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SY: And so we get to, then, the point at which you were born. Can you tell us what the date was and where exactly it was that you were born?

RN: Yeah. I was born in Venice, California, July 5, 1936. And we didn't spend that much time there, and then we moved into kind of the Atwater, Glendale area.

SY: How was it that they ended up in Venice? Venice being fifteen miles --

RN: You know, I don't know how they... I don't know.

SY: Were you born in a hospital in Venice?

RN: No, it was at home with a midwife, I know that much.

SY: And were you the firstborn?

RN: Yeah. There was only two of us, myself and my brother.

SY: And how many years younger?

RN: About six. Six years younger.

SY: Years younger. And his name is?

RN: Norman, or Noboru. Norman Noboru Nakamura.

SY: So, again, your parents gave you these American names.

RN: Yeah, yeah. Otherwise it's like my father, I know he just took it on because no one could pronounce Harukichi, so they called him George. But I know that wasn't his real name.

SY: Was he Japanese-speaking only?

RN: Yeah, he really never spoke English fluently. My mother was very bilingual, she spoke English without an accent and she was very fluent in Japanese.

SY: Do you know where she was born exactly?

RN: It's up north. I want to say like Walnut Creek, but I'm not sure.

SY: In the Bay Area somewhere.

RN: Yeah, Bay Area somewhere.

SY: And how many siblings did she have?

RN: She was an only child.

SY: An only child, wow. And your father really pretty much was on his own by this time, then, because the older uncle...

RN: Yeah, although I'm sure my uncle helped him out and everything. I'm pretty sure my uncle introduced him to another gardener who had an established route and kind of apprenticed under someone as a helper and then go off on your own. So I'm sure there was a network there, especially Kagoshima network from that area. 'Cause they have a huge kenjinkai picnic, so you know that there's a lot of Kagoshima people.

SY: The people... that's nice.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.