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MI: The only one you didn't know was Bako.
BY: And were those names all your baptism names, the English names?
MI: Oh, well, like Bako is a nickname that was given to Bako at Tenth Avenue, I know.
TI: So let's talk about that. So Tsukasa Francis Kinoshita, born 1923, your older brother, his nickname, everyone calls him Bako.
MI: Well, I presume it was because, across the street, there was a family called the Turners, and he had a play horse. The kids were jumping on it, and like Bako got on there and I guess he acted like a buckaroo so he said, "Oh, there's a buckaroo." And then the Japanese can't say "R," so somehow or another he became Bako.
TI: Oh, interesting. So as a young boy...
MI: Just like, oh, we're not to name my daughter Barbara because it would become "Barabara." [Laughs]
BY: It's true, true story.
MI: That's why I think, it was from that "buckaroo," you know. He's a buckaroo.
TI: And then Bako.
MI: And it ended up as Bako and it stuck.
TI: And how about you? Did you have any?
MI: I didn't have a nickname.
TI: And how about any of your other siblings? So Kaji...
MI: Kaji. Well, we always Mary Jane Kaji, that was Kajiko. And then Ish was, Irene was always Ishiko, Ish.
TI: Right, the Japanese name. And what did they call you?
MI: May.
TI: And then how about your younger brother?
MI: Chuck was always Chuck.
TI: And that came from Chikara, probably?
MI: No, just Chuck.
<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.