Densho Digital Archive
Preserving California's Japantowns Collection
Title: Kiyo Nikaido Morimoto Interview
Narrator: Kiyo Nikaido Morimoto
Interviewers: Jill Shiraki (primary); Tom Ikeda (secondary)
Location: Sacramento, California
Date: December 9, 2009
Densho ID: denshovh-mkiyo-01-0006

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JS: So let's talk a little bit more about going to visit your grandparents in Walnut Grove.

KM: Yes.

JS: So when would you go and stay with your grandparents?

KM: During the summer.

JS: During the summer.

KM: Yes.

JS: And you would stay with --

KM: I would stay with them.

JS: Okay, during the summer months. And would any of your siblings come as well, or just you?

KM: I think it was just me.

JS: Just you, okay. And what do you remember about spending time in Walnut Grove? What kinds of activities did you do?

KM: Well, there was a girl there, Sumi, and she would, I would go on her tricycle and run around Walnut Grove with her. That was Kawamura. And so I would go with them to the Chinatown and buy sour, you know, sweet plum, Chinese plum, or I would go to Ioka's grocery store, that's where I remember. Oh, then I, then every year I would look forward to marching from Walnut Grove to Locke with a lantern. I remember walking with a, on the river road with a lantern.

JS: And what was that for, what celebration?

KM: Hanamatsuri.

JS: Hanamatsuri? And so would you dress up?

KM: Yeah, we would wear kimono.

JS: Wore kimonos and carried lanterns. And who would march, the children?

KM: Yeah, most all the children in the family. I remember grownups marching, too.

JS: Was that for Hanamatsuri or was that for Obon?

KM: That, I can't exactly...

JS: Can't exactly remember? Okay.

KM: I remember that, marching down the river road.

JS: So you would march from, where would you start?

KM: From Walnut Grove.

JS: Uh-huh, and then all the way to...

KM: To Locke.

JS: To Locke.

KM: Uh-huh. And another thing, I would, my auntie was a Christian, so then my friends, we stayed upstairs in the church upstairs.

JS: At the Methodist church?

KM: Uh-huh.

JS: Do you remember any activities that were happening there at the Methodist church?

KM: No. I kind of remember the father was a minister, and we would go to the church on Sunday. But most of the time they just played around. And, like, one of my friends were Bessie Matsuoka, the Matsuoka brothers had a shoe... and Bessie, she, I was her friend. I would play with her when I went to Walnut Grove. She passed away. I never met her after she grew up, just when she's small.

JS: So she was one of your auntie's good friends, Bessie...

KM: Matsuoka.

JS: Matsuoka. And what was the name of the friend, the minister's daughter, do you remember her name at the Methodist church?

KM: Mary Saita.

JS: Saita.

KM: Had a funny name, huh? Saita. But she was my friend, but I never saw her after she grew up, either. Only one I saw was Margie Kawamura, they had a barber shop.

JS: And the barber shop was right next door to the boarding house.

KM: Yes.

JS: Okay. So you mentioned Iokas, and you would ride your bikes over there. What would buy, or what would you do at...

KM: Oh, yeah, my favorite food was ika, you know, calamari. But they're pickled --

JS: Dried?

KM: No, they pickled it in salt. We think it must have been in miso or something, but it was in a jar. But they had the best-tasting one. I remember eating that, and then we used to visit the fish store on the corner.

JS: The Maeda fish market?

KM: Uh-huh. And when she got married, I remember going to look at her, too.

JS: Oh, the bride? And what did you think about that?

KM: Yeah, I don't know. I was young then, six years old. I remember her.

JS: So it was exciting when there was a new bride that came into town.

KM: Yes, uh-huh.

JS: So everyone went to check out the new bride?

KM: Uh-huh.

JS: Mrs. Maeda still lives in town.

KM: Yes, she does.

JS: So what about other activities? I know that your uncle Roy was active with the...

KM: Yes. He liked to be actor, and they would like to do the samurai. I remember going to one of 'em, but it's just sort of a blur. But they were on the stage doing sword, with a sword. A samurai. They all talked, they all spoke Japanese. They were very good. I guess they all had to speak Japanese, my grandmother and grandfather that didn't speak any English.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2009 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.