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TI: You know, going back to Richmond and other activities you mentioned your mother taking you down to the bay, the beach on the bay, what are some other memories you have in terms of just the Richmond area, different places? I think you're the first person I've interviewed prewar Richmond so I'm curious about anything else you could remember about that.

KY: Well, you know as we're talking I mean I never really thought about this but I think that it's amazing how well my parents did particularly my mother, she was the one who had to keep the home, she had some learning to do. She said that the first Thanksgiving she roasted a turkey because everybody, you're supposed to have a turkey, that she didn't know that she had to clean the inside and just roasted the turkey, I mean, she shared that story. But how they managed, you know, my mother used to go shopping in the community, she would take us downtown and it's amazing when they knew no English, they had no understanding of what American life was like but she managed very well.

TI: Now did you know if your... during this time if your parents... how much communication they had back with their families in Japan?

KY: They did have a lot of communication. One of the things that I appreciated is the fact that my parents did keep in contact with their families. And very often around the dinner table we always had dinner together regardless and my parents would share what life was like when they were living in Japan. And so when I went to Japan in '64, 1964, all these memories came back and I felt that I knew many of my relatives so there was a lot of sharing. And during the war, this is getting ahead, but my mother particularly would send care packages.

TI: This is after the war you mean? You know, going back to those dinner table conversations and when your parents talked about Japan, what was your sense about Japan as a child when they talked about Japan? I mean, what do you remember in terms of if you thought was it a good place to live or I mean what in general what can you remember?

KY: I don't know. I would guess I'd focus more on the person and the relationship with my parents. And I don't think I had an opinion one way or the other but just knowing, I guess, being connected in relationships, that made an impact on me.

TI: Okay, good. How about things like Japanese folk tales? Like when I grew up, Momotaro and things like that, I mean, were those things that you learned as a child and heard?

KY: Not from my parents as much as going to Japanese school. That's where I learned most of those folk tales but I didn't learn this from my parents, though.

TI: Okay so in the course of learning Japanese you would learn more about these Japanese stories.

KY: Exactly.

TI: Okay good.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.