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TI: So today is Thursday, July 29, 2010, and we're at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. And in the room we have Martha Nakagawa, who's helping as interviewer. Running the camera is Tani Ikeda, then I'm the interviewer, Tom Ikeda. And also sitting in is Dana Hoshide, who's observing. So, Fred, why don't we start and just tell me when is your birth date and where were you born?

FS: Yuba City. Yuba City, Sutter County. 4/14/23, so April 14, '23.

TI: So that makes you eighty-seven years old.

FS: Eighty-seven. [Laughs]

TI: That's great. So I'm gonna start, before we get to your life, I want a little bit about your mother and father. So let's start with your father. Can you tell me your father's name and where he was from?

FS: Hiroshima. Takuzo Shingu.

TI: And do you know anything about his family, like what kind of work they did?

FS: More or less, I think he was a former farmer in the country, I think.

TI: Now, do you know why your father left Japan to come to America?

FS: No. You got me. I don't know about that, either.

TI: How about how he met your mother? Do you know how he met your mother?

FS: Well, I know they was picture, "picture bride." That's all I, that's all I know.

TI: Okay, so your mother was a "picture bride." And why don't you tell me what your mother's name was?

FS: Katsu.

TI: Katsu?

FS: Katsu Hirota, I think. I think it was Hirota.

TI: And, and where was she from?

FS: Hiroshima.

TI: Okay, and do you know anything about her family?

FS: No. I think she was, I think she was the only one in the family.

TI: Okay, so going back to your father, when he came to the United States, where did he live initially, when he first came to --

FS: What did he do?

TI: Yeah, what did he do? Where was he?

FS: All I know is that he was in, he was in a orchard, picking, picking fruits or pruning the trees. And that's all I can remember.

TI: And was this around Yuba City that he did this?

FS: Yeah. Well, Marysville.

TI: Marysville.

FS: Marysville.

TI: Okay, so he was doing this for a while, and then your mother came over as a "picture bride."

FS: Yeah.

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