very much with you about things?

MS: Well, once we were in camp and we were together, yes. My favorite things were at night when he would be at home, and then put me to bed, and he was a great storyteller. He would tell me, and he would just be making some of these things up, but he would just go on and on about stories in old Japan, or he'd just make up something. That's how I remember going to sleep every night.

TI: Oh, wonderful. So he would maybe take an old myth or story from Japan and maybe embellish it or change it and just make things up.

MS: Uh-huh.

TI: Do you ever recall other kind of stories besides Japanese? Did he have any, like, I don't know, any from Europe or America or anything else like that?

MS: No. Mostly it was based on his background, so it was about stories of the old Japanese farms and how he grew up in this little idyllic setting, very peaceful and quiet. Because it was always at nighttime when I was going to sleep, it was always kind of a peaceful kind of a story.

TI: So try, calming and put you to sleep. Now, as he told his stories, can you recall if there were like certain values that he was also trying to impart upon you?

MS: Oh, absolutely, yeah.

TI: And what would be an example of something that you can remember?

MS: Well, always giving back, because even though we were in camp, we were always told that there were less fortunate people, and we should always give back to... it wasn't told in that way, but I think that must have carried on. Because I've always had that sense, that whatever we have, we should share or give back to the community.

TI: So you were fortunate, many Niseis who have Issei parents, they just didn't have this kind of communication sometimes. You were fortunate.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.