<Begin Segment 4>

MN: So what year did your father formally open his studio?

AM: I believe it was about 1923 or '4.

MN: So this famous Japanese performer, Michio Ito, came from Japan to perform at the Hollywood Bowl.

AM: Yes.

MN: And Michio Ito and your father were friends. Now, can you share with us the story, what did Michio Ito ask your father to do?

AM: Well, my father was very interested in that type of dancing and things, and the kind of person that Michio Ito was, they were very close in the way of thinking of art and things like that, so they were, they had very interesting conversation between the two because they both had the same kind of interest. And so Michio Ito decided maybe he could have my father do some photography for him, so he did and he, Michio Ito liked his work so much that when Michio Ito decided to have a performance here he decided to have my father do all of the photography. So he did everything from the very beginning, all the rehearsals and things, taking pictures, and all the publicity type of work, and the people in Hollywood that had performance in Hollywood Bowl and things never saw anybody, a dancer that worked that much with a photographer. Of course, photography business wasn't that much into that type of work, and so when Michio Ito put on his program it was so successful, so that's, after that they decide to do the same thing, to have a photographer take pictures of everything and do a lot of publicity work. So that's how photography got into that type of work.

MN: So your father was the first photographer to cover the Hollywood Bowl performance, a Hollywood Bowl performance?

AM: Yes.

MN: Do you remember what year that is?

AM: Gee, I can't recall. 1935 or six maybe. I don't know. I'm not sure.

MN: Now, your father was also good friends with Yoshie Fujiwara --

AM: Yes.

MN: -- of the Fujiwara Opera Company. Can you share with us some of your father's friendship with Mr. Fujiwara and how that was?

AM: Yes. Well, when Mr. Fujiwara came over to United States, somebody must've referred Mr. Fujiwara to my father so that's how he became friends with my father. And then they were such a close friend and so whatever Mr. Fujiwara wanted to do he would always discuss with my father because he was connected with Michio Ito and all those things in that entertainment business. So he would consult with my father quite a bit, and so that's how close they were getting. And then when Mr. Fujiwara went back to Japan, and he had a son, so he sent his son over to United States to get education here, go to American school, so while his son was over here he, he worked as an assistant for my father. So he became, he was pretty interested in photography himself, so he was the only son for Mr. Fujiwara, so he studied English over here while working for my father.

MN: Now, when Mr. Fujiwara performed in Little Tokyo or in Los Angeles, were any other photographers allowed to take pictures or was it just exclusively with your father?

AM: It was exclusively my father because he was such a good friend.

MN: Did your father mingle with Japanese actors in America like Sessue Hayakawa?

AM: Yes. In fact, Mr. Hayakawa was a very close with my father, so that's how he, my father was able to get, get some work from Hollywood, because, through Sessue Hayakawa. And they liked the way my father took pictures of Sessue Hayakawa, so naturally he had a lot of following, followings from the Hollywood acting business.

MN: Now, your father had a very busy schedule. Can you share with me what that schedule was like?

AM: Well, he was establishing Little Tokyo and then when the Nisei Week started somehow he got involved in that, and so they asked him to take all those girls' pictures and things, the queen candidates' pictures and things, and so he was involved with Nisei Week almost from the beginning.

MN: So those pictures that they used to display, is it on the corner of First and San Pedro Street, were those your father's pictures, the queens candidates?

AM: Yes.

MN: So he did that from, almost from the beginning of Nisei Week?

AM: Yes, uh-huh.

MN: So did your father work seven days a week, morning to night?

AM: Just about. [Laughs] That's why he couldn't take us anywhere, because most of his work came in, he was real busy on weekends. It was, of course, his specialty 'cause of weddings and stuff like that, Saturday and Sunday. And lot of time night work, things like that. He was pretty involved with the Japanese community.

MN: Now, when you were growing up, did you resent not seeing your father?

AM: Well, not really because I was taught that he was real busy and all that and my mother always explained that he was so busy with his work at the studio, and so I kind of understood why he, he could not see us. But every now and then he would take off and take us to go, to go to the mountain to, for the snow and thing like that and really enjoyed it, so he tried to spend some time with us.

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