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MN: February 8, 2012, we will be interviewing William Bill Hiroshi Shishima, and we have Tani Ikeda on video. I'll be interviewing, my name is Martha Nakagawa. So Bill, I wanted to start with your father. What was his name?

BS: Katsusuke, K-A-T-S-U-S-U-K-E.

MN: And which prefecture is he from?

BS: Wakayama-ken.

MN: Can you share with us what you know about your father's background and how he came to the United States?

BS: I know education-wise he just finished middle school in Japan. And somehow he was working for Norwegian boat company. And when he came to New York, he jumped ship, with all his clothing on, he jumped ship. That's about the extent I know how he got to America, but I'm not sure how he got to the West Coast.

MN: And then you said that when your father came to the West Coast, to California, he joined the U.S. military.

BS: No, no. He signed up for selective service at that time, and it was at Guadalupe. So I don't know, I never knew he was there.

MN: And then from Guadalupe he somehow came over to Los Angeles.

BS: Yes.

MN: And then what did he do in L.A.?

BS: Well, I don't know, job-wise. I didn't know he went to Los Angeles Polytechnic High and he graduated there. Then he got married in 1924 and he had his first child in (1926, and) he graduated from USC (in 1928). So I'm not sure how he sustained himself and the family.

MN: What was he majoring at USC?

BS: In architecture.

MN: And so somehow he got married, he was going to USC which is not... it's an expensive school, it's a private university, had a child, and was able to support everybody, it sounds like.

BS: I know he was working at a hotel, upper class hotel on Wilshire Boulevard, close to Westlake Park. I assume maybe he was a cleanup man, I'm not sure.

MN: And your father was smart enough to get into high school and then into USC. Did he ever share with you how he learned his English?

BS: Never had any idea how he learned, or his education. He never told us.

MN: Now let me ask you a little bit about your mother, because he got married while he was going to college. What was her name?

BS: Hatsuko.

MN: Her maiden name is?

BS: Kida.

MN: And what prefecture is she from?

BS: Also from Wakayama-ken.

MN: Was this an arranged marriage?

BS: I Have no idea. My mother's stepsister is still alive, so I asked her, "Do you know how they got together?" She has no idea either. She's going to celebrate her eighty-eighth birthday.

MN: Now, do you know what year your parents got married?

BS: 1924.

MN: And then he continued to go to USC after he got married, and then you said your...

BS: No, so I assume he was still in high school.

MN: High school.

BS: 1924, because... well, no, I guess he graduated from SC in '28, so close.

MN: And then '26 is when they had their first child, right?

BS: Yes.

MN: After he graduated from USC, was he able to find a job using his degree?

BS: I understand he just made one building, but that's all.

MN: Do you know where this building is?

BS: No idea. Yeah, I wanted to find out but I never found out.

MN: Why do you think he couldn't find a job in architecture?

BS: Because he looked like me. He had an Asian face, and then Depression, too, 1928. So I'm not sure when he started the grocery business, but it was probably right after that.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.