<Begin Segment 20>
SY: So then he was probably more generous with you because when he came here and then you, he worked, you worked with him, then he was okay with your taking over the travel business kind of.
PM: There was nothing to take over, actually, but I just continued it, yes. The travel business here?
SY: Uh-huh. When you came to Los Angeles.
PM: He just needed me to take care of it. I used to do all of his work. I used to write his letters, I used to take care of his banking, I used to do whatever needed to be done. And lots of people didn't know that. So I also knew when he was in and out. [Laughs] Used to take his money to the bank.
SY: So he, so you knew how much money he was making. It was fairly, he managed okay. And how many people were in his office at this time?
PM: He must've had about five interviewers.
SY: So the business kind of grew when he came back to Little Tokyo.
PM: Yeah.
SY: And he, so he was able to...
PM: Make some money, yes.
SY: Yeah. I remember he had a big party every year.
PM: Yes. He loved to entertain.
SY: And what was that for? What was the purpose of that?
PM: You mean the family or the office?
SY: No, no. Office -- wait, it was every New Year's, right? Wasn't there a big...
PM: Every New Year's we had people come to our home.
SY: Right.
PM: He invited anybody who didn't have a place to go. I remember one year we had over two hundred people, so Mom and I were so busy the night before making tempura, making all of these things, and we were, I could never go out on New Year's Eve because I always had to work to get things ready for the next day.
SY: So he, it wasn't a business...
PM: He said, "The more people that come to our house on New Year's, we will have a much better year."
SY: I see. So it was a Japanese superstition.
PM: Right. The more that come, the more money we will make.
SY: And he pretty invited anybody, everybody?
PM: Anybody that didn't have a place to go on New Year's. And he also hired entertainers, and so that was fun.
SY: And he, at the time his, was he working, was he real, he was active in that Little Tokyo community, right?
PM: Right.
SY: 'Cause he was much more of a salesman, so he was out and about.
PM: Right.
SY: And what, do you remember what kinds of things he did in the community?
PM: I don't remember too much about that 'cause I was still pretty young. 'Cause I was always working in the office. I think he was a good delegator too. [Laughs]
SY: I remember sort of famous people coming in and out of the house.
PM: That's right. At one time in Denver he was running a movie house once a week, and so he would bring in the film from somewhere, maybe it was from Hawaii, and he'd run the movie and people would come, and I know I'd be collecting money in the, where the cashier is. And we used to watch the Japanese movies.
SY: And then when he moved here, I remember him, he actually knew some Japanese celebrities.
PM: Right. Because when they came to Denver he used to try to entertain, if we had some celebrities coming into town. So there was Dan Obinata -- in fact, even Shirley Yamaguchi came to our home. We had a picture in our home by the piano. So it was, he loved to entertain and the more famous the better, I guess.
SY: [Laughs] He was, right, he was a big man, liked to be the big man. And so he, and Mom would just sort of help him in whatever. She was more the dutiful wife, kind of.
PM: Yes. For New Year's she'd just be in the background cooking and cooking and cooking.
SY: And he would be entertaining.
<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.