<Begin Segment 27>

TI: Now, how about your oldest brother? Did you see him when you were in Japan?

NM: No. When I went to Hiroshima, see, I was there 1946, July, end of July, I was in Tokyo. And then I was assigned in Tokyo Allied Office there. And then when I got out, I went to see my... I didn't get out yet, I was in the army yet. Because I got the train ride free all the way to Hiroshima, and then come back. I was in the army, yeah. I got my discharge about, maybe in February, I guess. And then I went to Yokohama. Anyway, when I went to Hiroshima, my oldest brother... I want to shoot a telegram to Japan, my brother's place, ojichan, uncle. And I had one of my friend, Japanese friend, write a letter. I tell 'em I'm coming to Hiroshima on certain day. It took me twenty-two hours. Twenty-two hours, all day ride, it's [inaudible], you know. And charcoal, you get dark. Anyway, when I went there, Hiroshima, big, the people, there's no station there. There's a wall there, but that was the station. They're not using that, 'cause they were bombed out, everything. Then I found out that that building was just blasted, and then they just had the wall, so they were gonna fix it. And today, they got it fixed real nice now. Oh, wow. Anyway, I went there, how do I see my ojichan? What does he look like? I was watching, and then here comes somebody with a long flag that says, "Masuda Matsunosuke." That's my uncle. [Laughs] He was there, and he looks just like my dad, so I couldn't miss him. Yeah, that's how it was. That was easy. 'Cause he came in, and then he took me back into his place. Half hour ride. You know how I had to go back? You know, it was three-wheel motorcycle? I got to stand in the back, ojichan's standing there, he's eighty-something, he was. He was there, and then I rode in the back, standing up, half-hour ride. It was scary, yeah. Anyway, I went to see the first time, and then when I saw that, oh, it was blasted. Hiroshima was really blasted. Nothing was there except that monument, we went there. Before that...

TI: But what happened to your brother? Where was your oldest brother?

NM: Oh, yeah, I asked my ojichan, "Kazuto genki?" And he said, he started crying and he said, "Oh, nakanatta." He got killed. He got sunk in some ship. He was on the sunk ship that got bombed out. So that was that. So that was ojichan, obachan, my brother's wife, and she had one kid, a girl. But I'm glad that girl is still alive, and she's the only one, Masuda, that I knew, my niece, now. And then my ojichan wanted me to marry... I tell him, "No, I can't marry anybody right now."

TI: Oh, so let me make sure I understand. So your uncle wanted you to marry your oldest brother's wife, because she was a widow?

NM: Yeah.

TI: And so he wanted you to marry her, so you could take care of her.

NM: He wants me to marry her, see, and carry on the Masuda. But she grew up, and she got three boys, and it's all well set now. By god, they were rich, too. We were poor.

TI: Oh, so your uncle was rich?

NM: Yeah, he has a lot of property. He got a big home, one big home here and another building here, another sleeping quarter right next to it, and he got a lot of rice property. He got about ten of them around there, ten parcels, you know.

TI: So did that, did that surprise you when you saw all of the land?

NM: Yeah, it surprised me. Gee, I had a rough time, my time. [Laughs] And I thought I'm gonna go to a poor house. Oh, he had a big house.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.