Densho Digital Archive - Yukiko Takahashi Interview

<Begin Segment 1>

HM: All right, you can start now, if you like.

YT: Okay. What do I say?

HM: Your name, and a little about...

YT: Yuki Takahashi.

HM: And, can you tell us a little about your family? Who was in your family?

YT: Who was in my family? About the time of evacuation?

HM: At the time of evacuation.

YT: Well, there was my dad, two brothers, and two sisters, because my mother had passed away years ago.

HM: How old were they?

YT: How old were my kids, brothers and sisters? Let's see, I was nineteen, so Hideaki was seventeen, Archie might have been... is that right? Eighteen or seventeen. Ruth was about fifteen, and I think Jane was about nine, eight.

HM: And you were nineteen, you said?

YT: Nineteen.

HM: And so, your mother was gone, so you had to...

YT: My mother had passed away in 1935 when I was thirteen, so, just the six of us, my dad and five kids.

HM: How was your life on the island at that time then, after your mother passed away?

YT: Oh, I would say, it must have been rough, although, you know, being a kid at that time, I really don't know, but if I think back, I think it's a wonder we came through, because at thirteen, I had to take care of the kids, I had to go to school, Jane was only two, and my dad was a farmer, he was struggling. So I really don't know how we made it. Because I would have to get their lunch, make sure they were clothed, before I could take off for school. And I had to do laundry on Saturdays, and we didn't have washing machines those days, so we had to boil our hot water outside and use a scrub board. So when I think back about it, I think, my goodness, you know, at thirteen, my grandchildren couldn't do that, and I thought, well, I couldn't either. So you can imagine what kind of laundry I hung up, you know, and it just embarrasses me to think people would be passing by the street and see my laundry hanging out, maybe sheets still dirty and kids' overalls and all that, still dirty, gives me cold chills, but that's how it was. But we made it.

HM: And then Hideaki was...

YT: Hideaki and Archie were...

HM: Seventeen and fifteen? And they left.

YT: I can't remember, they must have been cooperative, otherwise we couldn't have made it, but they were boys. I don't know. I was too young to really understand the whole thing, and yet, we had to make it come through, so I think about it and I think my dad must have had a real hard time. It's scary.

HM: Was he working the farm alone, then?

YT: Yeah, he was alone, and you know, I mean, he never liked farming he used to tell us, but my mother was the one that wanted to try it because everybody else was farming and she thought they were doing good, that she could help my dad get started, but my dad always said he was not a born farmer.

HM: Where did you farm?

YT: Where?

HM: Uh-huh.

YT: Well we had, right under the Furukawa's area, across the street from Nakaos, you know, new territory, I think my dad said we had about ten acres, but he couldn't have handled all that by himself so he really had to struggle, and to think that he had little kids that had to be taken care of while three of us went to school. I don't know how he managed either. It's a pitiful story, really, you know, because we didn't have a mother. But we made it.

<Begin Segment 2>

HM: Can you remember back to the evacuation time, was your father taken away by the FBI?

YT: No, my father wasn't taken away. But at that time, right after high school, somebody had told me that there was an opening for a housemaid, and my dad really couldn't afford to let me go, but then he thought it would be a good experience for me because I've always been at home working with the kids, and all that, that it would do me good to see what it was like on the outside. So I went to do housework in Seattle and then the war broke out, and I remember listening to the radio telling me that Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor and I was sad. And here I was in Seattle, and all the family were on Bainbridge, and then shortly afterwards they said there was no more aliens or the Japanese going back and forth to Bainbridge Island anymore. And somehow, I was stuck in Seattle, right? And so then we had, our closest family friend was Mr. and Mrs. Tsujimoto that ran the Rex Hotel in Seattle. And I called them and said, "I don't know what to do." I said, "The war broke out, I can't go home." And she said, "Don't worry," she said, "You could evacuate with us when the time comes," you know, the evacuation story had come out. I don't know how, I don't remember contacting Ms. McCullough - she was a missionary from Baptist church in Seattle that used to come out to Hirakawa's church and we would get -- she would gather us and we would go to her religion, she'd have a religious group there. Anyway, when I was stuck in Seattle, she called me... I don't know if I called her, or she called me, but she said, "I will take you to the U.S. Attorney's office. We'll go and see what we can do." So she called me -- she made the appointment and we went to the U.S. Attorney's office and she said, "This girl has to go home because she takes place of her mother, and with this evacuation, she will be stuck here by herself, her father with two brothers and two sisters are on the island," and you know, that I should belong back home. I don't know what was said at that meeting, but anyway, at the end of the meeting, the attorney said, "If you're going to go, I'll give you permission to leave tonight, but you got to go tonight." And I thought, my gosh, I have to pack, I have to let Mrs. Tsujimoto know I'm going, because Mrs. Tsujimoto always said if evacuation come, and you had to go evacuate, she said, "You could come with us, we'll make sure you won't be stranded." But when Mrs. McCullough said, you know, she would recommend I go home because this was my last chance, so I did go home that day and I was able to evacuate with the family. Otherwise I don't know where I would have been. So I really had a sad time, I think.

HM: And there was a picture of Jane being carried by one of the soldiers at the time of evacuation. Do you recall any things during that actual leaving your house and going down to the ferry dock?

YT: I remember the truck coming and getting on it. But what was this about Jane?

HM: Well, there is a picture of Jane in front of, by the truck or something.

YT: With a cat?

HM: No, with a soldier holding her.

YT: Well, she was only about six, seven?

HM: She was eight.

YT: I don't know, they had to help us get on the truck because that was high, but I don't remember. But I remember getting on the truck.

HM: Do you remember anything about the ferry ride, the train ride or the thoughts you had?

YT: Well, we were kind of stunned. We couldn't take everything we had, we just left it. So we packed what we had to. And then Mrs. Tsujimoto said they would try to be at the dock, you know, the ramp over the street on Marion. I remember when we got off the ferry, there were a bunch of people there, and I didn't recognize anybody there at the time, but they were there and they said they waved us goodbye. And we were on the train and we didn't know where we were headed for at the time. It was sad, but we didn't know what were, you know, we just followed orders and went wherever we were supposed to go, so it was strange.

<Begin Segment 3>

HM: What did you think about when you first reached Manzanar?

YT: Well. they were still building buildings, you know, those barracks, and it looked so hot and dry and you think, oh, my goodness, and then when they led us to the barracks, there was nothing in there. We had to go get your own mattress, the hay, straw or something in the mattress. It was really something that we didn't expect.

HM: How did you and your family adjust to this?

YT: Adjust to that? Well, I remember Mrs. Taniguchi, and remember Bozo and Tsuruo, they stayed with us in the same section of the barrack, I remember, for a while. So she was kind of a comfort for me, because she would talk to me like a mother. But we made an adjustment.

HM: Did you move to Manzanar -- not Manzanar but Minidoka with many of the islanders?

YT: Well, when they said we were going to Minidoka, we didn't have the Bainbridge Review at the time, and they said apples and oranges don't mix. Well, I was kind of happy we were going up, because I'd see Mrs. Tsujimoto who was like a mother to us, so I liked it. But then when we reached Minidoka, it was cold, I think it was winter, and it was muddy and all that and kind of shocking, too, but everybody else had to put up with it, we could do it, too.

HM: Did you have, did you leave a lot of friends behind on Bainbridge and did you keep in touch with them?

YT: Not really. There was few, but then, those days, we didn't have cars to go visiting too many people and then, the few people we know were evacuated so there was no correspond... too much of it.

HM: What did you do in Minidoka and Manzanar? You must have been nineteen or twenty by then?

YT: What did we do over there?

HM: Uh-huh, what did you do?

YT: Let's see... when we reached Manzanar, I think we had to do some kind of work. Everybody volunteered to whatever, you know, there was a camouflage factory or something. Some guys went to farm. Well, we didn't know too much so we helped in the kitchen.

HM: That was in Manzanar. Did you have a job in Minidoka also?

YT: In Minidoka, I don't know how I got the job, but I worked in the Clothing Allowance Office.

HM: How did that work, the Clothing Allowance Office?

YT: Well, we... everybody had to work so much. Whoever worked got, I think we got $16 or something a month for working. So, that's all I remember, working in the office and meeting with all the girls there that I corresponded with after the war.

HM: And when you said "clothing allowance," did everyone in camp get it?

YT: Yeah, I'm sure everyone got it. $16 a month or 20 or something like that. It wasn't much, but I think everybody got it.

HM: To spend on clothing, is that...

YT: I think so.

HM: Do you remember the "loyalty questionnaire" that brought out some of the "No-No Boys"?

YT: I kind of remember, but then, I don't think we wrote "no-no." I'm not sure. Of course the parents were kind of hesitant for the kids, for us to be real loyal, because they put us in a place like that, but I don't think my dad said we should say "no-no." After all, we were, I mean, I wasn't a citizen at that time, but my kid sister and brothers were.

HM: Were you born in Japan?

YT: Yes. But I came over when I was nine months old, so I really don't know Japan. But still, I was an alien and I had to have alien card and all that kind of thing. That's why I had a hard time getting back to Bainbridge from Seattle when I was stuck there when the war broke out.

HM: Then the rest of your siblings were born in the United States?

YT: They were born in Seattle and Winslow.

HM: Did you have any contact with the Bainbridge Review, in reading it or anything at all?

YT: No, but I've heard from others that were reading the paper and all that, but I didn't have any contact.

HM: The rest of your siblings were fairly young when they were in camp, so they must have been in school during that time. Do you remember anything about their schooling?

YT: About my kids going to school in camp?

HM: Your sisters and -- yes.

YT: Not really. They did go, but I can't remember too much about that.

<Begin Segment 4>

HM: What was your life like in camp?

YT: What was my life in camp? Well, I guess to be honest, I didn't have to cook, I didn't have to do the stuff that I used to do. It was kind of relaxing time for me so I don't think I really thought it was terrible, although we were in the camp, you know. It was a time when I could do what I want to.

HM: How did it change your life and your outlook on life?

YT: Well, I don't know. You know, we always thought we were loyal Americans. I mean, we were loyal to America, so we figured someday it's going to be all right, I guess. Too young, kind of, to really know what was going on, because we didn't have a college education, you know, we weren't thinking about going to college at that time, but I do remember we had a math teacher named Ms. Biggs. She had written to me saying she had a niece in New York, I think it was Long Island or something, and she said I should think about going there when they sent people out. And my dad was all for it. He said I should, you know, take her up on that offer, because she meant well and my dad said, "We haven't had the opportunity to educate you," says, "Now is your chance." And so, well, I was kind of scared but I'll do it. Then Mrs. Tsujimoto, didn't like that. They told my dad, "You're sending her so far away, you don't know what it's going to be like on the outside, so we don't want you to." They didn't think it was right for him to send me off to a strange big city, not knowing where I was, but my dad said after all, she's a teacher's relative, and he believed in it, he's sure she would be all right. But then there was Mr. Joel, remember? He, too got involved in that. He said, he told my dad, "You should listen to Mr. Tsujimoto tell you that it's a big responsibility for her to take off for a big city all by herself. So give it a second thought." And my dad was real sad about it but he said, you know, if something should go wrong, it would be his fault, so he said, "As much as I am disappointed, maybe you should decline the offer." And we thought about it, and then Mr. Tsujimoto came back and said, "If you really want to have her relocate," then he said their daughter was in Salt Lake City doing some sewing in a tailor factory, "So why don't you send her there?" And then he would know, and my dad would know that I was safe. And so, eventually, that's what I did. So I did miss a big opportunity because they didn't want me to go far away. Well, you can't blame my dad either, because he had two kids at home and the boys were ready to go in the service if they were called, but the girls were too young. So I missed the chance for that big education that I could have had.

HM: Then you mentioned something about the boys getting ready to go to the service. Did Hideaki go into the service out of camp?

YT: I think he went from camp, I'm not really sure. But I remember he being there at Fort Bragg and I don't know when Archie went, but he went too. So they both served in the service.

HM: Which branch did Archie serve?

YT: Both of them were army.

HM: When you left Bainbridge, were you leasing the land? What was the status of your home? Were you leasing the property where you were living?

YT: The status of our home?

HM: On Bainbridge. Did you own the land?

YT: No, we didn't own the land. I think Mr. Nakao allowed us stay in his house, so that's where we were at the time. My dad worked for Mr. Joel at that time.

HM: And what was he doing for Mr. [Joel]?

YT: I think kind of a bookkeeping kind of thing.

HM: And was Mr. Joel a farmer?

YT: Yes.

HM: So, after the war was over, then you actually had no place to really come back to the island?

YT: Well, we had no place to come back to the island because we didn't own that, so like I said, Mr. Tsujimoto was the closest thing to my dad from Japan, so he made sure that he found his way back and we stayed, my dad and two girls stayed with him in Seattle for a while until I got back from Salt Lake City and then we bought our house and moved away from them. But we were that close. I mean, they were like father and mother to us if my dad wasn't there.

HM: How do you feel about what happened to you during the war ...you and your family during World War II? How do you feel about the whole...

YT: Evacuation thing?

MH: Evacuation and everything.

YT: Well, I don't think it really hurt us, because we didn't have property and my dad's farming wasn't doing that well anyway, so it was a new beginning for him, I guess. And for me, going to Salt Lake City to be with Mr. Tsujimoto's daughter and learning how to do tailoring work in a factory, I think it helped me how to sew and I was able to make my kid sister's clothes, and it must have been uncomfortable you know, sewing any which way I did it, but they wore it and my dad was proud that I could do that.

<Begin Segment 5>

HM: What was Bainbridge like when you were living here on the island? Did you interact with the Caucasian community or did you interact more with the Japanese community?

YT: Well, when we were on the island, we couldn't afford going out because I got two sisters and two brothers to take care of so I couldn't join any club. Although for a short time, I was a member of the Japanese women's... you know, what do you call it?

HM: Fujinkai or something?

YT: Fujinkai, or something, so I was a member of that for a short while, but I had no time for other activities like scouts and things that the other kids got to do.

HM: Now did your younger brothers and sisters, were they more involved in...

YT: Pardon me?

HM: Were your younger brothers and sisters more involved with the other people...

YT: Yeah, they could go wherever they wanted, they could stay after school and watch football, whereas I'd have to go home to take care of my kid sisters. So I think my dad was more lenient with them than with me, so they got to do what they wanted to do. But then there wasn't no organization like the kids have now, so they didn't go swimming lessons and soccer and all that kind of stuff.

HM: Did your family visit many Japanese families here on the island?

YT: On the island? The Wakayama ken used to get together so I remember going to their meetings and then they would have refreshments and that kind of thing and you know, a regular get-together and my dad enjoyed those.

HM: Do you remember any picnics or Japanese movies?

YT: Yes, I remember the Bainbridge picnics and that's another one. Mrs. Tsujimoto knew I didn't have a mother, I couldn't make sushi and the bentos that other people made, so she would make the bento and her daughter would bring it across on the boat and we'd always have something. She was really that close to us. She made the bento for us every picnic I remember. And she's the one that made sure that when school started, we had new clothes, you know, she couldn't buy us a whole set, but she made sure we had some new clothes, because we couldn't go shopping or anything of the sort, so she was a mother to me, for sure. Big loss when she was gone. And Mrs. Chihara was another one that was close to me.

HM: Did you do like mochitsuki and things?

YT: Yes, I remember going. I think we used to go to Chiharas to mochitsuki and I don't know where else, but we always had some.

HM: Did you go to the Japanese Baptist church?

YT: Well, we used to go to Hirakawas', and I've been to the Seattle Baptist Church, but then after my mother died, my dad, well, there was a lot of Episcopalians in Seattle, the Japanese bunch that Mr. Taniguchi, those that knew my dad, they encouraged him to have my mother baptized as Episcopalian, So she was baptized before she died, so then after she died, they told my dad that we should be all baptized. So one day, he says, "We're going to Seattle and we're going to church." Well, we didn't know what we were getting into. We went to church and they met us at the ferry, took us to church and baptized us at St. Peter's Episcopal in Seattle and we're members of it since.

HM: When did your family move to the island and from where?

YT: When did we move? I think it was shortly after Hideaki was born, so that was 1924, '23, in there, '24, '25? I understand my dad said that Hideaki had pneumonia or something when we lived in Seattle, and the doctor advised them to take Hideaki where there's fresh air, so that's when we moved to Bainbridge. I could see the house, but I don't know what you'd call it now because the streets have all ready changed. But we weren't farmers. We lived in a big house, and our neighbors were Matsushitas, and I don't know if you remember, but there was Kinoshitas, and the Sakais weren't too far away. So we used to play with them.

HM: Were there any other Bainbridge families that you remember from your childhood?

YT: Let me see. Well, the Wakayama bunch... they always got together, so the Nishinakas were Wakayama I think, the Chihara, Kinos, so we got together with them, I think, annually, and at the picnics.

HM: What did you do at the picnics, and what kind of food was eaten and were the games played?

YT: Well, at the picnic, the food, it was mostly Japanese style, because it was Isseis at the time. But we got that from Mrs. Tsujimoto, so we had all the goodies that everybody else was eating. And we used to join in and play games, you know, whatever they were playing.

HM: Did they play Japanese games?

YT: I don't remember any Japanese games. Even now, is there a Japanese game?

HM: Yeah, they do have some Japanese picnic type games.

YT: Well, we must have joined them at the time.

HM: Let's see. After you got back from the camp, your sisters and brothers were older, so how did that change your position in the family and your responsibilities in the family?

YT: Well, when I got back from Salt Lake City, the kids were already in high school, I'm sure they were both, the youngest ones were in high school, so I continued sewing in the factory, and we made it. Hideaki was still in the service, Archie used to work for the Kobas during the summer months when he went to college, and my dad never worked.

HM: I remember going to your house, was it on Sixteenth?

YT: Eighteenth. Well, you came to the house?

HM: Yes, I overstayed my stay at your house.

YT: [Laughs] I don't think so.

HM: You lived next door to Yosh?

YT: Nakagawas. And we're still good friends.

HM: Now did you keep in touch with many of the people who you met in camp?

YT: I did, for a long time.

<Begin Segment 6>

HM: All right. Now, what do you think is the importance of what we're trying to do here now?

YT: Well, you know, we've forgotten a lot of things, and at the time, our parents, or my father never discussed evacuation as such, I don't know why, but we never asked questions either, but now, I do think it's real important. We've forgotten a lot of things but just recently, I was talking to Yosh Nakagawa and he was telling us how important it really was to get all this recorded and put into the archives and all that kind of thing, and so I believe him. I think it's important and like I say, we waited too long so lot of things are lost, you know, we don't remember. But then the younger kids don't know too much. even if we tell them, they can't believe it. So if it goes into... I've collected a lot of these articles on evacuation, and what the President had to say, I'm hoping that my grandkids would read all that and learn from it. I got a collection of those things that I've clipped that I have to do something with.

HM: So what would you like to say to the visitors who come to this memorial?

YT: What would I say to those people that come to the memorial? Well, I don't know, but I think it's very important, you know. Like the memorial that they are building over there at the Eagle Harbor site, I think it's a tribute to the Isseis, and they really mean a lot to them I think, and I'm glad they are doing it. Someday, I think it will mean something to all the Sansei and the Yonseis.

HM: And what about the rest of the populace?

YT: Rest of the what?

HM: What about the rest of the people? People who are not Yonseis, Sanseis?

YT: I don't know.

HM: Non-Japanese people

YT: Non-Japanese? Well, there's quite a few that's interested. And I've noticed when I do come over to the island, the first time they had this meeting on this memorial thing, I noticed some of my classmates were there, so I think they're interested and I'm sure they would back us up, a lot of this historical stuff.

HM: What do you want the visitors to take home with them when they visit the memorial? What do you want them to learn or feel or see or...

YT: What do you want them to take home? Well, I think when they tour the memorial, you can't help but realize the importance of it, so I think they're going to learn a lot from it, and they will remember because they are part of it. The older ones would know what we went through, the younger ones will be learning more as the older ones pass and the story goes. They are carried on by the younger ones. I think it will mean something to them.

HM: Let's say someone came from Massachusetts or some other place in the country, and came to visit the memorial, what would you like them to learn from this?

YT: Well, they would know what we went through, and I think to know that there's a memorial for that, would give them a lasting impression of what we went though at the time, and I think that should be important and I think they would appreciate seeing something like that.

<Begin Segment 7>

HM: Do you remember hearing the news... you said you were in Seattle when the news came that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. And could you tell us a little more about how you heard about it and what you felt as soon as you heard this news?

YT: As soon as I heard about Pearl Harbor? Well, it was hard to believe, you know. You wouldn't think Japanese would do something like that. I mean, that was horrible. The first thing I did was call Mrs. Tsujimoto and I said, "What do you think?" And she said her husband was taken the first day, I think, to the internment camp, And so she was crying, she didn't know what to do either. So, she said, "Don't worry, somehow we're going to get through this," and if I'm stuck there by myself, she says they'll make sure that I'll evacuate with them, when the time comes, but let's hope that I get to go back to Bainbridge so I could be with my family. That was the main concern for her.

HM: Where were you when you heard about Pearl Harbor? Were you by yourself or were you with somebody?

YT: No, I was working as a maid, and it was early in the morning, I don't remember that early but it was Sunday, I think, and usually Sunday is my day off so I got up early enough to do what I was supposed to do and then I would take the bus and go into town to visit my friends. So I did. I mean, I wasn't afraid of anything at the time. I know the war had started but then, I decided I'm going to go see them, and I took the bus and went downtown and nothing happened. Nobody said anything to me. So I made it home that night, safely. And then of course the family that I worked for, they were older folks, and they were more concerned about me being away from my family, but they didn't want me to leave 'em just now because they no replacement, live-in to help them. It must have been a week afterwards that Ms. McCullough took me to the Federal Hall, and I come back and said, "I have to leave tonight." I'm sure it was upsetting for them, but they didn't want to hold me back, so I packed what little I had, and left.

HM. You left your employment from Seattle and went back to the island. Do you remember when you came back? During that time when you came back to the island, what was it like? Did you have to register? What kinds of things did your family have to go through before the evacuation?

YT: I don't think so. Well, you know, it's not like now, where you visit, and you talk, I don't think we had TV or anything of the sort. So most people were shocked or in their homes quietly, and wondering what their next move would be. So, I don't remember hearing too much at the time or seeing what was going on. Nobody said anything to me when I came across on the ferry or got off, you know. Nobody on the island, I don't think there were that many people that were against us or... so I didn't have no bad experience.

HM: Did any of the Japanese, like Maggie and those people, come to your house, or anyone from the Japanese American community come to your house to let you kind of know what was going to be involved in the evacuation?

YT: Somebody must have, but I don't remember that part of it.

HM: So there was nothing for you to prepare to go to camp?

YT: Not really until word was around that we have to leave on such and such a day, and you could only take two suitcases or whatever you could carry. And one thing I remember is taking my iron, electric iron, because I figured no matter what, you have to iron your clothes, and it was heavy, but that's one thing, I remember telling my dad we have to have that. But it was sad, we left all the good things like those Japanese dolls, like Boys Day and Girls Day, we left all of that. I don't know what happened to them.

HM: Did you store anything like in the Japanese Hall?

YT: No, we didn't store anything.

HM: Left everything in the house?

YT: No time for that kind of stuff.

HM: Do you remember anything about going on the ferry itself?

YT: No, we had to go. We marched on. The soldiers helped us get off and escorted us on.

HM: Do you remember what the atmosphere was like on the ferry and on the train?

YT: No, I really don't, you know. I don't remember recalling any conversation of any kind. I guess everybody was kind of shocked. I really don't remember any noise going on or... all those soldiers were good to us, I mean, they must have felt sorry for us. I don't remember hearing any conversation.

HM: What about your own thoughts? Did you have any?

YT: Well, we didn't know where we were going, when we were coming back. It was kind of scary. But other than that, I don't remember. And then we're on the train, going, where, we didn't know where we were headed for.

HM: It is scary. Tell us anything more about this experience, about your family, or after you got back, down the road. How did this whole experience determine how you raised your own family and what have you passed on to your children and your grandchildren?

YT: I don't know. But lot of people have given me a lot of credit for bringing my kids up, you know. They said at least they have their education. My oldest brother didn't go to college, but Archie did well, and Ruth went to, what do you call those college, and she took up secretarial work and she's doing all right, and Jane did bookkeeping things, and she did all right. And my dad always said, "You're the only one that didn't get no education," and he felt sorry for me. But then I did all right. And it's really amazing, when I look back I think, I'm not bragging or anything but I think I did pretty good making sure my kids... it's not my kids, but they didn't go wild. My dad was strict too, so we made it, and the boys did real well. And I try to tell my grandkids what we did, and when they don't do things, I say, my goodness, you couldn't do half of the things that I had to do. I mean, I didn't do a good job at it, but I said, now, they depend on their mother, and all these modern machines so they don't have to do half of the things. I said, "You don't know how lucky you are," to appreciate what, you know, their living condition is right now. They could do whatever they want without worrying. Like we didn't get to do anything because we were so poor at the time. But thanks to Mrs. Tsujimoto and Mrs. Chihara for helping me because they were really a second mother to me. That's my life.

HM: That's great. It's a nice story.