<Begin Segment 11>

SF: So before the war, with all of these different stores, confectionery stores, hotels, baths and so forth, if you were a young Nisei, say fifteen to twenty, you could live your whole life in, within the confines of Nihonmachi...

CK: Right.

SF: And get everything that you needed. Is that a fair statement?

CK: That's a good statement.

SF: What about like, clothes? If you were sort of an aspiring Nisei and wanted to look sharp, could you get the, the latest fashions in the Nisei stores, or did you have to go out to Bon Marche or JC Penney, whatever --

TS: Fahey Brockman or something.

CK: Yeah.

YM: But there were some tailors, Japanese tailors, and merchants that had clothes.

TS: Right on Jackson's, there were.

YM: Right on Jackson Street.

CK: There were department stores, too.

TS: Eguchi's.

CK: Remember that one next to 6th and Jackson? You know, that... oh, you walked into the, there's a glass showcase, and then you'd walk in --

TS: Yeah.

CK: Yeah. Wasn't there one by Shiga's?

YM: Shiga's had the...

TS: Shiga's was up farther.

YM: Sweaters. They used...

CK: No. They had the sweater store, but --

YM: (Yes). They sold mostly sweaters.

TS: Yeah.

CK: They also had the, this department store that --

TS: Eguchi's?

CK: Yeah. Eguchi's.

YM: Eguchi's -- Sanyo, Sanyo company.

CK: Sanyo. Right.

TS: Yeah. Eguchi. And then, on the corner, there was another individual store.

CK: Yeah.

TS: They had --

CK: There was a -- they sold more --

TS: I bought (an) overcoat there.

CK: American store, style of clothes.

TS: Had to pay five dollar a month. I don't know how long I paid. Five months or something?

CK: Basically, most of the Niseis were too young to think about...

TS: Clothes, yeah.

CK: Clothing for the workplace. So they were just buying the regular kind of casual clothes.

YM: Dungarees.

CK: Things like that.

TS: What do you call? Cords.

CK: Buy their -- yeah, cords. And --

YM: Donguri pantsu. Don't you, don't you remember the Issei saying that?

CK: Which one?

YM: Donguripantsu.

CK: Oh, yeah. Donguripantsu.

YM: Dungarees.

CK: Then the shoes were either bought at...

YM: Aoki, Aoki Shoe Company.

CK: Aoki Shoe Company, or Jackson Shoe Company.

TS: Yeah.

YM: Used to be shoe companies, too.

SF: They were both run by Nihonjin?

TS: Yeah.

YM: Yes.

CK: And people just shopped within the area.

TS: Yeah.

CK: Well, that's what the, most of the Isseis did because...

YM: Well --

CK: Most of 'em didn't have their own cars or anything to go downtown.

TS: But when was it? '39 or '40, when they came out with that style, long --

YM: Zoot suits?

CK: Zoot suits?

TS: Zoot suits, yeah. Then some of the older Nisei --

CK: Yeah.

TS: Started, got into that zoot suit thing. They had the funny haircut and --

CK: Yeah.

TS: I can't remember what else was there? They had a sport coat that was long, and they had --

YM: That mostly came from California.

TS: California.

CK: Yeah. But --

SF: [Laughs] Blame it on California...

CK: Like you said, they go down to Fahey Brockman or someplace like that.

TS: Yeah.

CK: Have it cut down.

SF: These, these guys who were wearing the zoot suits, they were sort of on the, the fringes, right? The Isseis must've not taken to this style.

TS: Oh, the Isseis didn't at all.

CK: Yeah. No.

TS: Yeah.

CK: But the --

YM: But the Isseis dressed well, though.

TS: Yeah.

CK: Yeah.

YM: They had their suits, and --

CK: Sure.

YM: I know, my, the people that started Sagamiya were very up, up there in scale there. And I remember them saying that they went to eat at Olympic Hotel or something like that. And there's this top hat and suit that he wore that I have a picture of.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.