<Begin Segment 6>

MN: Let's go back to your childhood. Now, when you moved to 118th and Central, what school did you attend?

HY: I think it's 118th Street school, elementary.

MN: And then what junior high school did you go to?

HY: Let's see, it was Gompers.

[Interruption]

MN: Your school, Gompers, what was the ethnic makeup?

HY: I was the only Japanese to go to that school.

MN: So if you were the only Japanese American, did you experience harassment?

HY: No, not one time.

MN: How about Japanese language school? Did you attend Japanese language school?

HY: Yes, I did. Compton Japanese school.

MN: And how about judo classes?

HY: I went to Moneta dojo.

MN: And who was your judo sensei?

HY: Yamauchi. Yamauchi Sensei and there was Sasaki Sensei and Nishimori Sensei.

MN: And then you mentioned that your father loved judo and sumo, and he took you down to the Rafu Dojo in Los Angeles.

HY: Oh, yeah.

MN: Tell me about that.

HY: I took sumo, too, there.

MN: Did you win?

HY: No. I had a, fought with one fella, and he came rushing at me, so I grabbed him and threw him, and he went flying out of the ring. And the ref says, "You used judo on him." Said, "This is sumo, it's not judo," so he disqualified me for that.

MN: How was it wearing, you know, just the... you're not wearing a whole lot in sumo. Were you embarrassed?

HY: No.

MN: No. 'Cause all the other guys did it, wore...

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.