<Begin Segment 2>

TI: So tell me a little bit about him. So this is the grandfather on your mother's side.

RY: Well, he was a restless soul because he came to Seattle and he was growing hops and he did that for a few years. And after I was born, I think a few years after I was born he got restless again so he picked up the family and they all moved down to Los Angeles and he grew strawberries. And then a few years after that he got restless again and he picked up the family and went back to Japan. And then while he was in Japan, Japan was fighting China, they took over Manchuria and they were looking for settlers to go to Manchuria because they didn't have enough military people. So they were looking for civilians to go and farm over in Manchuria, sort of kind of occupy Manchuria so he took his family over there to Manchuria.

TI: So is your mother going along with him?

RY: No, my mother stayed in the United States.

TI: Stayed in the United States, okay. So when you say the family --

RY: Well, I had three uncles and one aunt, and my aunt stayed here and one of my uncles stayed and two went back to Japan with him, but one got off at Hawaii.

TI: Oh, I see okay. So he was just traveling and leaving children in all these different places.

RY: Well, he took whoever wanted to go with him but my one uncle on the ship to Japan, he met this girl from Hawaii and he fell in love with her and he told my grandfather that he was going to get off and go stay in Hawaii which was a smart move for him.

TI: Oh, that's a good story.

RY: Yeah, so he stayed there for a long time until he passed away.

TI: Okay, that's interesting. And so your mother stayed in the United States and she married your father.

RY: Yeah, and then we moved to Los Angeles.

TI: And so did you move with your grandfather?

RY: Yeah.

TI: Okay, so your grandfather started a business down there and that's where you --

RY: Yeah, growing strawberries.

TI: Okay, what was your grandfather's name?

RY: Seiichiro.

TI: And again Horita?

RY: Yeah.

TI: Interesting story.

RY: He's definitely interesting character.

TI: And so you can barely probably remember him because you were --

RY: Well, I saw him when I went back to Japan.

TI: Oh, okay, so we'll get to that later.

RY: But I saw him again over there.

TI: But do you have any childhood memories when you're a kid, really young, of him?

RY: Not really 'cause we didn't go where he went 'cause he was growing berries and we lived in the city.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.