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TI: So today is Wednesday, June 9, 2010, and we're in Kona. And on camera is Dana Hoshide, and then I'm the interviewer Tom Ikeda. And so this afternoon we have Susumu Oshima with us. So the first question is, can you tell me when and where you were born?

SO: I was born in Kainaliu-Kona on August 15, 1926.

TI: And what was the name that was given to you at birth?

SO: Susumu. S-U-S-U-M-U. In Japanese you write "Susumu." [Laughs]

TI: And was it, are you named after anyone? Do you know why they gave you that name?

SO: No. I was the sixth child. (Narr. note: Mom was too busy with all the children. Dad was busy with his business management and operations.)

TI: And when you were born, were you born at your house or at a hospital? Do you know where you were born?

SO: I was born at home. The next-door lady was a housewife...

TI: A midwife?

SO: Midwife. She was a midwife, so she, and parents couldn't afford a hospital bill, so they always used to hire her as a midwife. So she came to deliver me.

TI: Was that pretty common, for families to have midwives?

SO: Yeah, in the 1920s, that was common practice. Everybody used to ask her, 'cause she was a good midwife.

TI: Do you know her name, what her name was, the midwife?

SO: Her first name was Ayano, last name Nozaki.

TI: And so she must have delivered lots of babies back in the '20s?

SO: Yes. Even in the '30s and '40s, too. And '40s, '50s, she used to help Dr. Mao, a Chinese doctor. She used to help him... oh, he used to help her get all the papers down.

TI: So she would still almost be in charge of the birth, but the doctor would be there?

SO: No. We just used to go to their home and then deliver paper, baby.

TI: Babies.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.