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TI: And how did he get started in the fish selling?

AO: Well, because it's like I say when he moved over to these people that had come from the same village, they were mostly, in as much as most of these people were from the fishing village, they were mostly fisherman and although they were very small, nevertheless they were in the fish catching business. And through that type of connection he was able to find sources or places where the fish was being sold and he bought the small lots and started peddling, going around peddling fish or whatever he had bought at the market. So he started peddling fish, that was his first individual endeavor in business.

TI: Okay, now he's a fish peddler so he goes down like similar to what your grandfather was doing, he would go down --

AO: No, no that's different, back home I think it wasn't so, I think what they were doing back home was I think they were just selling the fish right off the boats, right on the beaches and that was it. But in this case he actually bought the fish and started peddling, walking around house to house and started peddling fish.

TI: This is your father.

AO: That's my father, yes.

TI: But wasn't your grandfather doing something similar?

AO: No, more... I don't know too much about it but the way I gathered, there was more or less as the fish were being unloaded on the sandy beaches in Oki-Kamuro, there were buyers and I guess sales were being made right there on the beaches.

TI: Okay, so now your father is buying fish and now going around selling the fish.

AO: Correct.

TI: And now how old is he? How long has he been in Honolulu now?

AO: Oh, I don't know, I don't know, I'm not sure but maybe he was seventeen... maybe nineteen or twenty years old by then, I'm not sure at all.

TI: Okay, and now how long does he do this before he meets your mother?

AO: Well, it was a marriage arranged but my mother... my mother's parents were also from the same village in Oki-Kamuro and my mother was really born in Hawaii so I'm really a two and a half, I'm not a full Nisei. So my mother was born in Hawaii and the marriage was arranged so I don't know when the date of the marriage or anything else like that but eventually they got married and so once my father started peddling fish, initially he went out peddling by himself. Then eventually he started getting a donkey to carry his products and go around peddling and of course in his book he mentions how every night, no matter how late it was, when he came home after trying to sell all of his fish, my mother would have to look after the donkey or the horse, you know, because my dad by then would be so tired. So that was one of the chores that she had.

TI: Do you know how large a territory your father had to sell?

AO: I don't know but probably around the district of Kakaako and nearby area because... although by present day standards, you know, the area might be small, during those years I don't think it was that restricted and small, it's quite a bit because once I started going to school we found out it wasn't very, you know, the distances weren't very short, it is quite a bit... it took time to travel.

TI: And so walking around selling fish... and then during the day what did your mother do while your father was peddling fish?

AO: Well, my mother after all brought up nine children so she was... while bringing up the children she also... there were times when she worked at a fish cannery because there was a tuna cannery a few blocks away from my house at that time. So like I say, while bringing up nine children, she also worked at the cannery and still looked after the kids.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.