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TI: So let's talk about how did your father come to America?

TW: Well, he came around, like, 1915, the both of them together. And then my dad's father, which would be my grandfather Waichiro, came up from Mexico through, into Arizona. And I never really understood that, why he came up that way and by himself, especially when he couldn't speak English. My mother was good at English, but then she was not with him when he came up, but sort of a mystery to me.

TI: Yeah, it's kind of interesting. So it was your grandfather on your father's side. So your dad's father actually came to the United States through Mexico. So from Japan to Mexico...

TW: And to Arizona.

TI: Any stories about Mexico? Did he stay there very long?

TW: I don't know.

TI: And this was before your father and mother came to the United States? Your grandfather came first?

TW: No, he came after.

TI: Oh, interesting. But he didn't come through... okay.

TW: Yeah, he didn't come through the usual way.

TI: Okay. So your father and mother came to the United States, you said, around 1950?

TW: I would say.

TI: Yeah, I looked at the records, and they have your father... interesting. The records, when I looked at the records from the war years, they had your father coming in 1915. But for whatever reason, they had your mother coming in 1913 if that would make any sense. I'm not sure why, maybe the records are different.

TW: I don't recall that.

TI: And they had your grandmother Matsu arriving in 1912. So it was all these different years in the records. They may be wrong, but I just wanted to share that with you.

TW: I don't think Grandma could have traveled, Mom spoke English.

TI: Anyway, those were some of the records. So going back, your mother and father were married in Japan.

TW: Yes.

TI: And then they came to the United States in 1915. And where in the United States did they...

TW: They first arrived in Seattle, and I remember they stayed... I have a picture of them back home, a home in Seattle. And after that they moved to Bellevue, but I don't know how long they stayed in Seattle.

TI: And when you think about Seattle and Bellevue, were there any family or village or friend connection that brought them to Seattle or Bellevue? Do you recall any stories of your parents saying, "Oh, so and so was from the same village," or things like that?

TW: In Bellevue, most of the people were from Okayama-ken or Hiroshima-ken. I don't know that they knew them before. They were definitely friends after arriving, but I don't know that they knew them. There were not necessarily contacts for them to come to the U.S.

TI: Okay, that's always interesting. I always like to ask that question, because it's kind of what you just said. Oftentimes, in these farming communities, they oftentimes came from the same ken, and I always ask that question to see...

TW: I don't think they knew them before.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.