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TI: Now, were you ever able to go into the homes of the some of the white or the Caucasian neighbors?

MI: Well, we used to go around the neighborhood. I remember the Turners one time, they made beer or something, we watched them make beer. [Laughs] The old float, I mean, they would just...

TI: Well, so I'm curious, when you said that, growing up as a kid, I remember at your parents' house, doing things like mochi pounding, they did the tsukemono, things like that. Did you do those things?

MI: I can't remember doing mochi at... but most likely we did. See, my mom was a good cook. But they always had a still. [Laughs]

TI: So tell me about that. You talked about the beer brewing.

MI: All the bachelors used to come because Mom made good sake.

TI: Oh, so you remember at the 421...

MI: Yeah, I mean... because everywhere we went, we always had a still. I think most families did have a still.

TI: Well, I'm not sure if most families did. I've actually asked about this. So tell me about --

MI: Even in camp they had a still.

TI: Okay, so tell me about, what did the still look like? I mean, how...

MI: I don't know, I left that to them. But a lot of bachelors came to help Mom to make the sake.

TI: So it was like a separate little room?

MI: No, no, I mean, it's like in camp, we were, they had a big, we had to go up the steps to get into... so they had room right there.

TI: Underneath the stairs?

MI: Underneath the barrack, the rooms.

TI: So they had a sake still.

MI: It was a big room that they could make a, have a still anyway.

TI: And when you say, so they were doing, like, sake, rice?

MI: Oh, yeah, sake.

TI: And that's what she would do...

MI: And shochu.

TI: In Seattle, she would make that?

MI: Yeah.

TI: I heard about this. I didn't know...

MI: Well, you know, Mom, a lot of the bachelors liked to come to our place because Mom would have the sake and she was a good cook.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.