<Begin Segment 2>

TI: Well, let's talk about your father. What was your father's name and where did he grow up in Japan?

MK: Fukuoka, but his name was Yanazo. Yanazo Enta, and the name is written Ya, eight, seven, three. Ya-na-zo, eight, seven, three.

TI: Eight, seven, three.

MK: And all his family had names like that, the men of the family.

TI: Interesting.

MK: So I think his father's name was Kyusaburo, and that was numbers too.

TI: How interesting that they did that. But he didn't do that with his children?

MK: No.

TI: So he's from Fukuoka. What, tell me about his family. What did his family do?

MK: Well, he was the only son, and he had, he had five sisters. And I think he was the youngest, if I'm not mistaken, but he was one of the lower... and his oldest sister, his oldest sister, the mother died at, in childbirth, and I'm thinking it was his. I'm not, I'm not definite. But the oldest sister was like the mother to all of them. So what happened was she, I don't know, she had a child out of wedlock, and this boy, you know Japanese people, they, right away they put it under my father's name, so his name was Enta, this young, newborn child.

TI: So he wasn't really his brother, it was more like, I guess, his...

MK: His nephew.

TI: His nephew, yeah. But he was raised as his brother, kind of.

MK: No, his son. They, he gave, so he was like my father's firstborn, but he wasn't even there, see? My father was in Canada when she had this boy, but illegitimate children, I guess they just frowned upon, so --

TI: Okay. And they gave him your father's name, I mean, first name too? So he was kind of like --

MK: No, no. They had different names, but he was the son of Yanazo Enta.

TI: I see.

MK: So you know in Japan, if you know the, they have that koseki thing, well, in his family he is, he is the oldest in our family.

TI: Okay. Even though, was your father older, or was he younger than, than this --

MK: My father was around twenty, I think.

TI: No, but in terms of the age, because I guess, really, he was the oldest son, or the only son.

MK: Only son, yes.

TI: But this other boy, your, I mean his nephew, was he older than your father?

MK: No, no.

TI: He was younger, he was much younger.

MK: He was younger.

TI: Okay. Good. So being the oldest son, or the only son, why would he leave Japan? What was his reason to come to the United States?

MK: Well, his father was here. My grandfather, father's father, was here in the United States. And my father, when he was fifteen, had passage and was supposed to come to the United States, but he went to Hawaii and got off the ship and then all the relatives there, he... so he fooled around for about half a year, and then they closed the door to come here, so my father didn't, couldn't come here. He went to Canada.

TI: So your grandfather was in the United States.

MK: Yeah.

TI: And where in the United States was your grandfather?

MK: I'm trying to think. It's got to be like Sacramento or somewhere. I'm thinking he must've came for the railroad or, 'cause I don't think he was, he was a farm laborer. That's gonna be my next project, is I'm going to look him up.

TI: Yeah, how interesting, just in terms of all the different countries, the borders, everything. So your father spent time in Hawaii for about six months, and then do you know about what year this was?

MK: No, I was trying to think of... well, there is a time when they, that's the year that they closed the door, so I was going to look that up too, when they didn't allow anymore Japanese immigrants into the United States.

TI: Yeah, there were, there were a couple key dates. There's the 1908 Gentlemen's Agreement, which prevented laborers to come to the United States. And then 1924 they stopped it completely.

MK: Completely.

TI: Yeah, so those were two key dates, but ever since 1908 they made it really hard for men to come into the United States. So it could've been anytime during that time period.

MK: Yeah, I know that was the reason why. So my grandfather, before he went back to Japan -- and I guess he must've made money or something like that, I don't know -- but he came up to Vancouver and told my father that he's gonna send a bride. So his own wife died very, very young, so my grandfather went back to Japan and looked all over for, like a long life family, and he, my mother's family, apparently they lived a long life, so he picked my mother.

TI: Interesting. And so let's, so tell me your mother's name.

MK: Imayo Takao.

TI: And where did she live?

MK: In Fukuoka too, but she lived in the country.

TI: And were her family farmers, then?

MK: Yes, they were farmers.

TI: And do you know, in terms of age difference between your father and mother, were they about the same age? Or was there --

MK: No. My mother was a little over four years younger.

TI: Good.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.