<Begin Segment 39>

DG: But what is, what are your recollections for Mr. Mihara, did you happen to have contact with him?

KS: Oh, I only saw him at dinners. No, I never talked to him or...

DG: The reason he's such an important person is because for thirty years he was president of that organization and had his office there in the Japanese Language School building. And did he just set himself up after the war?

KS: I, we presume.

TS: Well all I could do is to be honest and I didn't know how and what activities Mr. Mihara was engaged. All I know is that he went faithfully to the, to his office at the Language School to carry on the activities of the Japanese Language School and of the Community Service. The Community Service organization was as named, at my understanding, was to give service by way of referrals and help finding housing and finding jobs and so forth and so on. And Community Service had a standing committee of the Community Service called Ijikai which consisted of members of the Community Service to act as a permanent committee to operate the Japanese Language School and this Ijikai committee reported at every meeting of the Community Service as to how many students there were, if there were any special problems at the school and plans for picnics and different functions of the Language School, so it was a sort of a prestand, standing committee and a subsidiary of the Community Service. And that's the way it functioned.

DG: One of the things that I do know, that they participated in involving the Kenjinkai. What, what did they do there?

TS: Well, for example, even to this day, there's been a tradition of asking the different Kenjinkais to participate with community service, especially in attendance of the president and officers of each Kenjinkai at the annual dinner and installation banquet of the Community Service. And I used to wonder how they got so many people to attend these Community Service dinners, but apparently when the letter went out, the presidents of each Community Service they got a invitation, made sure that they attended and that was usually 100, 150 people at each Community Service dinner.

DG: And they always were associated with Consul General's Office also, right?

TS: Well.

DG: Like, like now, when a boat comes in from Japan...

KS: That's right.

DG: They are the ones that meet them and so forth and...

KS: Entertain them. And periodically, people are awarded certificates or the Emperor's...

DG: The Kunshou, yeah.

KS: Kunshou.

<End Segment 39> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.