<Begin Segment 3>

MN: What year were you born?

JD: I was born 1930, December.

MN: And what city were you born in?

JD: What now?

MN: City.

JD: Oh, I was born in Sacramento.

MN: And how were you delivered?

JD: I think there was a Sutter Hospital in Sacramento, and that was the delivery point. And I, my understanding is that I was a premature baby, but they were able to come through that, and I grew up in Sacramento. And I was able to attend Sacramento Lincoln Grammar School, where I attended.

MN: Now, you're the firstborn, is that correct?

JD: That's correct.

MN: How many younger brothers and sisters?

JD: I have three below me and the fifth one was born when I was in Japan. My mother was pregnant when we left to Japan.

MN: And what is your birth name?

JD: Birth name? Oh, Japanese birth name? Jack Motoo Dairiki.

MN: So your parents also gave you the name Jack, Anglican name?

JD: Yes, that seemed to be on my birth certificate, Jack. All my brother and sister have English name.

MN: Before the war, what were your parents doing?

JD: They were the manager for the hotel my grandfather owned. My mother's father owned a hotel in Sacramento and they became assigned as the manager to work on the hotel. That was their work.

MN: What was the hotel called?

JD: Called Main Hotel. 1226 and one-half Sixth Street is the address. [Laughs] That was the address of the hotel. About six, only four blocks front of the state capitol building.

MN: Is the building still there?

JD: No, the building was demolished about, maybe, thirty years ago to, bought by the state by eminent domain, so now a state building stands there.

MN: Can you give me an idea how big this hotel was?

JD: Yeah, it was about, it's a handsome brick building, red brick building, three stories tall, and as I recall, about fifty rooms hotel. The certain amount was added, oh, probably in the 1970 area -- no, wait a minute, before the war -- it was added on, a new section was attached to it, so it became a bigger building. It was built about mid-1925 or so.

MN: Now, this hotel, was it considered a part of Japantown?

JD: No, it was close to Japantown, maybe four blocks away from Japantown, the old Japantown. It's, the old Japantown was on Third between M Street and, M and O, I think, M, N, O. M, yeah, M and N Street, I guess, on Third, that was the kind of Japantown district.

MN: And then, now, you mentioned that you went to Lincoln grammar school?

JD: Yes.

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