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TI: Okay, so Reverend Yamashita, we're going to start the second hour. And where we left was we were just about going to talk about Pinedale and Tule Lake. But before we go there, during the break you mentioned your younger sister and the importance of that. And so I want to go back, and we're talking about your younger sister Toshie?

KY: Toshie, yeah.

TI: So can you tell me, earlier you mentioned that she died when she was quite young.

KY: Yeah.

TI: But you said she had an impact. And so I'm trying to understand, how did she have an impact?

KY: Well, she had this impact and it's that she died real young, five years old. And since we lived close to the temple, she used to go to what we called, now we called the Dharma school, but I guess "Sunday school" -- actually, it was held on Saturday -- for kids. And normally the preacher would just give kind of folk tale type things, so anecdotes about Shinran, that sort of thing. And then they pass out candy for attendance, and at the end of the year, they'd get some -- not the year end, but the school year end -- they'd get some stamps, stickers to show how good their attendance was, that kind of thing. So there was nothing serious in these things, in other words, they didn't talk about death or heaven, or, in Jodo Shinshu we call it "Pure Land," and none of that kind of heavy stuff, especially about dying or going into Buddha's land. Anyway, the impact is that she died at the age of five, and at that time, there was an epidemic of, I think it was flu. And kids were dying, people dying, and a bunch of us, all the family members and then a couple of relatives, both relatives, were at her bedside. And the things that I recall is that she asked, "Why are you people here and why are you crying?" And I guess we all kind of mumbled something about, you know, good to see you, and you seem to be in good spirits. It was going on like that, and all of a sudden, she said, "Daddy, I'm going now. Daddy, I'm going now." And my father, being very devout, and a good Pure Land type person, says, "Do you see that road before you, and it stretches onward?" She said, "Yes." He said, "Go straight on that without any fear, go straight on that, and you'll be fine." And she said, "Okay." In those days, the word "okay" just started, is the way I remember. But she said, "Okay," and then she died. So those words, "Daddy, I'm going now." "What's that? Going where?" You've got to remember, this came from the lips of a five-year-old kid. Preacher didn't talk to her about Pure Land or heaven or going to another world to be with Buddha, nothing like that. She said, "I'm going now."

TI: And so when you think about that, what's the impact on you? When you think about, what, your younger, so you were about twelve, you said,

KY: I was twelve at the time, yeah.

TI: She's five. When you think about that, what does that mean to you?

KY: Well, it gave me utmost confidence that it's not... okay, you're living now, when you die, that's it. Nobody ever went to heaven and came back and said, "There's a heaven, look for it, it's beautiful," nothing like that. But here it was, if you're a religious person, you believe in your own particular religion, that there's another world and God or Buddha. Somebody's waiting for you, and it's a wonderful, beautiful world that you never imagined possible, and everything is perfect. No more worries, no more sickness, no more problems. Here was a kid that knew nothing about that, and said she was going to another place. So that, to me, it meant that definitely our lives just don't end here, there's another life. Another life. To me, it means that there's another world, another realm for sure. For sure, now. Not that, "Oh, what are you talking about? There's nothing else. You die and that's it, man. Nobody ever told me that there was a heaven or a hell." Here it was, another realm. She's a kid, now, had nothing, had done very little that's dirty or sordid or a crime, no nothing like that. Little kid, "I'm going now." So to me, Jodo Shinshu believer, teaches me to be confident. There's another world. To me, there's another world of the Buddha. That's what it's like, don't know for sure, 'cause nobody ever went there and came back and said, "This is it," but I believe there is another world. And if I keep on believing what I am doing now, good hands.

TI: Did your, did your father react to those words or this experience? Did you ever, did he say anything?

KY: Other than the fact that he said, "No, just go straight." Because in our religion, we say that there's a straight path directly to the Jodo. So that makes sense to me, and I think that had an impact on me as a religious person, that here's a kid that knows nothing about dying or going to another place, another world, she said, "I'm going now. So why are you people crying? I'm fine. Look."

TI: Thank you for sharing that. That was nice.

KY: Anyway, I believe that that was the, one of the roots for my belief in Buddhism and wanting to promote Buddhism. Because I think it's a great religion.

TI: Okay, good.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright (c) 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.