<Begin Segment 4>

MN: So how did you feel about having to go to Japan?

TH: Well, nothing really. I suppose that's the way it is.

MN: So you didn't protest or...

TH: No, no, no.

MN: How much Japanese did you speak at that time?

TH: A little bit, I think. Maybe I was going to the Japanese school.

MN: Do you remember which Japanese school? Could it be Chuo Gakuen in Boyle Heights?

TH: Gee, I don't remember. Besides, my parents were Japanese-speaking, so I must have picked up some.

MN: What year did you leave for Japan?

TH: 1931 or late 1930, I think.

MN: And did your mother go with you?

TH: Yeah.

MN: So you, your mother and your younger brother, all three went. Do you remember the ship's name?

TH: No, not offhand.

MN: Do you remember getting seasick?

TH: That, too, I don't remember.

MN: Now, did this ship go directly to Kyushu or did it stop in Yokohama?

TH: Probably Yokohama.

MN: And then went to Kyushu to the Fukuoka area. What was your first impression of Japan?

TH: Well, it's very vague. I don't really remember.

MN: Now, once you arrived in Fukuoka, you and your brother didn't live together. Who did you live with?

TH: With my grandparents and my uncle and his wife.

MN: On your father's side?

TH: Right.

MN: Now, you were saying your paternal grandfather was the sonchou, the head of the mura?

TH: Yeah.

MN: Do you think that prevented you from being teased by the other kids?

TH: Yeah, probably, yeah.

MN: And then your paternal uncle, Kyohei, was an amateur painter?

TH: Yeah, he didn't always paint, but one time, I noticed that he had painted my father's portrait.

MN: Now, did your love of painting, do you think it started around this time from your uncle's influence, or was it something else?

TH: I don't think, there wasn't much of an influence from my uncle, just that I enjoyed painting.

MN: Now, what did your paternal grandparents and uncle and aunt do for a living?

TH: Oh, well, they operated a, they built a factory next to their house and they manufactured noodles, udon. And they also had a patch of land where they grew grapes, and also had some goats, to sell goat's (milk). They were doing a lot of things, they were not basic farmers, so they tried to make a living doing something else. But I guess they weren't really too good as a businessman, and eventually they had to sell the house and move to Hakata, a city in Fukuoka.

MN: Did you have to help them out in the business?

TH: No, no.

MN: Now, what about your mother? How long did she stay with you?

TH: About a year.

MN: And your brother stayed somewhere else. Why couldn't you two live together?

TH: Well, I guess my mother decided to put him with her side of the family, her uncle.

MN: And her side of the family, the uncle, what did he do?

TH: He was a priest of Zen temple.

MN: And what happened to your brother when he was seven?

TH: He, basically he was kind of sickly since he was a little boy. So he contracted diphtheria and he passed away when he was seven.

MN: Now, were you there with him before he passed away?

TH: No, I heard about it.

MN: Is he buried in Fukuoka?

TH: Probably buried, yeah, in the Zen temple.

MN: Did your mother return to the, for the funeral?

TH: No, I didn't see her.

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