<Begin Segment 14>

MN: I'm gonna come back to this later on, because from there on, you went to, you were still going to school at this time, getting your master's. But I wanted to go back a little bit and talk about your father, how he took you to the samurai movies.

RO: Say that again?

MN: How he took you to the samurai movies when you were young?

[Interruption]

MN: -- the movies to go watch Miyamoto Musashi.

RO: Let me guess. It would probably be before high school. No, no, that's not true. Because I first went to Japanese movies with my best friend Margie's parents. They would go down, you know, on Main Street, 'cause they had a restaurant on Main Street, so then we go see, they're not necessarily samurai movies, just different movies. And then when the samurai movie came out, this one was -- what's the name of the theater over there on Wilshire Boulevard? Huh? No, not Toho, Wilshire. It's over there by those parks. You know where the art center was? What's the name of that theater? Okay. That's where I saw the samurai movie, but it was an arts theater versus... you know what I'm talking about? I'm glad you didn't remember. Anyway, so the question is, when did I go with my dad to the movie is, probably, yeah, it'd be in high school.

MN: And this movie, Miyamoto Musashi, did it influence you quite a lot?

RO: Hmm?

MN: Did it influence you after watching Miyamoto Musashi?

RO: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. He's sorry that he took me because I made him go buy me some Kleenex and see it twice.

MN: Now, what was the, what was it about Miyamoto Musashi's life that grabbed you?

RO: That grabbed me? Well, there was romance in it, too, you know, because there's that gal that came back and waited, looked for him at the bridge. He was a ruffian kind of a guy, but he wanted, he wanted to become a samurai, he wanted to learn the art and the craft and the skill. He was stubborn, very strong, but he was very principled. What resonates is, I don't know, the things that the parents talk about, you know. It's the first time I see something about things that they talked about. I mean, I could see that was different. I love cowboy movies. During that time I'd go to see a lot of -- I love old cowboy movies, you know, but I like honor. And so there were some good guys, and the white hair, white hat guys. But I don't know. I guess it was, he's just a ragamuffin, and he wanted to aspire, and he believed in himself. And then he was cute. [Laughs] He was cute.

MN: So after you watched this, is this when you --

RO: You weren't filming that part, were you? Oh, my gosh. I thought you were just asking me, all right.

MN: Is this when you asked your father, you want to learn kendo?

RO: No, no. And it's, my father, I think, actually, when we were in Rohwer, carved a sword out of some tree. So he had a katana, yeah. And so he used to, to do these little exercises with my brother, and we would just roll up newspapers and try to do this number with him. And I said, "Me, too. What about me?" "You're a girl, no." And me, you know, "What about me?" Anyway, he'll let me do it. And I mean, a paper, newspaper's not gonna hurt you, but that's not what you have on your mind, anyway. So we would do this regularly and all, and to see whether, somehow, it became less of a skill or an exercise of, it's less to do with technique, is that so much of it was like being in charge of your fears. And somehow, if you could deal with that, then it will allow you to do what you need to do. Because if you're ready to cover up and all, then you're already vulnerable, and you're dead. And I think there were a lot of lessons from them. Being willing to be hit allows you to also attack. And I don't know, a lot of that, I think, serves me well in different kind of political combat. 'Cause I took a lot of hits. And most people try to protect themselves, but then you can't get in the game. You want me to jump in there and start...

MN: Okay, hold on. No, we won't get into that then. But let me ask you...

RO: My dad and kendo?

MN: Yeah, did you... well, did you spar with your brother?

RO: Yeah, my brother and all. Yeah, I did things with my brother, but that's the funny thing about my brother. He's two years older and whatever, and I'm, I probably was an annoyance for him and all, but he was very protective. He was a kind big brother. He's nice, it's probably why I picked my husband, because he picked him. I had different suitors and all, and my brother said, "This one." [Laughs]. Yeah, anyway. Oh, my brother, did I fight with my brother? Yeah, we fought all the time, but there was never any animosity.

MN: Were you stronger than your brother?

RO: Hmm?

MN: Were you stronger than your brother?

RO: Not necessarily physically. Yeah, he was strong. But I'm an obstinate, stubborn, strong person, so I guess I'm stronger in other ways.

MN: Can you share with us your father's kintama story?

RO: Hmm?

MN: Your father's kintama story?

RO: Say that one more time?

MN: The kintama? Kintama?

RO: Oh. [Laughs] You know, whatever I wanted with the brother and all, he would be regularly admonished, study hard, go to college, you know, learn something, do this, be successful. And I always would say, "What about me?" And he'd say, "You're a girl child. Grow up to be a good wife and mother." And this is, goes on all the time. But when I would come home with good grades or athletic trophies or class office, my father would turn to my mother, in Japanese, and he would say, "What a shame to waste these attributes on a girl." What he was saying is what I'm doing is good. So it was indirect positive reinforcement, you know. But what he's saying is, "waste on a girl child" means that she doesn't have kintamas, or gonads. And I don't know, I guess I've thought about that many times during my life.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.