Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Ayame Tsutakawa Interview II
Narrator: Ayame Tsutakawa
Interviewer: Tracy Lai
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: June 5, 1998
Densho ID: denshovh-tayame-02-0020

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TL: Well, you've mentioned that after he met you, he right away sent a letter and a ring, but you didn't get married right away. So could you talk about how you were feeling about that, why you didn't and how you were looking at that.

AT: George sent engagement ring from Spokane on his way back to Minneapolis and then shortly after, I can't remember how many, how much time there was, but after we went back to Sacramento our family, we received a telegram from Japan saying that my brother was killed by atomic bomb in Hiroshima. And that was very sad for me because my brother Takeo and I grew up together in Japan. He was always sort of protecting me. And so I wrote to George saying that, "I'm sorry, I cannot marry you for awhile." I don't know what I said why, or I probably said maybe we had to have you call off this 'cause American dropped the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. That's where my brother was killed. I feel very bad about that. So he said he can wait and he did. And after about a whole year my mother said, "If George is still waiting for you, you should go to Seattle."

TL: Did you feel ready or were there still questions in your mind about marrying him?

AT: No, I think I was ready to put that aside.

TL: So how old were you when you got married?

AT: 1947... 1924. (Narr. Note: Twenty-three years old)

TL: What kind of expectations did you have of your marriage?

AT: Expectations of?

TL: What kind of marriage did you hope to have because you had... well, you had your mother's example and maybe some of the aunties, maybe some of the people who were part of Nichiren or...

AT: I don't think I had any expectation. I just trust in George and whatever he was going to be or whatever he is going to do would be fine.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.