Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Yuriko Yamamoto Interview
Narrator: Yuriko Yamamoto
Interviewer: Martha Nakagawa
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date: April 24, 2012
Densho ID: denshovh-yyuriko-01-0002

<Begin Segment 2>

MN: How many children were born in Ogden, Utah?

YY: Four. Four boys.

MN: And then your parents came out to Los Angeles, and is this where you were born?

YY: Uh-huh.

MN: Where in Los Angeles were you born?

YY: On Temple Street, I think, a midwife.

MN: And what year were you born?

YY: 1927.

MN: And what is your birth name?

YY: Yuriko Tanino.

MN: You know, a lot of Niseis from your generation felt pressure to adopt an English name. Did you adopt an English name?

YY: No, I never thought of it.

MN: How many children did your parents have in total?

YY: Well, five, but I understand she had some miscarriages, so I have no idea how many.

MN: But the five that were alive, I'm gonna go down the line, okay? Takeo, Masao, Hideo, Tomio, and yourself, Yuriko.

YY: Uh-huh.

MN: When you were born, where were your parents living?

YY: Los Angeles.

MN: Where in L.A.?

YY: Hmm, I don't recall as a baby.

MN: The west side, the east side?

YY: Probably towards Boyle Heights area, I imagine.

MN: And what was your father doing for a living?

YY: He was selling insurance.

MN: Do you know which insurance company?

YY: Manufacture Insurance.

MN: Did he have to travel out of town a lot to sell insurance?

YY: I don't think so.

MN: What was your mother doing?

YY: She was a housewife.

MN: She had five kids to look after.

YY: Yeah.

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