<Begin Segment 2>

LH: So you were, your family lived where the, in the store, in the back of the store?

MS: In the International District, we lived right above the store, you know, Jackson Grocery, Nakamura Grocery was right on Jackson Street. It was in the, I think the old... we lived in the Togo Hotel, I just remember that, and if there's still a Togo Hotel that's right above from there on Jackson. But we lived right above and then the grocery store was down below, so...

LH: I'm trying to get sort of an idea of the time and the location where you were born and the makeup of your whole family at that time. Weren't you the youngest?

MS: Yeah, I'm the youngest, so I don't know, maybe it was at... but, you know, that picture of the store was taken shortly after I was born, right? 'Cause the date's on there and think that was '37 or something like that on the pictures.

LH: Was that Nakamura Grocery on Jackson?

MS: Uh-huh, Nakamura Grocery, so I don't know where, what place it was... just in my mind I always thought I was born over there and then we just simply opened the store down there but it could have been... you know, you never ask your parents where you were born. [Laughs] All I know is in Seattle.

LH: And then your sister was brought over to be your nanny?

MS: Well, she was brought over earlier to take care of my other -- and so at that time I didn't know who she... I mean, I thought she was an aunt or someone older. I didn't know until later that she actually was my half sister because she was, she spoke Japanese like the older people did and...

LH: How much older than you was she?

MS: Well, she must, right now she's at least ten or ten... maybe ten or fifteen years around my senior because at the time she always just felt old to me. [Laughs] Let's see, how old would she be? Because she would have to be that age 'cause then she started going to the school that immigrants, non-English-speaking kids had to, so she could start learning Japanese -- I mean, English, and stuff like that. So all I remember is she was there and then she was there to take care of us 'cause she told me that later. She said, "You ought to be glad that I came over to take care of you guys." [Laughs]

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.