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TI: So let's talk a little bit about school. What was school like for you?

HM: Well, I enjoyed school, because I spoke English and I spoke Japanese, so I had no problem going to school. And I made friends very easily, even when I was a kid, and then I loved the underdog kids. I don't know why. I still do. I still do. I love people, I'm not looking down at them, but somehow I get attached. I love that type of people. You know, the Japanese would say they get stomped down, and so I, even today I try to help people that people look down to. I hate when people get treated like that. I still, ever since I was a little girl. I guess that was my teaching of my dad.

TI: And what would your dad say about that, his teaching?

HM: He said, "Always treat the underdog. They're the ones that going to help you. They're your true friends." And when you think, when I think about it, they're the real friends, because they're not looking at you down. These people will help you when you're in need, and I find that that's really true.

TI: Do you have any examples of that? Can you remember an example of maybe someone helping you or you helping someone?

HM: Okay. When we started to work on the repatriation and they found out who my dad was, then my dad had a, you know old days everybody had nicknames. I don't know whether you had this on the mainland, but on the, my dad was called Madeira. Madeira is Portuguese. I don't know why, where my dad got the word Madeira. So when we started to work on the repatriation, this is when I got help. "Oh, you're Madeira's daughter?" And I'd say yes, so when we started the work on, they were so free in giving me information about Puuloa, so I felt really arigatai what my father had taught me, that help, help people. So this is when I really said thank you to my, my dad. Then he used to say, "If you treat people right, you're gonna get this in return," not to you, maybe to your children and grandchildren. I really believe that. I really believe that. So what my father had taught me came true, so ever since I was a little girl I loved, I love helping people.

TI: Okay, good.

HM: I still do. I still do.

TI: So let's, let's talk about Japanese language school.

HM: Oh, that's the fun part. [Laughs] I could read, because I wasn't a very good student, but we used to, they used to say the kanji, the hard Chinese characters, I can't remember every one, so I would Romanize that, so when the sensei used to say, "Who wants to read?" oh I would read because I had all my kanji written down so I could read that. So I used to love to read Japanese book because I was, but that was cheating, but I used to, that's how I am. But that's the fun part of Japanese school, but well somebody had to hold the totem pole up anyway, so I was the one. I didn't listen to the teachers, and then the bad thing that we told the senseis, was really bad, gessha is tuition that we paid, dues that we had to pay to go to language school. They called it gessha. I said, "We're paying you," so this was bad, but lot of kids said that, that "we pay you," so we thought we were better than them.

TI: Oh, so they were working for you.

HM: Yeah, that's it, I guess that's the American way of thinking now.

KN: How did the teachers respond to that?

HM: Oh, boy, you know what came after that, but it's, that wasn't, but that's what we did. I guess that's part of growing up. We thought it was funny, but when I think about now it's hazukashii, you know. I'm ashamed of doing that. But we did what everybody else did, copycat, so I did get into trouble in that respect, and I would not bow to the Japanese flag.

TI: Now, why wouldn't you bow to the Japanese flag?

HM: Because I thought I'm an American. I'm Japanese, but I thought I was American. That wasn't right for me to bow to the flag.

TI: And how about the other students? Were there other students like you that wouldn't bow?

HM: Oh, there were other kids, but I was the one that did the talking and got into trouble. [Laughs]

TI: Now, were you as outspoken in the regular school?

HM: Yes.

TI: Okay.

HM: Always got into trouble. Yeah, so my son was like me; I had to go to school because the counselor would call me. But I think I had a joyful life when I was a youngster, although then, when I got suspended from Japanese school this girl, of course I wasn't doing very well in school, so they were talking bad about me, so I said, "One of these days I'm gonna get you." I told her that. I said, "One of these days I'm gonna get you." So we have to stand in line when we went to Japanese school, short ones to the last ones. I was considered tall, so, tall and big, so one day I thought, I'm gonna cook her goose, so we have to go to, when we went to class we went, marched in, we had to go, not from the front, we went through the back and we sat down. But that day I went through the front, I whacked her with a book. I wacked her with a book. The teacher at that time said, "Go home. Don't come back to school," so I said, "Okay, I'm gonna go home."

TI: So because of that that's, you got suspended?

HM: Yes.

TI: Okay, that's how you got suspended.

HM: So when I went home and I told my dad, you know what I got. My father was famous (his belt came off his pants, slap on the face) so fast you'd, it'd make your head turn. Either belt or this [raises hand], so I really got what I deserved. And then in couple of weeks the teacher came, Reverend Tsuha, he was my favorite Japanese school teacher. He never played favorites -- well, he's the one that threw me out of school -- he never played favorites, that reverend. He said, in Japanese, "Botsu botsu kaeru go ja nai ka," and I, he said, "It's time that you come back, so I went back to Japanese school like nothing happened. [Laughs] But I loved Reverend Tsuha. I loved him. He played fair.

TI: That's good. You were a pretty spirited young girl when, back then. [Laughs]

HM: Yeah, I got into a lot of trouble, got into a lot of trouble. Gave my parents a bad time.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.