<Begin Segment 4>

SY: You said he's quite, he was quite ambitious. Do you think that that is a value, or there are other values that your parents instilled in you and that you carry with you today?

MN: Well, yes. I think we were taught to be honest and to respect our elders. I mean, I was, I was a little bit afraid of my father in some ways because he, I knew he could be real severe, if he, if he wanted to be. [Laughs]

SY: In what way?

MN: And he... well, he really made us kids toe the mark. We had to -- we knew when to speak and when not to speak, and not to talk back (...).

SY: What would happen if you passed that...

MN: Well...

SY: ...line?

MN: I don't know that he ever struck anybody, but I know, vocally, he let my brothers have it.

SY: Would he speak in Japanese, or would it be in English?

MN: Well, we spoke both Japanese and English and I think he probably spoke in Japanese, but I'm not exactly sure.

SY: Do you remember speaking to him in Japanese, or did you always use English? Which way did you communicate with him?

MN: I didn't speak to him very much. But then I, I have some fond memories of him, although I was only five or so. And they're all not good memories. But, we didn't speak too much, I don't think.

SY: So even, even though you have some fond memories, are most of your memories more painful, or...?

MN: No. I remember he saw me carrying a little puppy one time, and he smiled at me. And he had all these gold teeth in front, and I could see all these gold teeth. And he used to go grocery shopping, and he'd always ask my mother what to, what to get. And I would hang on her, and I'd say, "Tell him to get some candy," and he did. He bought me a nice, big brown sack of candy, like this. All for me! And he gave it to me. And he did that twice. I mean, that I'd always say, "Buy some candy." The first time, he brought, it was a big bag of jelly beans and the second time, it was a big bag of Nabisco crackers. [Laughs]

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.