<Begin Segment 21>

TI: And so after you got married and he's discharged, what happens next?

MT: Well, we came back to California.

TI: And so this is where he was from?

MT: Yes, his family was here.

TI: In the San Jose area?

MT: Yes.

TI: And what kind of work did his family do?

MT: Well, his parents were more, they were elderly and they didn't do any work. But the girls, well, the older daughter was doing housework and the younger ones were still finishing school.

TI: And then your husband, what kind of work did he get into?

MT: Well, he didn't know what he was gonna do because we were only twenty-one when we got married, and he hadn't had much experience actually. But he found work with this trucking outfit and he started driving.

TI: And then what about you, what did you do?

MT: Well, I worked for the county, did office work.

TI: And did the two of you have children?

MT: Yes, we did.

TI: And how many children did you have?

MT: We have three.

TI: Three, okay. And, boy, I'm thinking of your life, because I know South Park quite a bit, and it is more kind of rural, and then to end up in San Jose, California, what are the differences in terms of when you think about the different communities of like a South Park and now San Jose? What would you say are the big differences between maybe the Japanese American community from what you knew in South Park to here?

MT: Well, South Park... you know, San Jose when I came, when I first got married, was nothing like it is now. It was farm town.

TI: How about the historic area, though? They have the downtown San Jose, or the Japantown San Jose. Was that here?

MT: Yeah, that basically was here. They had a few more Japanese stores like the dry goods store and all. So I didn't feel that it was so different when I first came here. I think that if I came here now, there'd be quite a contrast.

TI: Oh, that's interesting. I suppose you're right, because then maybe it wasn't that different, but I just see it now and I see San Jose as much more developed and urban than South Park, so that's why I think that.

MT: Yeah, because San Jose was like, you didn't have to go far, you'd find a fruit ranch or orchard, but things are so different now, you don't see anything like that anymore. Everything is built up.

<End Segment 21> - Copyright © 2016 Densho. All Rights Reserved.