<Begin Segment 16>

BY: And you said earlier that, you said that it saved your sisters, the war saved your sisters. What did you mean by that?

MK: Well, if they were here, they would have been "fixed marriage" or forced to marry, (etcetera). But when the war broke out and we went to, ended up in Minidoka, my oldest sister had met this guy in California, just met him on a trip. Oh, because the minister lived next door to us, because the Presbyterian church was across the street from our home. And my parents asked her, she went with the next sister, Amy, to California on a trip. And my mother and father asked them to stop in and see the minister on the way down because they were going to San Francisco and Berkeley is nearby. So when they went, this minister had students that went to UC Berkeley come on the weekends and stay and relax, the Japanese students. And so this potential brother-in-law of mine happened to be there. And they just introduced them. And then she started corresponding with him, and so when we got to Minidoka, the lectures started of getting married. And so she got tired of it and I remember she said, she wrote to him. He was in Heart Mountain, and she wrote to him and proposed, I think.

BY: [Laughs] That's interesting.

MK: And he was one who didn't date either, so it was a perfect match I guess. But so she got married at Twin Falls, which is outside of...

BY: So he was able to come from Heart Mountain to Twin Falls?

MK: Yeah. He came on a pass, and I don't think any family attended the wedding.

BY: Oh, okay, just a civil ceremony.

MK: It was just Reverend Andrews.

BY: Oh, okay, right.

MK: He lived in Twin Falls.

BY: Right, right.

MK: I don't remember, or maybe they didn't invite me, I never did find out. But they got married, and so she left.

BY: Okay, so one sister's in Washington, D.C., the other one gets married, and then what happened with the third sister?

MK: Then the other two, the one older one, (Amy), took the younger one, Miyo, as soon as they get passes. And they went to -- I don't know why -- but they went to Salt Lake City. I don't know if the War Relocation group would tell them where to go, but that was (nearby). So she took her to Salt Lake, got a housekeeping job at two different homes, wealthy homes, and they went to business college during the day, and at night they helped the mother of the house, and they graduated from the college. And they went to Washington, D.C.

BY: Your other sister was there.

MK: Yeah.

BY: So that's what you mean when you say... so they were able to get out, in other words.

MK: Yeah, get away from my father.

BY: Who was giving them these lectures?

MK: Yeah, about getting married, you know. Because he always said, with five girls, they can't go to college, we can't afford it and all that.

BY: Interesting.

MK: I mean, I didn't know that, but I overheard... I used to overhear him.

BY: Giving them the lectures.

MK: He was very dominant. So they got away, and so Frank and I got left, because he still was in high school.

BY: Right, okay.

MK: And so he went out -- oh, my sister, the strong sister -- got him a job.

BY: The one in Washington, D.C.?

MK: No, the one that took the younger one (Miyo).

BY: To Salt Lake City? Okay.

MK: Yeah. She was the one who was the strong, smart sister of the family.

BY: Okay, and just for the record, her name was what?

MK: Amy.

BY: Amy, okay.

MK: And so my father always had arguments with her because she had a mind of her own. And she called for, got a place that would take Frank as a houseboy because he's still in high school. And so he went out and got in a house, you know, so he took care of twin boys, I remember.

BY: So you're all by yourself now?

MK: No. Yeah, with my parents.

BY: Right, okay.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.