<Begin Segment 4>

JS: So can you tell me a little bit about your father and your uncle and...

SK: Well, I'll tell you a little bit about my family's background.

JS: Okay.

SK: My... in Hiroshima, my father was one of the, one of the younger kids. And the oldest brother came to Fresno, but anyway, before that, my grandfather's younger brother came to the United States back in approximately 1898, and went to Sacramento, that was the hometown. I mean, that's our background. He went to Hawaii first, and then soon afterward, came to Sacramento, and they started a store over there. And I guess my father's older brother later came to the United States, and they lived in Sacramento. And about 1910, they, my uncle came to Fresno and opened the store here. And I guess it was a grocery store.

JS: Aki store?

SK: Yes.

JS: Do you know why your uncle decided to come to Fresno from Sacramento?

SK: I really don't know why, but I have relatives over there. My father's first cousin was from... I mean, they live in Sacramento. And if you're from that area or know something about them, their name was Kataoka. And if you know a little bit of San Francisco, his brother ran the hotel. And I don't know if you remember those stories, I mean, those... when I say Aki Hotel in San Francisco, everybody seems to know them. But I remember going over there during my early age. But I used to play with kids from Sacramento, I mean, they were... in a way, they were related. And...

TI: Sat, can we go back to your, so your uncle came to Fresno about 1910?

SK: 1910.

TI: When did your father come to...

SK: Oh, much later. He was the youngest of his family, so I guess he must have been here approximately 1920, so it was quite a bit later.

TI: So while his father, while your grandfather was in the United States, your father was being raised in Japan?

SK: Oh, yes.

TI: And then he came over later around 1920 to follow his older brother?

SK: Well, I guess you naturally would... well, if you were... you know that he'd seek his own brother. But he had... let's see now. They all seem to brag about their background, everybody. But I don't know how, whether they're telling the truth or not. But let me see now. He's been to university in Japan, my father did. Waseda, uh-huh. And my mother was the youngest of the, all her brothers and sister. They did pretty well. I think her oldest brother probably helped her grow up, maybe was like a father to her, 'cause the oldest must be about twenty, twenty-five years older. But she was the youngest in the group, I mean, of all the sisters, and then two other sisters, like I said, were in America then, I mean, later. They were here a few years before she did, and I think it was quite a coincidence that it happened the way it did, I mean, to have all three sisters living in the same town.

TI: But can you explain how your mother met your father?

SK: Well, I'm sure it's a baishakunin deal.

TI: But this was done in Japan?

SK: Oh, yes, uh-huh.

TI: Okay, so let me see if I can summarize this. So your father was born and raised and educated in Japan, went to Waseda, and he married your mother probably through arranged marriage. Your mother was the youngest...

SK: Of three sisters. But like I say, he... let's see now. He was able to... I don't know if he ever graduated or not, but he attended the university out there. So he did get quite a bit of an education, even when, in his younger days, he went to... let's see, Commercial College of Fresno. He can speak as well as I can in English.

TI: That'd be really unusual for a Nisei. So why did he leave Japan? He's well-educated, I'm sure there must have been opportunities for him in Japan.

SK: Oh, I don't know. Maybe he wanted to see his brother. But I really don't know why they came over here. I know it's arranged marriage, but my mother's sisters were here, and his brother was here. I don't know why he would come.

JS: Uh-huh, land of opportunity.

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