<Begin Segment 2>

MN: So when you were about three and a half or four, you went to Japan.

DM: Yes.

MN: Who went with you?

DM: My sister Junko and Yoshiko.

MN: And your parents, mother and father?

DM: Just my mother went.

MN: And where did you stay when you reached Ichikawa-ken?

DM: At her parents' home in Kanazawa.

MN: What do you remember of your mother's parents' home?

DM: It was a huge wooden house elevated on a foundation, so it was off the ground. And it had a big porch in back of the house where you can sit and watch the backyard. And the address was interesting. Because when I went to Japan with the army, the first chance I got was I visited my mother's home in Kanazawa. I took the train to Kanazawa, and Kanazawa was in the Ishikawa Prefecture which was about, west of Tokyo on the Japan Sea side. But my parents gave me the address of the parents' home, which was Ichiban-chi, Ichiban-cho, which I later learned -- well, when I went to the town, I couldn't find it. So I had to ask a policeman where this house was. He said it was down the street, and he explained to me how houses were numbered in those days. Ichiban-chi means "number one," which meant the first house on the first street. So you had to go down the street to find which house is number one. Not like in this country where it's numerically numbered down the line.

MN: So that would indicate your mother's parents or family were very prominent.

DM: Yeah. I don't know if they still use that system now, but...

MN: Now, what happened to your second oldest sister Yoshiko in Japan?

DM: She died in Japan from influenza, I think it was.

MN: Now you were still very young. Did you understand what happened to your sister?

DM: No, I was only about four years old, so I don't remember too much of it. All I can remember is the boat trip, which I remember hanging onto the railing so I wouldn't fall into the water. That's about all I can remember.

MN: Do you remember a funeral for Yoshiko?

DM: No.

MN: How long did you stay in Japan?

DM: About a year, I think.

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