<Begin Segment 37>

TI: Something I want to go back that we talked about earlier, when you were a seven-, eight-year-old boy, you thought you were going to become a minister. You instead chose this career in aviation --

MK: I knew you would get back to that. [Laughs]

TI: So when did you decide that you were not going to be a minister? Here your family, when we look at your, both your mother's side and father's side, generations and generations of priests and Buddhism. You're the oldest son, and so you decide not to become a minister. Tell me about that.

MK: There's a difference there, okay. My father doesn't have a church anymore, so I don't have that tradition. My mother gave up her, to give it to her sister to take care of that. We come to Hawaii, there's no church that a minister owns. It's a community, the community owns that church. In Japan, yes, I would've been forced to accept that position, but in Japan, in Hawaii, since the system is different, I would not be able to get it, have to fill a church. There's some ministers still do that, but I decided I didn't want to be a church... primarily because I didn't feel that, I didn't have that patience to teach people to be, to conform to, well, to learn ministry. I didn't, I wasn't that interested in becoming a minister. I didn't care. This is the age when I was up to the tenth grade, before I changed. I told my dad, "I'm not gonna be a minister." And my dad looked at me and he says, "You don't want to be a minister?" I said, "No, I don't want to be a minister because I don't want to be like you." Told him, "I don't want to be like you." He said, "Why?" I said, "I don't like to bow my head to every person that comes along and ask you for something, you have to bow your head, say yes. I'm not a yes, I'm not gonna say yes to everything. I can't live like that." And he says, "Okay, if you... that's it." For a man who said "no" all his life, he said, "Yes."

TI: That's interesting. I'm wondering, so you had a successful career. You did well. You talk about your family, raising family. Were you ever able to talk to your parents, at some point, were they concerned about you? I'm thinking about that time when you just didn't really care after the war, but then you picked yourself up and did well. Did they ever talk to you about, you know, "Masa, we were really, really worried about you" at some point?

MK: My dad was. He talked to me the day before I left.

TI: This is for New York?

MK: August, August 1951, when the church was being built and the walls were going up. And he says, "You're finally going to New York. Are you going to where you want to go? Are you sure you want to go?" I said, "Yes, I want to go." He says, "I'm not gonna stop you." I said, "How come you're not gonna stop me? You never, you always told me I had to do things, but now you're telling me you're not gonna stop me." He says, "You know, in order for you to be successful you have to have failures, and if you don't try, you're not gonna have failures. But if you don't try, you're not gonna have success, so don't be afraid to try." Said, "The only way that you're gonna succeed in life is by trying." That's what he said.

TI: Very simple, but very wise.

MK: I would think that would've come from my mom, okay, 'cause she's that type of person. I would've thought that would come, but that really surprised when my dad told me that.

TI: Excellent. That's, I think... I'm done with my questions, and I think that was a great way to end with my questions. Is there anything else that you want to talk about before we stop?

MK: No.

TI: Okay, so why don't we stop now. This is over three hours. This was a great interview, so Masa, thank you so much for taking the time. This is good.

<End Segment 37> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.