<Begin Segment 8>
TI: Let's go back and talk now about school. So you talked briefly, you said you went to a Oriental school? So describe that. What was school like when you went to school?
WM: We used to fight with Chinese. [Laughs]
TI: So the Oriental school, tell me who was there. So you had Japanese and Chinese?
WM: Yeah.
TI: Anyone else?
WM: No.
TI: And were there more Japanese or more Chinese at the school?
WM: Even, I think.
TI: Okay. And so you said sometimes you would fight?
WM: Not too much. We played with the white people, used to fight with them.
TI: I'm sorry, say that again? The white people used to fight with the...
WM: With us. And then we'd play basketball or something in grammar school.
TI: Oh, so the Japanese team would play the white team?
WM: Yeah.
TI: And you would fight? So why would a fight break out? What would happen that...
WM: Then the principal or somebody would stop that all the time.
TI: Yeah, so the principal would stop it, but what would start it?
WM: I don't know. [Laughs]
TI: So going back to the Chinese...
WM: Chinese, they're not too bad.
TI: But when you did fight, or maybe not fight, but...
WM: Argue and everything.
TI: Would you argue sometimes?
WM: Yeah.
TI: Do you remember what you would argue about?
WM: One thing was from China people came, and the Japanese have the farm in school, they used to pick 'em out and they said, "Don't take it." They still take it, and they fight, and all guys did it. We didn't do nothing. Then the Chinese guy got broken arm and everything, and then next day they didn't come to school.
TI: My microphone fell off. But so let me ask you, can you tell me again what happened? So there was a Chinese boy who had his arm broken.
WM: Yeah.
TI: And why was his arm...
WM: They used to steal the cabbage or something, they had farm on the school, then they said, "Don't take anymore," still come and take it.
TI: So this Chinese boy took this cabbage...
WM: Yeah, they said, the Japanese schoolboys, all the guys went after them. [Laughs]
TI: Oh, okay. So the Chinese boy, although people told them, "Don't take the cabbage," he took this cabbage.
WM: Cabbage or something, I forgot now. Something they had planted over there.
TI: Sure. And where did he take this cabbage? Was it from a Japanese farm, or...
WM: Yeah, Japanese farm. You know that school? The grammar school? They had farm over there, on the side.
TI: Okay. So the people said, "Don't take the food," the Chinese boy did, and so the Japanese, some Japanese boys...
WM: Yeah, boys.
TI: ...they beat him up?
WM: Yeah.
TI: And he broke his arm. And so then the Chinese boy didn't come back to school.
WM: No, one day they didn't come. Thursday it happened, I think, and Friday they didn't come to school.
TI: Now, did that cause any problems between the Japanese families and the Chinese families? Did they have to talk about it afterwards?
WM: Then they're friends again. That Chinese boys, came from China, that's what, the local kids was okay.
TI: Oh, okay. So there was a difference between, sometimes, so the Chinese Americans, the ones who were born here...
WM: They're okay. But from China guys.
TI: Oh, so he didn't do this. And so other than that, were there other, maybe, arguments? Did the Japanese and Chinese ever, like, argue or talk about Japan and China? Because Japan and China...
WM: Yeah, they didn't say nothing about that one.
TI: They never fought. How about your father or mother? Did they ever talk about China or the Chinese?
WM: No. My dad don't say nothing much. They didn't tell our cousin, too. [Laughs]
<End Segment 8> - Copyright (c) 2009 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.