<Begin Segment 15>

SY: So at this time where were you going to school when you moved back to Little Tokyo?

FK: From El Segundo my school district in Los Angeles, Second Street was Central Junior High School which was on the hilltop where the department of education is today on Hill Street where the music center, there was a Central Junior High School in that area. And that was mostly Hispanic and that was a terrifying school to go to. I did not like to go there. I was confronted almost on a daily basis, two or three of them would encircle me and say, "Okay, give me a dime," and they don't say, "Give me dime," they just reach in your pocket and take what you got. And of course you learn to be street smart and I used to carry my money in my shoes and things like that. But it was not a happy experience on top of my not liking education, so it was a double whammy for me to go to school, not learn anything and getting behind and then on top of that and being small they pick on you.

SY: Was it because you were Japanese too?

FK: It's because I was small.

SY: And your father was making fairly good money then too.

FK: I would imagine he was doing much, much better than before the war.

SY: So you probably had a better appearance?

FK: Yeah. The end of the holey socks and shirts and things like that were gone and we were decent.

SY: And your sister's were going to the same junior high school?

FK: My younger sister, being six years younger she was not there but then they closed the Central Junior High and then they transferred me to Lafayette Junior High School which is on Sixteenth and near Central Avenue. Now that's an all-black school so from an all Hispanic to an all-black that's like from the frying pan to the fire and that was an experience there too.

SY: Different?

FK: The experiences were about the same but --

SY: You got picked on still?

FK: There not too much people going in my pockets and things, but I noted that some of my buddies, the bigger guys were picked on. They pick fights to see how strong they are or how weak you are or whatever. So they'll be fights on a weekly basis outside but they're fist fights and there's nothing dangerous in that sense, after the fight's over they make up. I still remember in Lafayette the students, the teachers would fight.

SY: Really?

FK: They would have right outside and they'd go at it and then there would be no reporting or anything and that'll be the end of that.

SY: And the teachers do you remember what ethnicity they were?

FK: The ones I remember were white teachers.

SY: And they had to defend themselves basically?

FK: Well, you know, you get challenged and you either got to stand up or you have a problem with your students.

SY: And there were many Asians? Were there many Asians?

FK: It was mostly black and scatter of Hispanics and Chinese and Japanese, maybe ten percent, not even ten maybe.

SY: So did you find that you hung out with the other Asians?

FK: Yes, we hung out with each other.

SY: Completely.

FK: We were raised that way.

SY: So the whole experience was not particularly... junior high was a hard time for you?

FK: It was not an enjoyable time, no.

SY: So that's when you probably concentrated on the after school and working?

FK: Well, but even then I really didn't have any dreams or aspirations of becoming a multi-millionaire or anything like that, no. It was a matter of survival and being able to live that day without getting beat up and things like that.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.