<Begin Segment 18>

MN: I want to ask you a little bit about the Okinawa Kenjinkai. How involved was your mother with the Okinawa Kenjinkai?

AT: My mother was very much involved, and she helped with the board and she helped with the Fujinkai. She, there was a lady before her who was the Fujinkai president, but she took over and she was president for about ten years. Then she helped develop the Fujinkai a lot. And so, you know, we, kenjinkai, too, in turn, helped us. Because if we needed manpower, there's always volunteer and came and helped us. So my sister and I, we practically grew up with kenjinkai. So they were a big help to us, so we tried to help as much as... of course, those people that used to come and help us, they're mostly gone, but yeah, that's the remembrance that we have as kenjinkai.

MN: So the kenjinkai was a big part of your family life.

AT: Yes, yes.

MN: You know, the Okinawa Kenjinkai is very unique, because right after the war, they had like the Zaibei Okinawa Fukou Renmei, that sent care packages to Okinawa. Was your village recipient of that?

AT: I don't know if from U.S. here, kenjinkai, but I know we had from Hawaii. Hawaii also had those care packages, and that's because, I don't know if there was anybody from our part of village here. So I think that mostly people who, from certain village, they might have sent to their villages to help. And it would come, not individual, but it would come to the, like, a village hall or something like that, addressed to, and in our case. And then they would open up huge packages, and then again, they would distribute to the family members. And those packages included adult's clothes, men's clothes and those things. I think for us, probably Hawaii clothing was more compatible to Okinawan lifestyle, because more of a lighter summer clothes, those things. So they really helped Okinawa people since shortly after the war. So Okinawa government, to reciprocate that, they've helped like, when Hawaii built a community center, government helped, to thank the people, what they did during the war.

MN: Now, what were the Okinawa Kenjinkai picnics like?

AT: Oh. Before, oh, it was a huge family affair. We used to have it at the Elysian park. I mean, this is after, it was going on from before, but so like our part as the children was, main help was at the picnic time, or, well, shinnenkai was as we got older. But because I was dancing, so as a part of entertainment, we always participated in picnic and shinnenkai. And picnic was, you know, you would, the parents, mothers, would be cooking from night before, bento, big bento, enough to feed whole army. [Laughs] And they'll take it, and everybody has goza all next to each other, everybody's sharing their food. I mean, it was, it was a big deal. And the carpenters, members who were carpenters, they would go from five o'clock in the morning and build stages. And the person who's in charge of the drinks get a big tarai, all that tarai lined up with ice and water. So you have to make sure that each one, only one, so that they don't come back, everybody would have it. So it was, yeah, it was actual stage and dressing area in the back, covered, and the musician area on the side. So they all built that on that morning, and then take down in the afternoon. So, you know, after those people that's able to do that, we just, the young people just couldn't keep doing that. But the past two years, we've been having those mobile stages that we borrow, and do it at the Legg Lake Whittier Narrows park now. And Elysian park, for the parking, you have to park all on the street, and the children had, all the children had their games in the back. So it was, the little kids that went there, they still remember that as an adult, that's what they remember. So they write to OAA, "Why can't we have those kind of picnic?" So we have to explain to them, 'There's nobody to build stage, there's nobody to go and work from that time." If you want that, come and volunteer." So we've been pretty successful for the past few years. Yeah, those were the times that, mainly, that I would get involved in that OAA function.

MN: Do you think the fact that Okinawa was so devastated during the war, do you think it tightened the community here, also?

AT: I think, I think so. And then, and also, they were so far away from main Japan, so that in itself, I think, if you look at the name, "Oh, you're from Okinawa?" "You're not from Okinawa?" "You're Okinawan?" You recognize right away. So I think those two is the name. And then Okinawan music and dance in itself, again, is a little different from Japan. So I think that plays a part of, yeah, cohesiveness of the community.

MN: Now, is it because of your involvement with the kenjinkai that you started to continue in your dancing?

AT: No, not really with the community, but my interest became more deeper because, again, here they didn't have any formal teacher, so I thought, "Oh, since I've started, why don't I continue?" So I just took that opportunity to go. But again, the community itself, music, sanshin group, they helped me. Like when I was in high school, they would all pitch in to send me to Hawaii and so I can learn, and, of course, I have to come back and show them what I've done and commit myself to perform and things like that. So they definitely was my big backup.

MN: So it was a give and take. They were able to fund your studies in Hawaii, and then in turn, you would return and you would teach here.

AT: Yeah. And then after that, I would do on my own to, like, go to Okinawa and so that I can properly attain the teaching credential.

MN: Let me go back a little bit. Now, you graduated high school 1961, and then right after high school, what did you do?

AT: I started working. 'Cause I started working to help the family, and went to night school.

MN: And then you quit after one year. You had this full-time job, you were probably making good money.

AT: No. [Laughs]

MN: [Laughs] Okay. But why did you quit?

AT: Well, I quit because... maybe I wanted to get out, out of the... so anyway, I had enough that I've saved, half went to home, enough that I can support myself for one year. So I thought, "Oh, if I'm gonna further my dance," I wanted to do it now. So I wanted to get away, too, I think. So that's when I just took off one year and went to Okinawa and stayed there a whole year to dance, formally work with the headmaster, the teacher that I started with in Hawaii, her father was the headmaster, and she even encouraged me, she said, "You know, you should go to Okinawa and study with my father." So there were two teachers, another daughter who was teaching, and then the headmaster that I studied with. So it was, yeah, it was full-time during the dance, every day.

MN: So you actually really have a passion for dancing. You never gave it up since you left Okinawa.

AT: No, I haven't.

MN: And you came here and then the summertime you were learning in Hawaii? And then you graduated and then...

AT: Soon as I got freedom, I took off. [Laughs]

MN: For Okinawa.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.