<Begin Segment 4>

MN: Let me ask you about your schooling. Which grammar school did you attend?

YK: Well, I attended grammar school in San Clemente, so my first three years were there. So, yeah, I really liked school, and the first grade teacher, I remember Mrs. Sturgeon. And I must have been pretty bright because after the first year they were going to skip me through to the third grade, but they decided I was too small. And then I had one incident there where we had to learn how to dance, and so I always picked this cute little blond girl. [Laughs] Then, of course, the time we're supposed to make the big production, she had already been taken up by some tall blond hakujin guy, and I got stuck because I didn't have anybody. I got stuck with the worst dancer. So that shows me that, hey, you better act fast or you get stuck. [Laughs]

MN: Now your school, what was the name of the school?

YK: San Clemente Elementary School. Yeah, there was only one.

MN: And what was the ethnic makeup of the school?

YK: Well, mainly white. And we were among the very few Japanese.

MN: Were there Latinos or blacks?

YK: I think there must have been some Latinos, but no blacks that I recall.

MN: You know, when you went to school, did you wear your brothers' hand-me-down clothes?

YK: Oh, yes. I never had new clothes. It was all hand-me-downs, of course.

MN: How about shoes?

YK: Shoes? Well, we were always barefooted. I think the only time I had shoes was the funeral.

MN: Was this common that most of the kids go to school without shoes?

YK: Yeah, at that time, yes.

MN: And then you said you did very well in school. Now, you had a tin windup duck that was very special to you at this time. How did you get this duck?

YK: Well, there was Japanese family, and there was a little girl named Vicky who was in the same grade, and they were housekeepers at this mansion. And so they had a... what was it called? Was it a Valentine's party? I forgot. Anyway, there was a party, I think it was an Easter party. And so we of course had the Easter egg hunt and I couldn't find very many, so Vicky kind of coached me as to where the special golden egg was, and then she announced that I had won. And it turned out to be this windup duck that actually walked. And so it was the only toy I ever had, and it was actually the first party I ever had. We never had birthday parties or Christmas parties and so forth. So I guess we were pretty poor. [Laughs]

MN: But I mean, really, when you're growing up poor, in that sense, you don't know that you're poor.

YK: No, that's true.

MN: Now, your mother, for the meals, what did she cook at home? Was it Japanese food or American food?

YK: Yeah, it was always rice. And then, too, we only had chickens for meat. We never had pork or beef. It was only chickens and sometimes some ducks. But... and then sometimes if my father shot a rabbit, we'd have rabbit. Or if they went fishing, we'd have fish, but other than that, I grew up on chazuke, 'cause we had all the rice and tea we could eat. But, so, it wasn't too nutritious.

MN: Did your dad take you hunting with him?

YK: Just once, and we shot a jackrabbit. And he showed us how to skin it whereby he could take the entire fur off in one piece. But when you start cutting the belly open, that was a little gross for us. [Laughs]

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.