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VY: So this was Art Shibayama?

DC: Uh-huh. And I never knew anything about his background. And even if somebody had told me as a child, I would not be able to come to terms with his story. And it was only until I was much older that I was able to comprehend what had happened to him. Well, when I met him, he was like all the other boys that came over into our apartment to date my sisters, and he was sitting on the sofa. And, of course, being the monkey that I am, I said to him, "Do you use power on your face like my sisters do?" Because his complexion was absolutely gorgeous, but I didn't know why I was saying that to him, but I was trying to relate his complexion to my sisters'. And he just kind of took it all in stride and just smiled and went along. And then eventually, they would start taking me out on their dates. And so I'd be taken to all these movies.

VY: How old was Art and Betty and how old were you at this time?

DC: Oh my goodness, I would think that Betty would be in her late teens, and he was a few years older than her, I would say maybe he was four years older or three.

VY: So you were probably around seven or eight or so?

DC: Yeah, exactly. You do the math very well. So yeah, and I'd be teasing them, trying to get their attention by saying these dumb things, and he was very tolerant towards children, just loved children. And so I'd go to these fabulous restaurants, of course, they were nothing posh or anything, but the food. Anybody who's lived in Chicago always talks about food. If you meet another Chicagoan, the first thing you talk about is food. And my sister and Art would take me to the Rib House, fantastic ribs. The sauce is something that is never, is unrivaled, in my opinion, and I've been trying to find that recipe. And evidently, the fellow who owned the Rib House eventually moved out to Las Vegas, and I was trying my darndest to find that individual so that I could make that recipe and sell it, but we could never unearth that man. He was somewhere in Las Vegas, but it was brilliant, his sauce. And there were many restaurants in that area, there were Ginza House, and so there were ethnic restaurants. And then they would take me to movies, and so I'd go to places like the Grand. So I think I was quite precocious growing up amongst all these adults and hearing all these stories. And so Art was such a welcoming person, he never said, "What's this kid doing here?" Like, how many men would you know who'd want to go on a date and take their girlfriend's baby sister along? Very few, I mean, he was amazingly tolerant.

So I really didn't know much about his story, although I knew he spoke English with an accent. I knew he and his family danced the tango, and I knew they ate empanadas, so I knew they were slightly different from us, but I didn't know why. And at family gatherings, they would all, without any hesitation, stand up and start singing. They were innate performers, and this all came from the lifestyle they knew in Lima where they were sort of upper class. I think it was Art's grandparents that threw parties each weekend, and people would dance and enjoy themselves. So he was used to a completely different lifestyle than we were. So if you asked a Morita to get up and sing, we'd be like, "Oh, no, not me." But they would just graciously stand up and perform, and even the father sang shigin.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2019 Densho. All Rights Reserved.