<Begin Segment 7>

MN: Do you have anything else you would like to talk about? Maybe more about the war or the union?

YA: Well, the right of women to vote granted after the war was something that comes to my mind. I was very encouraged. I always went to listen to speakers talking about coming elections and candidates making a speech on the street. I was involved with both church and union activities. The union position was getting more demanding, and that kept me away from the church. I was getting engaged in the labor movements for the nurses at the hospital. A few members of the House of Councilors supported us, and that's how I met Councilor Michiko Fujiwara. Some female Diet members with the Social Democratic Party Japan were having negotiation meetings with the Minister of Health Labor and Welfare. The Liberal-Democratic Party didn't even pay the slightest attention to our issues back then. She asked me if I wanted to sit at those committee meetings. I went all the way to the Diet Building to observe a meeting with another member of the union. We went to a meeting with the Social Labor Relations Commission. That was the first time I was in the Diet Building. We didn't have a place to stay. Mr. Michiko Fujiwara had accommodations arranged for us and offered us to stay in the building. They had rooms for the members of the Diet in the building. Each member had a small room. The building looked so big and gorgeous from outside, but the rooms had bare wooden floors with tatami mats and a small charcoal burning heater. It was very bare back then. I was expecting something more sophisticated for the members in the Diet Building, but they had this small charcoal burning container. That's what they had for heating. I was surprised. They let us use the room to sleep on the tatami mats. Next day, we went to the cafeteria for the Diet members. I saw meal samples there and found out they were serving just regular meals like pork cutlets and rice bowls we would see at a cheap restaurant. It looked glamorous from outside, and it probably depends who you are talking about, but that how it was with the member's room for the Social Democratic Party Japan. I supposed no matter which party you belong to, either it was the Social Democratic Party, something else or Liberal-Democratic Party, they probably had a similar room. Tatami mats and a portable charcoal heater. Small charcoal burning heater. [laughs] I was rather shocked.

It was back in 1965. I went to the Diet, someone was trying to arrange marriage for me, and Ms. Michiko Fujiwara asked me to be her secretary. She offered the same level of salary the hospital was paying me, and asked me to work for her because she needed a secretary for the upcoming election. She offered me the position, and I had a matchmaker working on arranged marriage for me. At the same time, I was working for the Red Cross Hospital. The nurses there were offered a responsible position after working for about ten years, and smaller hospitals often offered us a teaching position at their school of nursing. I happened to get an offer from a hospital in Kamakura. I was interested in the position. Ms. Yamazaki, no, Ms. Michiko Fujiwara, she was Mrs. Yamazaki and then Ms. Fujiwara after she got divorced. Ms. Fujiwara offered me a position, and marriage to Morohoshi was being arranged. I had those three options to choose from, and I had my parents worried about me. They were getting old, and I felt obligated to make them happy. I thought that I would be a good idea to listen to them this time. My sisters were giving me a hard time and telling me to follow the parents' advice. Having an old maid sister didn't help my brother find a nice bride. [laughs] Marriage was between two families back then, and an old maid in the family wasn't welcome. My brother was also to take care of the parents, and that added another undesirable situation as a future husband. I felt like I needed to get married, and I made my decision. I felt bad to my future husband about my motivation.

I also felt sympathetic toward Morohoshi. I felt sorry for him. I heard about his life during the war and hardship he had been through. I heard about his troubled relationship with his parents too. I wrote to him. I told him that I would marry him if the rest of my life could make his life happier. It was not quite a love note, but that how I replied to him. I realized things were not that easy when I actually came over to the States. I was just too busy when I made the decision. I wanted to take a vacation. I couldn't help assuming many responsibilities when I was there. I had to do this and do that, it was ridiculous. Responsibilities just came to me. I thought I could take a vacation in a faraway country where I was not familiar with the customs, didn't speak English, didn't know anything and just hanging around like a fool. I felt guilty for my future husband, but that's how I ended up coming to the States. [Laughs]

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.