Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Tomio Moriguchi Interview I
Narrator: Tomio Moriguchi
Interviewer: Becky Fukuda
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: October 20, 1999
Densho ID: denshovh-mtomio-01-0019

<Begin Segment 19>

BF: Now when you went, were in high school, and this is again that sorta that postwar period. And I've had other Nisei, older Sansei, say that there was a time period where the community, a lotta people wanted to be less Japanese, wanted to be culturally less Japanese. Visibly there was no way to change it, but they had hoped that they could be... do you remember going through a period of that, or having that same attitude?

TM: You know, because of the business, and because I had a very comfortable surrounding from the family, I don't think I really felt that way. But thinking back, I think we either talked about it or I noticed friends, or people that, acquaintances that kinda did things that I thought was strange, like a few even changed their names. You probably heard of Takahashi changing it to Highbridge or something like that. So that wasn't unusual, so there were, you either read or heard or knew people that did, to me, unusual things to try to break out of this. Say that I'm not Japanese, I am American type of, whatever type of statement. Looking back, I don't think, because I was comfortable with my surroundings as a Japanese, I don't think -- but I'm sure we must've done things, but I don't remember any specific things we did.

BF: Now' cause when you brought that up, that did sort of make me realize something. You don't have a typical Nisei nickname.

TM: Oh. Well --

BF: Or do you, do you? [Laughs]

TM: No. That's true. The generation before me had nicknames like my older brother is called Gunner and my older brother's friends used to call me Shrimp or something, but it never stuck. But they did. And here again maybe that was the part that they were trying to become Americanized. Because if you go to the movies that's how it was. That's interesting. But getting back to the typical, to show a little bit more of my father's culture and humor, is that, somebody asked him, "How come you didn't give your children middle names?" He said he couldn't afford it. [Laughs] But when you talked to him a little bit more he said, well, I'm gonna take 'em back to Japan, so he didn't want to give us Japanese names, I mean English names. That was the truth, but his answer was in jest, he says, "Well, we couldn't afford it." So, that's the kind of person he was. The answer was never straight, it was kinda humorous, but there was always something behind it when you asked again and said, "Well, what's the real reason?" Well, to go back to Japan he didn't want to us to have American names, or English names.

BF: So, I wonder, if that also played a role in you maybe not going through such a strong period of loss of identity, that, that your family business was, was so entrenched in Japanese culture, in the goods, in the products?

TM: Well, I'm just thinking right now, a lot about getting back to why did I retain some of my good friends, mostly Caucasian, a few blacks, a few Filipino, but why did I continue? Maybe this was part of my statement of change, I'm okay with non-Japanese, or this is my way of making a statement out of America. I don't know, but after you asked that question, I was kinda thinking of why I stayed in touch. But maybe this was a way for me to show my, I don't know --

BF: Prove you're an American.

TM: Yeah, or that I, it wasn't totally important -- I don't know, I haven't given it much thought. But I think in some way all of us through high school and college, someway, probably was faced with this issue, that you're American and --

BF: What does that mean?

TM: Yeah, what does it mean? And maybe that's the time you just start to say well, "Okay, I have some hakujin friends," but I don't know. But the comfort level with, well I didn't play with Alan, but the Hirano brothers, and Bill and it's always been there. So we tend to go where we're comfortable I think.

BF: Now your sister, when did she come back from Japan? Was it around this time period?

TM: She was fourteen, so she was born in 1935 so it was 1949 she came back.

BF: What kind of adjustment did -- do you remember seeing her having a hard time adjusting?

TM: Well, she a year older, but we were in the same class, so I think, looking back, and I think she'll say this, she was very fortunate that there were some very dedicated teachers that went out of their way to make sure that she was able to catch up in school work and -- in those days, well, they probably are, the school teachers were very dedicated. I'm sure she was very fortunate to have that, because we were in the class together and, in fact we still probably very close.

BF: So it was pretty easy for her to come fit back into the family, I mean she'd been gone so long?

TM: Well, I don't know about that. I think she must have had some problems because of my father was stricter with girls for one thing.

BF: Had she been the only child in the family she was with in Japan, or was she part of a larger family?

TM: Well, she lived with my cousins, and there was three girls and a boy. So she felt pretty comfortable, so that was, that was not the problem. But I have to feel that my father, typical Isseis, probably were more strict and expected more from their daughters I think, I'm guessing. So I'm sure she was expected to serve tea, you know what I mean, take, look after the younger brothers and sister I'm guessing. So she, her life wasn't all that easy I don't think.

BF: So you had your father on one hand, who adhered to some of the traditional, typical, conservative values, but your mother, it sounds like, maybe tried to balance some of that out by treating everyone the same and --

TM: Oh yeah, I think, looking back we had a wonderful, well we do have a wonderful mother.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 1999 Densho. All Rights Reserved.