<Begin Segment 5>

MN: Let me ask you a little bit about the martial arts. How old were you when you started taking kendo classes?

DM: It was about, I was probably about ten, eleven, when my father bought me the kendo gear. And kendo and judo lessons were held on Sundays. So my father used to drive us into town, and those lessons were held at... they had a community center in Brawley, Japanese community center, where we received kendo lessons. And ironically, the kendo instructor was Mr. Sano.

MN: Can you share about the story of Mr. Sano, what happened to him after Pearl Harbor?

DM: The night of Pearl Harbor, him and his wife were murdered in bed while they were sleeping.

MN: Did they catch who did this?

DM: No, they never caught the... but the kids said there were Filipino helpers that were working on the farm.

MN: Now, when that occurred, did it really raise the tension in Brawley?

DM: In our community it did, but the rest of the community probably felt they had it coming.

MN: Let me go back to your prewar time with your kendo. What prompted you to start taking kendo and judo lessons?

DM: I had no interest in it, but my dad did. He wanted me to go into it, so he bought all the gears and the suit.

MN: So you're not the one that said, "I want to take kendo and judo?"

> DM: No.

MN: How common was it for a kid to take both?

DM: It was convenient 'cause it was held at the same place at the same time.

MN: So did a lot of kids take both classes?

DM: There were, I won't say a lot, but there were, you know, I mean, sufficient.

[Interruption]

MN: So for kendo and judo, did you compete with the other cities?

DM: We generally had the tournaments with the kendo club in El Centro and Calexico, which were nearby cities, rather, towns, 'cause they weren't big.

MN: How about, did you come into Los Angeles? Did you go to the Rafu Dojo?

DM: I don't remember coming this far.

MN: How about your younger brother Al or George? Did they take kendo or judo?

DM: Al and George, they took judo lessons but not kendo.

MN: Now how long did you take kendo and judo?

DM: Couple of years, 'cause I was usually prompted to go.

MN: Now, Tomoya Kawakita, who was convicted of treason after the war, came from the Imperial Valley. Did you know the Kawakita family?

DM: No, I didn't know them until we went to Poston.

MN: So you didn't meet him in the different shiai, kendo or judo shiai?

DM: Probably could have, but I don't remember. 'Cause Calexico is about twenty-five miles south of Brawley on the Mexican border.

MN: And that's where the Kawakitas were from.

DM: They were store owners, I think, their family ran a store.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.