<Begin Segment 4>

JS: So tell me about your mother.

[Interruption]

NM: [Referring to photograph] (Narr. note: This picture was taken in the pool hall in the basement in 1920. They closed the pool hall a couple of hours and used the place to teach sewing with the sewing machine. The four ladies in the photo sitting left to right are: Mrs. Tochiura, Ms. Inouye, Mrs. Masuda and Mrs. Hamasumi. Standing is Mrs. S. Ito, the teacher.)

TI: So like a sensei, like a teacher, sensei?

NM: You got that from me?

JS: Yes.

NM: [Laughs] I thought it was the same one. It's all in one piece.

JS: Right.

NM: Oh, that's nice.

JS: So your mother learned to sew.

NM: And then, yeah, they had to learn how to sew. So that's how they... my mother made all my shorts, shirts, and all that, yeah.

JS: Did she sell any of the clothes?

NM: Huh?

JS: Did she make clothes to sell at the store? Did she sell any clothes? No?

NM: No.

JS: Well, she made the clothes for the children.

NM: No, we have a store, and we had an apartment, two-bedroom apartment. We were, four of us, there was a two-bedroom, and then a small kitchen, and we just ate breakfast there. Then we'd go to the store, and that was our main place, the store. Then when we came home, we come home together and then we go to sleep. Then there was about four of us, two boys and the two sister, then the main one was in Japan already, but I didn't know about that. So I found out way late. But then after that, my, had another baby girl, but she died pretty young. And then altogether we had nine kids.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.