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LH: Well, she was their first child.

FK: Right, she was their first child.

LH: And they sent the first child back to Japan.

FK: Right, yeah. And so she was, she was raised by this uncle and this, I think her father was sending money back to his brother periodically to help take care of her and so forth. And in the meantime while she was over there, I think they had about two or three daughters, other daughters. And I know they (all), they went back to Japan. I think they went back to Japan because another uncle wrote and said that my grandfather's father was very ill, so would you please send more money. So my fath-, grandfather, instead of sending money, sold everything here and went back there to see how his father was. And it turned out his father really wasn't sick, this brother just wanted some money. [Laughs] So...

LH: That's a good ruse. [Laughs]

FK: Yeah, so they all went back to Japan, the kids too. And for a while, my grandmother and grandfather came back and left all the kids over there, to be raised by various uncles. And one of the explanations for that was that there was a quota system at that time, so you could only have two people in a family come back at a time and so forth. So, they, the kids kind of -- I don't know how they all ended up coming back eventually. But that, I know Mrs. Hayashida, Fumiko, had said that she was left there at one time... and, the rest of the family came back 'cause, and she was over the count or something. So, I don't, I don't know whether they, they went back and got her or what, what happened. But they all ended up back here. But my, my mother probably didn't come back to Seattle until she was about twelve. I mean, back to this, Bainbridge Island until she was twelve.

LH: Oh, boy.

FK: Yeah.

LH: So she didn't really meet her parents until she was an older child?

FK: Yeah. And she probably had fonder memories about her uncle and his family because she was raised there. And she said she was kind of treated as a princess because... it might have been because they were getting money from him or whatever. But she said it was, when she came back to the Island she had to go in the first grade, although she'd been in the sixth grade in Japan, because she didn't know English very well. So it was one of these one, one-room school, school buildings on, on the Island here.

LH: And so she came over here when she was twelve?

FK: Yeah.

LH: And had to go...

FK: To first grade.

LH: First grade.

FK: But she said by the end of the year she had caught up, and then, she was in sixth grade by the end of the year.

LH: That's amazing.

FK: Yeah, so I think she must have been a really intelligent person, especially if she didn't really know English that well and so forth.

LH: Right.

FK: But she said then, her grandfather told her that since she was the oldest she had to work on the farm. So, she said everybody else made it through school, at least through high school, one of the sisters actually made it through college. But she had to stop at sixth grade. And her grandfather told her that, I mean, her father told her that, "Since you're the oldest you have to work on the farm, but when I leave and go back to Japan, I'll give you the farm. I'll give you this farm." So... I know one day my, my aunts were sitting down talking and, and my mother was telling a story about how my grandfather, when it came time to go back, had told her that she, he thinks the other sisters would be really upset if he, if he just gave her the farm, so he would just give her the farm for what he paid for it. I guess my mother and father sent payments to him to pay off the farm. And I can't remember how much it was, but my mother's telling this story and she said we paid so and so much money for that farm -- and it was, it was some really low price and I mean, it was low on our standards anyway -- and then, her next oldest sister said to her, "Oh, that's not what he paid for it." And it turned out that he turned a profit -- [laughs] and she never knew it. And I thought oh, my God. [Laughs]

LH: On his own daughter.

FK: Yeah right, his oldest daughter, so... and she never knew it, 'til this other sister said, "No, that's not what he paid for it." And I asked my other aunt and my other aunt says -- that's, 'cause the three, three of the sisters, the three eldest sisters are dead now -- and so I asked Fumiko about that. Fumiko could, really couldn't remember how much they paid for it anyway. But she said, "I wonder how, I wonder how Fujio knew how much she paid for it." But she, 'course she knew everything. [Laughs]

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.