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BN: And you continued to live in Japantown after you married?

HT: Yeah, until the kids, yeah. We bought a house out in Sunset, and we were really lucky looking for it, I said, "We got to buy a house because we have kids." We went there and we tried to get a Japanese guy (realtor) to buy a house for us so we could, you know, and he says, "You don't make enough money," Japanese guy, and he was in real estate. He says, "You don't make enough money, so I can't help you." So I said, okay. So I went to look, my husband and I went to look around, and in Sunset we saw a nice house. And there was a Caucasian guy there selling it. And I said, "We're looking, but I don't know if we could, this is how much money we make." He says, "That's not very much. But if I could get the money for you, you going to buy this house from me?" I said, "If you could get the money for me, I'll buy it." And he found money for us, he went to a bank and got financed for me, and then we bought the house. And after that, I bought another one, too. Also, this same guy, he says, "Okay," then the duplex, we were able to buy a house because he was able to find money for us. When they could go a bank and say, "She's going to pay you this much," so I was able to buy two units because of this guy that was... and we were able to afford it. Because this guy was really, he says, "This is how you buy a house." Then once I bought the second one, he goes, "We refi and we get the down, and then you get the second one." And it was because of this white guy. Because you never know, you hustle, and they really... some people are smart, some people are kind, and they help you. I couldn't believe it because I was, in my family, I was the first one to buy a house, and I wanted the younger ones, but you never know.

BN: No one ever went broke buying real estate in California, especially San Francisco.

HT: Sure, San Francisco is good. Because after that, I sold my place in Sunset and I bought a place in Mill Valley, a big Victorian house. So all my kids had property.

BN: Was it hard, though, to move out of Japantown now? Because now you're in a different area.

HT: No, I live in Japantown.

BN: Well, now, but when you bought your house earlier?

HT: No, it's good because the schools are better. Like where they went it was really good, and then they went to the different schools, yeah, it was a good location. So we were lucky, we were lucky. And it was the schools that were, even the other schools that I went to, they were better schools than, at the time here. Now it's better, but then in those days, I really lucked out. I don't know how I lucked out, but then we had a lucky time.

BN: Once you had your children, I know the answer, but can you tell us how many children you had?

HT: I had four children. My oldest one is Akiko, you know her.

BN: Yes.

HT: Akiko, and then Tomio, and then Toshio is down in the L.A. area, and Dori, she is Burlingame.

BN: And then once you had the children, did you still remain active with the Konko church?

HT: Yeah. I just live right next door to Konko church.

BN: I know with many of my peers, the story is that their parents never told them about camp and about the history. Did you tell your children about being in Topaz and Tanforan and that history?

HT: Well, I think, like Akiko is very knowledgeable about stuff like that, I think. Well, I don't know, I wonder if I did it, but I'm sure I must have mentioned it, but I don't know.

BN: You didn't consciously not tell them.

HT: Yeah, not not tell them, yeah. Well, I guess maybe they talked more about it.

BN: And then I always wondered this, I know the youngest was in Farewell to Manzanar.

HT: Yeah.

BN: How did that come about?

HT: Oh, what was it? She was... someone we knew got her involved in that. Before she even got into that one, I can't... see, those things have, I'm getting forgetful about it. You got to ask Dori.

BN: Yeah, I will. And then what were your feelings in the '70s and into the '80s, you had the beginning of redress, the whole redress movement. What did you think about that, and did you get involved in that at all?

HT: Redress? What do you mean?

BN: For the camps, the eventual apology and the reparations, the $20,000. How did you feel about that?

HT: I thought it was good. When we got that, all the sisters went to Japan. We all just went to check it out. And I thought that was good. It's not much, but then, it's worth it.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2019 Densho. All Rights Reserved.