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SY: Today is September 19, 2011. We're talking to Frank Kawana and we're at the Centenary United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. I'm Sharon Yamato and Tani Ikeda is on the video camera. So, Frank, it's wonderful to see you again and we'd like to start way back if we can, if you will tell us a little bit about your parents and where they were from.

FK: Well, my father and mother they're both from Ehime-ken, that's in Shikoku. My mother was born in a small village called Misaki Osada and my dad was in next village, Natori, and I just can imagine that they had known of each other since they were... and it's not where the villages are miles apart, it's very close. And I'm sure as they grew up they knew of each other and my dad... and they got married.

SY: So they met in Japan and married in Japan as well.

FK: They were in Japan, yes. And soon after, my dad decided to strike out for the United States and see if he could make his fortune and come back as a wealthy individual I'm sure. And he left Ehime and went to Seattle, Washington. The reason for Seattle is because my uncle, which would be my mother's relative, they had a restaurant in Seattle and so that was the place... meeting people and meeting the relatives and getting situated. I'm sure that he had a very difficult time trying to find something to do being that he had no profession to speak of, and I think they dabbled into farming. I recall him talking about farming hops which is for beer, the beer industry and lettuce and lots of other different vegetables. And then from the conversation I take it that he was like a (...) tenant farmer that go from place to place, and because he mentioned various cities and towns in Seattle from all the way from Tacoma and Spokane and all those various places, and so he had his share of travelling and trying his luck.

SY: So do you remember when or did he ever tell you exactly when roughly he came to the United States?

FK: I believe it was about 1920... in the early '20s, yes.

SY: And your uncle's restaurant business or his uncle's, actually your uncle's.

FK: It would be my great uncle.

SY: Great uncle's restaurant business was already --

FK: Established in Seattle, yes.

SY: And they didn't have anything to do with that?

FK: Well, that is where most of the immigrants would go if they were from that town, that part of Japan. They would seek them out and be housed there until they get the directions and deciding what to do.

SY: I see, so he dabbled in farming and then how did your mother get here?

FK: Well, she waited and waited and there's no word of telling her to come and the time was getting short where they were cutting the immigration, especially from Japan. And so she had to either try to come over sooner than later because I think she was probably on the last boat to get over to the United States. I don't know how they and who gave her the idea but she married another person, Oishi, and she came as Mrs. Oishi to the United States with the understanding that as soon as they land that she's going to be with her husband which is my father.

SY: So this Mr. Oishi knew about your father.

FK: Yes.

SY: And she was legally married already to your father?

FK: Yes, legally married in a sense. In Japan I don't think it's as documented as it is here.

SY: I see. So that's exactly what happened. She came here and then got divorced from Mr. Oishi.

FK: I don't even know if there was a divorce, but that's when they got together again and soon after my oldest brother was born, 1925.

SY: So she knew exactly where your father was?

FK: Well, there again, my great uncle was the place where she could find him.

SY: Wow, she must have been determined.

FK: Yes.

SY: She wanted to be with her husband. Just to back up a little bit, do you know much about their parents and what they did in Japan?

FK: Well, my mother's side in Ehime they were in the orchard business. They grew... they raised what they called natsu mikan, that means summer tangerine, and it's the size of a grapefruit and it didn't have much sweetness to it. It was more sour than anything, but that was something that the Japanese people liked. And so he had hundreds of acres of natsu mikan and that's what was grown in that area and so did my dad's family. They were big natsu mikan farmers and my grandfather also was quite successful in making fishing nets. So he had a good business making nets and he made some... I imagine he made a good living and so he bought more land and so forth.

SY: And did they each have siblings that stayed in Japan?

FK: Yes, my dad was the only one from his family that left Japan because he was the second born. And my mom of course, being a woman, they usually marry out and they usually leave the family.

SY: She had siblings?

FK: Yes, she had three older brothers, and in fact she was the youngest and she had I think two other sisters.

SY: Now your father's desire to come to this country, did he talk about that?

FK: You know, I feel very badly and sad that I really didn't have much opportunity to sit down and talk one and one with my dad. And I think back and I think there's only one time I did sit down and he was telling me about his childhood days where he used to catch birds and so forth and that is the only thing I remember. He was a person... he didn't say too much and possibly it was because of... a male you want to succeed and if you're not where you want to be or should be life is not that... that is what I interpret as he kept to himself a lot.

SY: Strong silent type.

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