<Begin Segment 7>

MN: I'm going to go back to your life, prewar life in the East L.A. area, Boyle Heights.

YY: Okay, if I remember.

MN: Now, your family moved to Eleventh Street and then you went to another elementary school. Do you remember this grammar school's name?

YY: No, I don't, but they were all Caucasian except I told you one boy and me were the only Japanese there.

MN: Who registered you at the school?

YY: I did because my mother didn't speak English.

MN: And how did the other students treat you?

YY: They were curious but they were nice to me. Because they had a boy there, a Japanese boy.

MN: So just because there was only two Japanese Americans, they didn't...

YY: No. I was a pet, mascot-like. [Laughs] I was treated well, so I was in a good place.

MN: So from this grammar school, you went to Berendo junior high school. What was the ethnic makeup there?

YY: Mostly Japanese. Smart ones. [Laughs]

MN: How did you get along with the non-Japanese students there?

YY: Oh, good.

MN: Did you participate in any sports there?

YY: Oh, yeah, volleyball, I was captain of the volleyball team and they showed, they taught dancing, too, you know, they had a Caucasian guy teach us dancing at the gym, enjoyed that. Things like that.

MN: Share with us how you did in dance class.

YY: Well, I enjoyed it. In fact, he chose me to demonstrate and I was real thrilled. He was blonde and blue-eyed.

MN: The teacher?

YY: Uh-huh.

MN: So you must have been pretty good.

YY: Not necessarily. I liked to dance, I just enjoyed dancing.

MN: And then your father encouraged you to take private dancing lessons.

YY: Oh, yeah, he enrolled me in tap dancing, ballet, and acrobats. This was at Fourth and Broadway, I took a streetcar with a little suitcase with my ballet slippers, and tap dance, my tap shoes, it was kind of scary. But I went because it was normal. Just went, took it, and come home. But there's people, I was kind of afraid because you sit down, and sometimes they move their leg over, you know, men, so I always stayed by the conductor because I felt creepy. Even then, you sense things are not right. Because I was nine then I remember.

MN: Do you remember what the dance studio was called?

YY: Dave's Dance Studio, I think.

MN: And what was the ethnic makeup of the students there?

YY: They were all... but this group of mine was just Japanese, all Japanese.

MN: And now you said once the dance studio was over, you had to take the, I guess the streetcar back, and you were kind of uncomfortable?

YY: Well, I didn't feel comfortable, so I always stood by the conductor.

MN: Was this already dark, or was it during daytime?

YY: It was during daytimes after school. But I have a long ways to walk from the streetcar, so I thought one time I had a drunk following me, and I was so scared I ran all the way home. In those days, they didn't worry about those things.

MN: So what was the favorite dancing style?

YY: I liked tap dancing. It was all kinds, rumba and military, it was very interesting, I enjoyed it. We wear our costumes and entertain, Coconut Grove, we went different places. I remember one of 'em was, Nelson Eddie was a guest there, and yeah, it was pretty nice.

MN: Where did you get your dance costumes?

YY: My mother made 'em. We all had to make our own, and the mothers had to... or ask someone to make 'em, but I didn't even think about it. It was there, my mother just made 'em.

MN: Like for a rumba, I mean, where did your mother get the pattern, the colors?

YY: Well, they must give you a pattern, but she knows how to make the ruffles. I should have brought that one, I forgot to bring that... yeah, there was about seven of us, but it was kind of fun. We all got along well.

MN: So you were saying you were going to the Coconut Grove and having recitals there. How did the audience, was the audience mainly Caucasian?

YY: I think so.

MN: Did they have any problems --

YY: Oh, no, because we weren't the only entertainers, there were several. But we're kind of cute, we're young, and we're in our costumes.

MN: How long did you take dancing lessons?

YY: Just one year.

MN: Why did you quit after one year?

YY: I don't know. I don't know if it was my father or me, I don't recall.

MN: So after you quit, you started to take piano lessons.

YY: That was his idea.

MN: Your dad's.

YY: But I think what happened was I wanted a piano for some reason, so he got me a piano. So of course if you get a piano, you got to get piano lessons. So he hired this guy; he was horrible. [Laughs] He wanted me to practice, but he would scold me all the time. I'd be crying and crying, and he said, "You're just a spoiled brat," he's telling me. And then I would (cry), get my skirt and wipe my face, I can't move, he won't let me off the bench. [Laughs] It was very traumatic. So every time he doesn't come I think, "Oh, good," because he couldn't make it or something. So I don't know... so finally I told him, "I just can't do it anymore," so he hired a Japanese girl, very gentle, then I enjoyed it. She wouldn't get on me like that. Maybe I was a spoiled brat, but oh, he was horrible. Treated me poorly, but, of course, I couldn't get up because he's sitting right next to me on the bench. That was miserable. That I remember.

MN: Did you give piano recitals?

YY: Yes. I mean, a bunch of us, but I'd get up there, and one time I just completely forgot, just blanked out completely, I got so excited. So I had to wait a while, and just like speech to read, Japanese speech, and I'd be about the twenty-third one, and then I'm listening to all of them. And when I got up there, I couldn't remember my speech. It was horrifying.

MN: This is Japanese language school?

YY: Yes.

MN: So you were the twenty-third contestant? And did you just go up there and then come back down?

YY: Oh, no, I started to remember, but I kind of, I just see my folks just sliding down (in their seats) in shame, but I couldn't help it, I just completely blanked out.

MN: Where was the speech contest held?

YY: I have no idea, some Japanese place, have a big stage.

MN: What about your piano recitals? Where were they held at?

YY: I have no idea. Different places, I believe.

MN: Like Koyasan?

YY: Could have been. I have pictures of that I could have brought, too, but I didn't.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.