<Begin Segment 46>

AI: You were just about to tell about some of the things you found out about your family on your first trip to Japan...

KM: Uh-huh.

AI: ...and then you also took a second trip as well.

KM: On the first trip to Japan we met all my, mostly my side of the family. And then to this day we still correspond back and forth, and they send us a package. And I keep telling them, "Don't send any more packages because it costs more to mail it than the inside, because we buy everything on a bargain." But she say, "It's lotta fun to wait for a package, and see what's coming next. And so if you can still do it." Well while Jack was, my Jack was alive, he can carry those things. But now I can't carry 'cause I have back trouble. And so I wrote to her again, and she said, "Well we'll just keep on sending it anyway." And the reason she sends these packages is that, right after atom bomb, her, my cousin's first and only child was born. And then they didn't have any food. And so she remembered my mother and had the address. So she asked my mother to send a powdered milk so the baby could survive. And because of that obligation, she wanted to always return something to my mother. But my mother was never able to go to Japan. So when we went, they felt like I was representing my mother and they had a feast. I tell you, to this day I haven't, never had this kind of feast. Each individual had a kamaboko fan beautifully designed with shochikubai, you know for a happy occasion. And then they had a iseebi, it was a little red ebi with a long, and made with yokan, (jellied). And so I knew that I couldn't bring home the kamaboko because it would be spoiled on the trip. But I knew that yokan would last. And I wanted, so Jack and I had one each, so we were gonna bring it home for our two boys 'cause they love yokan. The way it was made -- it was about that thick and has a head and a long, just like a ebi. I think they call it iseebi, don't they?

AI And ebi means shrimp.

KM: They use when, New Year's, they put it on the table. And so I told my auntie, Jack's auntie to put it in the refrigerator for us. But as far as the kamaboko is concerned, she could give it to her grandchildren. But I said, "Please save this for my sons." And then after we did all the traveling and everything, were ready to pack up and go, and then I said, "Where is that ebi, obasan? And then she said, "Oh, I gave it to my grandchild." And I didn't know what to say. I said, "Now this is Jack's side." [Laughs] I said, "Something's happening again here." [Laughs] And I definitely instructed her to save this, but she could have the other. And so I was so disappointed that she was so greedy. And that was a complete surprise, 'cause when she used to visit America and she used to brag about how wealthy they were. Surely they could have afforded that. But I guess this was specially made for us, and she'd never seen it. And so she said she gave it to her grand... and here again I had to endure it and pretend that it was all right. And it wasn't all right. [Laughs]

AI: Oh dear, oh dear.

KM: And the second time that, trip, that we went to, was also, we centered mostly on Jack's side of the family. And 'course our uncle had his only daughter that was in school and got caught in that atom bomb. And she literally burned and then she -- they found her body in the river trying to get this all taken care of. And so for days later he said that every time he saw a girl about his daughter's age, he would just automatically follow her thinking that it could be his daughter even though he saw her dead. It just kinda haunted, 'cause he had three sons and she was the only girl. I guess she was just very dear to him. And that's, that's... and then on one other trips, the tour trip, we went to Hiroshima Castle. And I didn't know what was inside the castle, but my father-in-law, during the camp, when we were in camp, he would go around all the barracks and -- they didn't have anything to do so for conversational piece he asked each of the families if they were from the samurai clan. And then he came home and told me that out of all this block here there's only two people that was from samurai clan -- our family and another family. "So aren't you glad, aren't you privileged or aren't you honored that you married into a samurai clan?" And he always put that on me. To me, I didn't know what samurai clan was. I mean I cared less either. Well, on this last trip, after my father-in-law had passed away, we went to this Hiroshima Castle. And then my cousin says, "See, here's our name here." I said, "What name?" And she said, "Our samurai clan." And I said, "I didn't know we were samurai clan." And she said, "Well, didn't your mother tell you?" I said, "No." And so I says, "Well, my husband's side supposed to be a samurai clan. Now where's his name?" So she said, "What is it?" So I told 'em, "Asano clan." So she looked and she said, "Oh, he's way down here." And I said, "Oh, and ours is up there and his, there?" Here all these years I been put down that I was honored and privileged to [Laughs] get married into a samurai clan. And so when I came home from that trip I told my mother, "Mama, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me? You knew that Matsuoka's dad was always telling me that you're very fortunate to be married into such a good family." And she said, "You know, when I was sent home embarrassed," and when she didn't have a baby -- "that's why I made up my mind that I was gonna never repeat anything of my (past), so that it wouldn't hinder anything." So she said that was the reason that -- she says, "What is a clan or something when you get disgraced?" And she said, "Who told you?" I said, so... well, 'course they all know in Japan. And so she said, "Well." I said, "You should have said something." I said, "Here I took all this -- " [Laughs] "All this time," I said, "I was just put down and made me feel so low in class, just because of that." But those are the two definite things that I remember the two trips.

AI: So you found out that you had...

KM: Yeah. Then, when I came home I didn't have nobody to talk to. But, you know, really, after you think you know, after MacArthur took place, they, all these, they call it koseki tohon, that's registration. All of them got where, samurai clans all crossed off. I brought most of mine home, ours -- it's all crossed off in black ink. MacArthur said, "Everybody's same, equal."

AI: That's interesting. And the koseki tohon is the...

KM: is the...

AI: ...registration...

KM: Yeah.

AI: ...of the birth...

KM: Registration of the birth, uh-huh.

AI: ...of, for all the family members.

KM: Family background and so forth. [Laughs] So I, we learned a lot of things.

AI: Well, now speaking about, of your mother, your mother and father eventually left the central valley, and where did they resettle?

KM: Well my dad died, passed away in Del Rey in the central...

AI: Oh.

KM: ...'cause he had a heart attack. But my mother was still healthy. So when they had a opening for growing strawberry, which they originally started doing, they went to, what you call Capitola, right next to Santa Cruz. And then that's when they first got, saved enough to buy their own home after losing the one in L.A. long time ago.

AI: So your mother ended up living near the Santa Cruz area...

KM: Yeah.

AI: ...and farming strawberries again.

KM: Yeah. Uh-huh, uh-huh.

AI: And then you mentioned earlier that she would come to visit later on...

KM: Yeah.

AI: ...as the boys...?

KM: Well, in between crops she would come over to visit us. And she, that was her tanoshimi. She would always look forward to coming over. Yeah.

<End Segment 46> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.