<Begin Segment 6>

MN: Now your mother is raising five children by herself so she must have been very busy. But did she have any time to get involved in any other Japanese organizations?

MU: There was a young ladies organization called Shojokai and my sister was in it and other young Nisei ladies because I know they're photographs of the group. Maybe there may have been fifteen or twenty of them, they wore a white dress and a red tie and I've seen the pictures of that. And my mother would be standing in the background as the helper or whatever and other friends too, the Issei ladies. And there was that group that I do remember. As to exactly what they did I don't remember.

MN: But at that time you were too young to join the Shojokai?

MU: Yes, I'm four years younger than my sister.

MN: Now which grammar school did you attend?

MU: Gold Hill, two-room grammar school, we walked to it.

MN: Was literally only two rooms?

MU: Two rooms, yes.

MN: And how many teachers?

MU: Two teachers.

MN: Were they hakujin teachers?

MU: Yes, both of them were hakujin teachers.

MN: And how big was the student body?

MU: In the whole school, per grade there may have been maybe eight, so four classes, it's through eighth grade so four times... that would be about thirty, eight times four would be thirty two maybe, first through fourth. There was no kindergarten and then four, five, six, seven, eight, eighth grade, that was the grammar school.

MN: And what was the ethnic make-up of the grammar school?

MU: Mostly Caucasians and Niseis like myself. Percentage-wise maybe there may have been a fourth, thirty percent maybe of the whole school. Because my sister, my brother, the three of us in the family and they're other families that had maybe two going, I mean, from first grade through eighth grade. So it may have been more than a quarter.

MN: Now did your mother enroll you in Japanese cultural classes like ocha or ohana or Nihonbuyo?

MU: No, I guess I was too young. My sister did go to tea ceremony class in Penryn. Issei lady taught it so she did go to that because I remember her going to it and then there are photographs that we have of the group.

MN: Now in Penryn, did they teach the Urasenke or the Omotesenke?

MU: I don't know.

MN: How about Nihonbuyo or other forms of odori, did your sister, older sisters, enroll in classes?

MU: Yes, she did but I don't remember too much about it. I don't know if I was interested in it, if I were totally interested in it I'm sure I would remember. "My time's going to come I'm going to learn odori or the tea ceremony." I don't have too many recollections as to that.

MN: How about your older brothers, were they in kendo or judo?

MU: Not that I remember, no.

MN: Did you remember your mother dressing you up in a kimono?

MU: I did have one because we would have parades in Auburn and my sister and her friends would wear a kimono and I would stand there and watch the layers put on and then they got to put on some lipstick and something in their hair. I remember watching but I don't have that little kimono now so I don't know where it is. There was one kimono my sister had and we have sent that to her, my sister passed away so I'm sure her three daughters have it.

MN: Do you know if your mother sewed that kimono herself?

MU: No, as far as I know I don't think so although my mother sewed all our dresses.

MN: But you think it was shipped from Japan?

MU: I think so.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.