<Begin Segment 7>

[This transcript has been extensively edited by the narrator.]

SY: And so what are your earliest memories of childhood?

GN: Oh, well, I remember my father very well. So, of course, we missed him a lot. He really (loved) us, and I was so sorry that he wasn't there for my brother. There was really a void in my brother's life. But my father had all these brothers, and they were very fond of my mother because she was kind of modern. One of my uncles (and his wife who) passed away (mentored my brother). My grandfather had four more children that were American citizens that were born here. So it was almost like two different families. He had a family in Japan and a family here. Of course, they were all brothers and sisters and very close.

SY: So he had a total of how many children?

GN: He had nine children.

SY: Four here and five (in Japan). And the ones that were born here were all sons.

GN: The ones who were born here? Yes, they were all sons. There were Joseph, Peter, Paul, and Daniel.

SY: So he gave them all...

GN: Bible names.

SY: Bible names, I see. And how old was your brother when your father died?

GN: My brother was only three.

SY: I see. So it was your nuclear family that lived in Highland Park.

GN: We rented a house. We could just go over the hill and my grandpa's house was on the (other) side. And later on my mother bought the house from my grandfather, their family house, she bought that later on (after both my Shinoda Grandparents had passed away).

SY: That was your father's family, though.

GN: Yes, my father's family. But we used to drive every Sunday (to Union Church and then) over to spend Sunday with my Grandma and Grandpa Watanabe, and my two aunts (who) never did get married. (Also) my uncle, my mother's brother, didn't get married until he was in his forties, (Tom Watanabe, M.D.).

SY: And they still lived in Little Tokyo area.

GN: They lived right behind Roosevelt High School on Eagle Street.

SY: So that's East Los Angeles.

GN: East Los Angeles.

SY: I see. So you really got to see all of Los Angeles, your relatives were spread out.

GN: And we had a car, so my mother took us places. My mother learned how to drive. One of her girlfriends from the Union Church who lived in the neighborhood, her name was Rosemary Matsuno (Sato), brother Bill Matsuno worked in his Grand Central Market, and they all came to Manzanar. They were friends from girlhood, and so they were both pregnant at the same time. She was carrying her first child, Gordon, and my mother with me. So Gordon and I have been almost inseparable since we were babies. He calls me his "sandbox buddy." [Laughs] And so he has become a world-famous... what kind of biologist is he?

SY: A scientist.

GN: What kind of biologist is Gordon, Yosh? A cellular biologist. He's world-famous. Almost all the cancer cures that they have today are based on his research, and he did come up with (the) research. And when we were in Manzanar, we also went to Manzanar (High School) because we evacuated with East L.A. If we had gone with where we lived, we would have gone to Gila River, but my mother wanted to be with her family when we evacuated.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.