<Begin Segment 14>

TI: Okay, so did you first start at Maryknoll and then went to Pacific?

EY: Yeah. And then from Pacific, I went to Japan.

TI: Okay, you went to Japan. And what grade were you when you went to Japan?

EY: I was in the third grade when I went to Japan, and I took the entry exam over at Funabashi. And I took the first grade entrance exam, and I flunked.

TI: So you're third grade here, or in the United States, and you go there, and you can't pass the first grade. Was it primarily because your language?

EY: No, no. Math and things.

TI: Oh, really? So math, something that language isn't as important.

EY: No.

TI: The Japanese were much more advanced.

EY: Yeah. They told me, told my mother that Japanese children can finish that in ten minutes, and I took thirty minutes or more, and I couldn't finish it.

TI: So even though you were in third grade, you couldn't do first grade math.

EY: I couldn't make it.

TI: Before we talk more about school, I wanted to ask you, so why did you go to Japan when you were in third grade?

EY: Well, my father said that I missed, he missed the opportunity to send his children to Korea to show off his offspring to his father. And so this time, Grandmother was quite ill.

TI: Oh, so your grandfather, who was living in Korea, he died before he had a chance to see you.

EY: Yeah. So this time, he was trying to make sure that we did not miss the opportunity, so we went there. But my brother and I were always fighting around Grandmother's bed, and so we were not much welcomed. And so we were on our way back to Tokyo.

TI: So when you say... so you, your brother, and then did your parents also go with you?

EY: No, my mother did.

TI: Your mother.

EY: My sister was an infant.

TI: And so she was with you also then? So it was your mother and the three children. And then your father went back to...

EY: No, Father was always attending to the business.

TI: And so what did that mean? Was he traveling a lot then?

EY: Well, he was in Seattle. And then, you know, so after that, we went back to Tokyo or Funabashi, and we found that my father wrote and said he was, he needed the family in Seattle. My mother claims that she asked me if I wanted to stay in Japan or go back to Seattle, and she claims that I said, "I don't want to start from first grade again, so I'll stay." And so I stayed in Korea and in Tokyo.

TI: Say that one more time? She said she asked you if you wanted to go, you said you didn't want to start first grade again?

EY: That's right.

TI: Because if you went back to Seattle, you thought you'd have to start at first grade? Wouldn't you go back to third or fourth grade?

EY: Oh, no. I thought that I would, if I go back, I would be starting from first grade again. That's what she said, but I don't remember saying that. But then I wouldn't say that I have a good memory, so probably my mother remembers that.

TI: And so because of that, you stayed in Tokyo, so your mom stayed in Tokyo also?

EY: No, my mom came back to Seattle.

TI: Okay. So was it you and your brother that stayed?

EY: No. I stayed with my grandmother, maternal grandmother and a maid.

TI: And so your brother and sister went back with your mom?

EY: Yes.

TI: Oh, so you were kind of left alone. How did that feel for you?

EY: Well, I was chief. Grandmother and a maid, and I was ordering everybody around. And unfortunately, my uncle from Korea brought Grandmother's ashes, and he saw me ordering everybody around. You know, "polish my shoe," and all of that, and he said, "That's no way to bring a boy up." So I ended up going to Korea. And I thought it would be fun, but it was no fun, because all my cousins were all, what, eighteen, twenty-two, they were all older than me, and they would be complaining about what I don't do rather than what I do. [Laughs] And so I found myself being very, feeling sorry for myself. But, so I spent a few years there.

TI: And how would you kind of think of those years? Were those hard years for you, or were they good years?

EY: Oh, very hard and sad years.

TI: So you wanted to go back to Seattle?

EY: Yeah, I missed my mother and my siblings.

TI: So when you told people that, if you told people that you wanted to go back to Seattle, what would they tell you?

EY: My father said, "Oh, I think you've had enough Japanese education, so we'll go home." And that's when he came to visit. And so from there, we went to Tokyo, and then I had a place. But I think it was after that, maybe it took another year before I came back over here.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2014 Densho. All Rights Reserved.