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TI: So did that make your family seem, like, wealthier than the other farm families? Because you had two cars, a business?

SO: Well, it seems that way, but my father learned how to (get a loan) he said by working, you cannot grow. So he figured he had to borrow. So he'd bring bankcard and notes. But one little note was hard, too, because those days, cars weren't that well-built. So he has to do a lot of maintenance work, so it was really tough for him.

TI: So when he, you said, borrowed, how would he borrow money?

SO: Well, he used to... one way was, he couldn't go to a bank and get a loan, so what he did was, whenever they had a tanomoshi meeting, people with money used to offer so much for loan. And the highest bidder, who can bid the highest interest, would get the bulk. And that's how he started building his business, by borrowing.

TI: So that's interesting. So these people would come together, who would have some money, and then they would each have a certain amount, it would go into the, a pot, and then whoever would be willing to pay the highest interest amount, they would be able to borrow that money?

SO: That's right. That's what he used to do it on Sundays, when people used to get... you know, those were the savings, we'd go to the meeting and offer how much they want to pay. In those days, it was much easier than going to the bank, because like at the bank, you have to apply and then goes through all the red tape. But go to tanomoshi meeting, as long as you had the trust of the people, they were willing to lend you money.

TI: And so what would happen if someone couldn't pay back the money?

SO: [Laughs] I don't know what happened in those days.

TI: So everyone paid back?

SO: Usually. Very seldom you would hear people didn't pay the note.

TI: And were these loans, like, kind of short-term loans, or were sometimes over many years?

SO: It was more short-term loans.

TI: And do you know what kind of interest rate people paid back?

SO: Well, they had to pay because otherwise they wouldn't be getting any more credit.

TI: So it sounds like your father was, we call it an "entrepreneur," kind of a business, he liked to think up new ideas, borrow money, and then start a business.

SO: That's right. He started it, because he came here with nothing. And back home, they used to raise just silkworms, but there wasn't money. So once he came to Kona, he figured, oh, he had an opportunity. He had the children helping him to go out and pick coffee, and that helped him a lot.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.