<Begin Segment 3>

MN: And then you said eventually your mother married your father through a baishakunin. And then when your Nisei mother married your Issei father, did she lose her American citizenship?

KI: I don't know. I don't know because now I hear that there was a law but I'd never heard of a law. I always just assumed that since she was born here that she was a United States citizen. And then to further that I thought well since the war, she must have lost her citizenship because she was married to an alien. And so that... because I remember that she had to take the class to become a citizen. So someplace along the line, but I don't know where or when, she lost her citizenship.

MN: But during the war you saw on her document it said a non-alien?

KI: Yeah, she was... I think in the thing she's documented as an alien or you know, not a citizen.

MN: And is that when you found out that she was not a citizen?

KI: Yeah, but I don't think it impacted me that much. I was twelve years old and I don't think it made any sense to me anyway.

MN: So you had this Kibei-Nisei mother and you have an Issei father. How do you identify yourself?

KI: As a Nisei really. Yeah, because with my mother being raised in Japanese and having a Japan raised husband I think some of that just my osmosis, I just think more like a second generation person.

MN: Now your mother and your father, do you know if they went through Angel Island to come into --

KI: I know my father did and I'm sure my mother did too but she didn't talk about it. She didn't say anything about it, but I remember my father just mentioning it briefly and I don't know under what circumstances were or what.

MN: Now when your mother arrived here, were your parents able to afford a wedding?

KI: I don't know. I know they have a wedding picture and I know they both had to borrow clothes to take the pictures ... I guess that's what they did in those days. It's a studio picture so I think they probably had a small wedding because my father became a Christian 'cause he stayed with some Christian people. So I have a feeling that they did actually have one.

MN: Was your father a Christian before he got married?

KI: Yeah, I think so, yeah.

MN: What about your mother? Did she become a Christian?

KI: No, she never became a Christian. She was always raised as a Buddhist and we always had one of those butsudans in our house, she always had one.

MN: Did she make offerings to the butsudan?

KI: Food, food type of things and stuff like that but she never actually went to the official services or anything like that. But I think she felt more like a Christian because I know later, very much later in life after we were married and everything, she would come to our church, you know, not necessarily to the services but to the activities at the church. And in fact I think she did go to... we did have a real nice Japanese-speaking minister and she would come occasionally. And so she was just included as part of the family, and in fact it was really funny because when she was dying at my house, it was our minister that came and visited her and said prayers for her. The Buddhist minister never came. It was mainly the Christian friends that came and visited us at home.

MN: Now your parents, how many children did they have?

KI: Four, there were four of us because I was the oldest and then I had a sister and then a brother and a sister. So one brother, and he and I are the only survivors now.

MN: Now where were you born?

KI: Berkeley.

MN: Were you born in a hospital?

KI: I was born in a hospital which was unusual in those days. It's the Alta Bates Hospital which was... it's still... Alta Bates is still on Dwight Way, I mean Ashby, it's on Ashby but it was... they said it was just like a house. In those days I guess they had a big mansion that was a hospital.

MN: Now you were born at the Alta Bates Hospital but your younger siblings were not.

KI: No.

MN: Where were they born?

KI: At home, yeah, because I have photographs of the midwife, I mean, she became part of the family she raised four... I mean, she delivered four of the kids you know, three of the kids, but I forgot what her name was.

MN: Do why you were born in a hospital but your other siblings were not?

KI: I have no idea. It's really amazing.

MN: And what is your birth name?

KI: My birth name? On my birth certificate I think it just says Kazuko Oyamada.

MN: Did you ever think about taking on an Anglican name?

KI: Sometimes playing as a child I would just... like playing a teacher or a mother or something like that I would call myself... I think I called myself Peggy for some reason, Peggy. But I never thought of you know... and my school friends never butchered my name or anything. They just accepted me as I was so I never thought of changing, I never thought of like some kids they wanted to be (hakujin) and things like that. I never had thoughts like that, 'cause I had some real good friends I guess.

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