<Begin Segment 1>
MN: Today is Tuesday, February 14, 2012. We will be interviewing Minoru "Min" Tajii at his home in Gardena, California. We have Tani Ikeda on video, and I will be interviewing, my name is Martha Nakagawa. So, Min, I wanted to start with basic questions like what is your father's name?
MT: Jitsuo.
MN: And which prefecture is he from?
MT: Hiroshima.
MN: Now, who on your father's side came first to the United States?
MT: Grandfather.
MN: Do you know about his early life, your grandfather's early life here?
MT: Well, they were farmers in Japan, in Hiroshima, and they came over here and they started farming over here.
MN: And when did your father come over?
MT: My...
MN: Father?
MT: Father? Well, he came over here when he was sixteen, he said. That's what he kept telling me, sixteen. So he knew America better than Japan.
MN: Let me ask you [your mother's name].
MT: Sadako.
MN: Do you know what her maiden name is?
MT: Ikeuchi.
MN: And which prefecture is she from?
MT: Hiroshima.
MN: Do you know what year your parents got married?
MT: No. Well, she came over to... well, she came over because she was going to get married. It was more like these "picture marriage."
MN: So in total, how many children did your parents have?
MT: Four.
MN: Where are you in the sibling hierarchy?
MT: I was the third son.
MN: Now where were you born?
MT: I was born in Brawley, California.
MN: Were you delivered by a sambasan?
MT: That I don't know.
MN: When were you born?
MT: When? February 23, 1924.
MN: And what is your birth name?
MT: My birth name? Gee, I don't know.
MN: Is it Minoru?
MT: Just Minoru Tajii, yeah. I don't have any middle name or anything else, just Minoru.
MN: So later on, you didn't adopt an English name?
MT: No. It's just Min, short, they called me Min.
<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.