<Begin Segment 3>

MN: Now you mentioned earlier that there weren't a lot of Japanese Americans in your school.

KY: Right.

MN: What about your neighborhood, and when you were growing up, who were your playmates?

KY: Well, there were two Japanese American boys, Harold and Gordon, that I spent my time with. There was one hakujin guy named Jimmy who I knew, but only at school. I don't remember doing a lot with other kids. But Harold and I used to roller skate together, we used to go to a movie theater called "The Hitching Post" that showed two cowboy movies, a cartoon, and a serial. And there was no newsreel, and there were no love stories. It was just everything that an eight-year-old boy wanted to see, and nothing that I didn't want to see. And we paid fifteen cents.

MN: Now you mentioned the movies, how about Japanese movies? Did your parents take you to see Japanese movies?

KY: No, not before the war, not that I remember.

MN: You mentioned that you roller skated.

KY: Yes.

MN: What other games did boys your age, before the war, play?

KY: I really don't remember. I know I had a tricycle, I had a bicycle, and my dad had made a swing in the garage, which was with ropes and a wooden plank to sit on. I don't remember if I had marbles or not. I think I did, but not at that time. And I don't remember what else we did for fun.

MN: You mentioned you had an apple scooter?

KY: Well, one of the things that my dad made for me was an apple box scooter, which was a flat piece of board, sort of like a skateboard, with roller skate wheels underneath. And in front of that was an apple box turned long side up and with handles on it. And so that was the front of the scooter and you steer with that. I don't remember what happened to that when the war started, and I don't think I was able to take any of my toys with me when we moved.

MN: You mentioned that your neighborhood didn't have a lot of Japanese Americans. Where did your mother and father go and buy Japanese food?

KY: I don't know. I think there used to be a truck that came by every so many days to sell seafood, so I think they used to buy the seafood from there. But I don't know where they used to buy the Japanese food. And I was too... well, I was too young to know and too young to care.

MN: Do you remember your parents taking you to Japantown?

KY: I think we used to go to Little Tokyo on special occasions to eat dinner at Far East Cafe, and that was a treat for us.

MN: What did you usually order?

KY: Oh, the same thing every time. Chow mein, chau siu, pakkai, pi chow yu, egg foo young, almond duck. Oh, and chi sai kai, seaweed soup.

MN: Do you know how often your parents took you to Little Tokyo?

KY: No, I don't remember.

MN: Now Sundays, what did you do on Sundays?

KY: I think I had to go to church. And, of course, at that time, all the sermons were in Japanese, the chants were in Japanese and the songs were in Japanese. So I didn't understand what I was saying, but I was smart enough to remember the words, or be able to read them. As I said, I was a goody two shoes student as well as, also in Sunday school. So I didn't get into any problems at Sunday school or Japanese school.

MN: Now, which church did your parents go to?

KY: Oh, Hollywood Gakuen.

MN: And this was a Buddhist...

KY: Yes.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.