<Begin Segment 5>

SY: Was, was your father an educated man in Japan?

AM: Well, I know that whenever memorial services or when people died, they'd come to our place and he would conduct a service, and he sounded like a bonsan.

SY: You're gonna have to tell me what that is, bonsan.

AM: And along that line, he also taught how to sing different shigin, utai, "Nani wa Bushii," all kinds of song.

SY: And a, what is a bonsan? I'm sorry, I don't know.

AM: A bonsan? A priest, reverend or, I'm not sure what you call a Buddhist.

SY: So he was, he was well versed in Buddhism, then.

AM: Yeah.

SY: And is that how he raised his family? Were you active in the Buddhist church?

AM: When I was a youngster, yes, I had to follow them and put makeups on when they had events.

SY: Interesting. So that was another center for Japanese Americans then, in those days. Was there a Buddhist church in, that you went to regularly?

AM: I don't know how regularly it was, but in the main, in the big events, I know we always had to go.

SY: And which one did you go to?

AM: [Laughs] I'm not sure if it was the Nishi Hongwanji or the Higashi Hongwanji.

SY: So you went downtown to the Buddhist church. There wasn't one in the Venice, Santa Monica area?

AM: Not then, I don't think. No.

SY: So that must've been a big deal for you to go downtown. I mean, it's a little bit of a trip.

AM: Yeah. We got to meet my parents' friends' children in those times.

SY: I see. And you were fairly young then, during the '30s.

AM: Yes. It was, let's see now, when the Second World, when the war with Japan started I was fifteen.

SY: So that was Pearl Harbor.

AM: Yeah.

SY: I see. And prior to that time, where had you gone to school?

AM: Well, I started Japanese school at Venice. American school in Venice, I think it was at the Playa Vista. I'm not sure of the name, but the same spot that it's located now. And then the next place I remember is Moneta Gakuen, and then I remember Sawtelle Japanese School. But just a few years prior to evacuation, I went to Santa Monica Gakuen.

SY: So you were traveling around, your family was traveling around quite a bit.

AM: Yeah, quite a bit.

SY: To go from Venice, Sawtelle, to Gardena, and then back. And do you remember your earliest memories? What do you remember, where do you remember living?

AM: I remember living in Venice. I remember we were playing, what's it called, kick the can, and it was my turn to count on, with my head down on the can, that's when the Long Beach earthquake struck and I was knocked to the ground. I remember that. And I remember, I think my father was trying to make me strong or something, but he caught a gopher snake or something in the outdoor bathroom and he wrapped it around my neck. And I never got over that, I was always scared of snakes. [Laughs] Just the opposite happened to me.

SY: Wow. So was your father very strict? He must've been very strict.

AM: I think so.

SY: And how else would you characterize him? What was he like?

AM: Well, he was probably an assistant judo sensei and assistant kendo sensei. He also did sumo. And both his brothers were good at, well, Uncle Shitsuke was very good in judo. In fact, I think he attained a seventh or eighth degree black belt. I heard my younger uncle, Toyone, he was slender, but I heard that he was very good in sumo. And on weekends my father and I used to put boxing gloves on and spar with each other, or we did, we tried to knock each other doing judo, and I could never understand how he could flip me so easily. I didn't find out the reason until when I was an adult, when I got into the martial arts more deeply, what he was doing.

SY: So when you were young, he didn't have you go to learn all these sports as a child?

AM: Yes, I did.

SY: You did.

AM: It was konbanwa judo, konbanwa kendo, but I didn't regret that later.

SY: So you were, resisted at the time, though?

AM: I thought I did. [Laughs]

SY: So he must've spent a lot of time away from home doing all those kinds of activities.

AM: Yeah. That, plus he was kind of like a community volunteer. Whenever they had to raise money or something he'd go out and solicit for the community. Yeah.

SY: Wow.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.