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Title: Charles Oihe Hamasaki Interview
Narrator: Charles Oihe Hamasaki
Interviewers: Martha Nakagawa (primary); Tom Ikeda (secondary)
Location: Culver City, California
Date: February 24, 2010
Densho ID: denshovh-hcharles-01-0002

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MN: Where were you born?

CH: Well, this is how it goes. 1921, my mother was pregnant, I think, toward the end of the year. So them days, to raise a big family, it took lots of money, lot of people. And not only my family, the rest of the people, same thing. So they took all the kids to Japan to, cost of living became cheaper. So I was supposed to be born over here, so we registered at that City Hall office, San Pedro. So we took that kid to Japan, and while we were in Japan, my brother got that childhood disease, measles or mumps or whatever it is. So it prolonged my family to come back over here, and that's the time I was born over there. And then I came here maybe three month, three month old, three month old with my older sister and me, myself, and the rest of 'em was in Japan. My grandmother took care of them until, until they, couple of, until three of 'em came back later in 1936.

MN: When did you find out you were born in Japan?

CH: That's another question. I thought I was born in Terminal Island, right? Everybody thought so. We were growing up, we don't ask where was you born and when you was born. We just go to school, that's all. But when I went to junior high school, you know, Richard Henry Dana junior high school in San Pedro now, you got to take the ferry to go to the school. So that's when we had to register. So I put "Terminal Island," of course, I didn't know where I was born. I take it for granted I was born in Terminal Island. So when I came home, I asked my mother, "Tell me the truth, what part of Terminal Island I was born? Over that street or that street?" "No, no, no, you was born in Japan." That's the time I, first time I found out that I was born in Japan, and that's it.

MN: What is your birthday?

CH: 10/7/22. October 7, 1922.

MN: What is your birth name?

CH: Birth name? Oihe.

MN: Because it's very unusual, what is the kanji to Oihe?

CH: Oh, that's very hard. You know the... I interviewed with Japanese people, businesspeople, for me to go teach simple English. But due to my Japanese knowledge of the words, I mean, they didn't hire me. But they asked my Japanese name, you know, and all these people, I told them, "I bet the way I write the kanji, you won't be able to pronounce my name." You know what? They thought about it for five minutes, five minutes is a long time when you're thinking, you know. So they couldn't figure it out, "Write it down, please." So I write it down in Japanese, they start thinking. They say, "Seihei namae ikue." They just didn't know how to pronounce that name. So they gave up. I told 'em, 'That's wrong." "Then what is it?" I told 'em, "Oihe." They go like this, "Yeah, mattaku." "Yeah, you could read it that way." I told 'em, "Hey, you guys are all college graduate, but don't you know how to read all different type of, way of reading Japanese language, see?" And they shook their head, yeah, they said a very unusual name. I think I'm the only one in Japan, or maybe there were two people maybe in Japan that got the same name, the way you write it.

MN: Can you write it for us?

CH: Yeah, umareru taira kara na. I'm not too good in Japanese.

MN: Umareru ne, "born," sore ne? And taira.

CH: Made, made, waiting. Oh, like this.

MN: Also could be Heiwa no hei ne? Kore? Heiwa no hei deshou?

CH: How come you know Japanese?

MN: I know Japanese.

CH: You went Japanese school?

MN: I went Japanese school.

CH: Up to what grade?

MN: All the way to sixth grade.

CH: I went sixth grade, too, but I went to play in school.

TI: And where did that name come from? Who gave you that name?

CH: That Koyasan, you know, one of the famous temple in Japan, Japan, it's located in northern part of Wakayama-ken. The bonsan, the minister named me. Bonsan name, that thing. I hated that name. Very unusual, that's why they named me Charlie. In high school, junior high school and high school, they couldn't even pronounce that name. "Ohai, Oeehey, they say. Yeah, they couldn't pronounce it. But you know why they gave me "Charlie"? I used to like to, in junior high school, or was it high school, junior high? You know the monologue or dialog you do? You know, you got to go up in the front of the class and say anything you want? So I start talking all different kind of thing, I'd be talking, talking for forty-five minutes. That's why the teacher say, "You know, you're the Japanese Charlie Chaplin," they told me. So your name is "Charles" from now. "Oh, okay, well, thank you." That's why in 1936, I put that for the social security card. Social security? That card, yeah, I put that name on my driver's license. That's where I got the name.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.