<Begin Segment 8>

FK: So how did you meet Eiko?

ZS: Her brother and I, we used to pal around together. We used to play basketball and things like that and go to the ball games, and eventually I got to know her.

FK: So when did you get married?

ZS: Let's see... 1953, I guess it was.

FK: So it was like, meeting her again afterwards, or what happened?

ZS: No, it was just nothing unusual, I don't think. [Laughs]

FK: Do you have children?

ZS: Oh yes, we've got three boys.

FK: And how old are they now?

ZS: [Laughs.] Don't ask me that. I have to count my fingers here. I think my oldest is born in '55, so that would make him... yeah, wasn't it? Yeah.

FK: So, do you have any things that you hope for your kids or any things you wish for them?

ZS: Yeah, well, they're okay. They're doing all right, although only one is married. The other two... well, one of them got married and he got divorced and my oldest is still single and he's living with us. But otherwise, they're doing all right. I have no complaints.

FK: Well, you know, it was probably unusual in your dad's time to have a Japanese person involved in business. And I assume you had to do a lot of business with Caucasians. Was there anything... would other people look at him differently because he was Japanese, or anything like that?

ZS: I don't think so. He got along with everybody that I know of.

FK: Now, I heard that your dad actually loaned some money to some people that were having a hard time.

ZS: Yeah, I think he did. Even when, a long time ago when he was still... before he had the apartments, it seemed he used to be able to do financing for his friends and stuff like that. I don't know where he got all that business sense, but then he did all right.

FK: For a while he also... didn't he own some property on the island, too, as far as commercial property?

ZS: Uh-huh, yes. He had that shopping center there and some land.

FK: Is that where the Safeway is now over there?

ZS: Uh-huh.

FK: As, as you get older in your life and so forth and all that, if you look back on your life, would there be anything you'd change or anything that you would have done differently or, or hoped would come out differently?

ZS: No. No, everything got along pretty smoothly.

FK: Do you think the war in any way affected your outlook on things as they are now?

ZS: No... I'm the type of person that takes things as it comes along. [Laughs]

FK: So if you had anything you'd like to say to anybody, what would that be? Anything?

ZS: [Laughs] No, I don't think so.

FK: Okay.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.