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TI: So Hank, the way I start this is I just some background on the day, so today's Friday, July 30, 2010. We're in Los Angeles, Little Tokyo, at the Centenary United Methodist Church, and in the room we have Dana Hoshide on camera and I'm the interviewer, Tom Ikeda. And so, so Hank, why don't I just start from the very beginning and why don't you tell me your birth date and where you were born?

HU: I was born in Sacramento, actually a farm about ten miles from Sacramento, and I was born on October 12, 1928. And in those days they used to brag about, at least my parents, my mother used to brag that I was a Columbus Day, and of course, right now Columbus, Columbus Day isn't that popular.

TI: So your mother knew that it was Columbus Day back then?

HU: Oh yeah.

TI: Okay, so it was --

HU: Yeah, she used to brag about it. [Laughs]

TI: Even though she was Japanese, she knew her, her American history.

HU: Oh, yeah.

TI: You mentioned about ten miles outside of Sacramento, on a farm, so were you delivered by a, like a midwife?

HU: A midwife, yeah. Mrs., was it Mayeda? Something like that. Yeah, Japanese midwife.

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

HU: Shozo, and the way, the way they got the name was in Japanese calendar, there is Showa, a Showa and a sannen or a third year of Showa, so he, my old man took "sho" from Showa and three from sannen, third year, and that made a Shozo.

TI: Okay, so you could always remember when you were born then. [Laughs]

HU: [Laughs] Yeah, 'cause he took the easy way out.

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