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TI: So today is Tuesday, January 19, 2016. We're in San Francisco, and we have an interview with Florence Dobashi. And so, Flo, I guess the first question is, can you tell me when and where you were born?

FD: In Los Angeles in October 1927.

TI: And what was the name given to you at birth?

FD: Hisako, H-I-S-A-K-O, Ohmura, O-H-M-U-R-A.

TI: Good. And let's start out by talking first about your father. Can you tell me your father's name?

FD: Masayoshi Ohumra, That's M-A-S-A-Y-O-S-H-I.

TI: And where in Japan did your father come from?

FD: He's from Kumamoto. That's in the southern island of Kyushu.

TI: And can you tell me or do you know what your father's family did?

FD: They were... he calls his father a farmer, however, he was a person who owned a couple of so-called mountains in Kumamoto. And on those mountains he owned farms. And of course he couldn't do all the farming himself, because it covered such a big territory. So he was... I forgot what they called it, I forgot the Japanese name. But anyhow, he was a... well, he was a farmer who had a lot of tenant farmers on his land. And instead of doing actual farming himself, he rode around the mountain on his horse overseeing the other farmers. And then he had three sons, and my father happened to be the youngest one. And in those days, only the eldest inherited the family's properties. And then the second son couldn't inherit anything, so he married into another family that wanted a male heir and took the other family's name. They call it going yoshi.

TI: So your father's older brother, the second son became a yoshi, and the oldest one...

FD: Became the owner of the properties. And then my father, being the youngest son, was advised to go to America and go to school and make his own way.

TI: So it sounds like your father's family was, it sounded like, quite wealthy.

FD: Yes, they were, and they still are.

TI: Okay. And so what were the hopes for your father? Because most... I've done hundreds of these interviews, and most of the men who came over came because there was no other opportunities for them in Japan. And they came over as pretty, I guess, for lack of better words, pretty poor. It sounds like your father actually had resources when he came.

FD: Yes, he did. And so he came and, well, he knew almost no English, so he decided to enroll in school. And in those days, a lot of Japanese immigrant men went to elementary school, to kindergarten and so on up through high school until some parents raised a big stink about these adult men being in the same class with their little children. But anyhow, he went to elementary school long enough to learn enough English, and then he went into business... oh, and then he enrolled at the University of Southern California, that is USC, and went there for a while. Well, whatever the reason, he got sick, and so he dropped out of school. And when he recovered, instead of going back to school, he decided to go into business.

TI: Okay, before we go there then, about how old was he when he first came to America?

FD: He was eighteen.

TI: And do you know about what year that was?

FD: He was born in 1888.

TI: Okay, so he would have been about 1906?

FD: Oh, he said he came to San Francisco, I think it was just after the earthquake.

TI: Okay, that's about the right time then.

FD: 1907.

TI: I thought it was 1905.

FD: Oh, was it? Well, whatever.

TI: Yeah, I may have my... it's right around then.

FD: Well, I don't remember, but anyhow...

TI: And then from San Francisco he made his way down to Southern California, or did he live in the Bay Area for a while?

FD: I think... I'm not sure. He lived in the Bay Area for a while because I have photos, group photos of him in front of buildings in San Francisco.

TI: Okay. Now, did he know people, did the family have, like, family friends or relatives in America for him to live with?

FD: I don't know, I just don't know.

TI: So it sounds like he was pretty much on his own.

FD: I think so. Well, and then the family had resources, so he wasn't like a lot of the others who had to eke out a living somehow.

TI: So he had, I guess, the luxury of being able to go to school then, and not do other things.

FD: Yes. And then to go to the University of Southern California is not so cheap. His family took care of his finances for him.

TI: And he came over when he was eighteen, so he probably had pretty good schooling up 'til then.

FD: Yes, he finished high school in Japan. And I don't know how universal education was in those days, but anyhow, because of his family's position and resources, he was able to go to school until his late teens.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2016 Densho. All Rights Reserved.