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TI: Today is Tuesday, June 16, 2009. We're in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On camera is Dana Hoshide, and I'm the interviewer, Tom Ikeda. And so, Yo, let's start off with the very beginning. Can you tell me when you were born?

YM: I was born July 12, 1921.

TI: And where were you born?

YM: In San Diego, California.

TI: And was that like a medical facility, like a hospital you were born in?

YM: No. I believe myself and my sisters and brothers were born at home. My mother used a midwife.

TI: And whereabouts in San Diego were you born?

YM: Well, right in the city. Right in...

TI: Okay, and what was the given name when you were born? What was the name given to you?

YM: Yoshio Matsumoto.

TI: So did you have a middle name at that point?

YM: No, I wasn't given a middle name.

TI: Okay, good. You mentioned siblings. So let's first talk about your siblings.

YM: I have an older sister, Tamiko, and then after me comes Michiko, and the youngest is Kazuo.

TI: And what was the age difference between...

YM: My sister was born, I believe, in 1919, she's about two years older than me. Michiko was born, I believe, about 1928 or so, and Kazuo was born in, I'd say, about 1932.

TI: Okay, I'm just noting, so there's quite a bit of age difference between you and Michiko. Do you know why?

YM: No, I don't.

TI: So let's, let me first ask about your father. Can you tell me your father's name and where he was from?

YM: My father's name is Ryoichi Matsumoto. And I believe he is from Hiroshima. I'm not sure, 'cause I never discussed that with him, unfortunately. He came to the United States as a twenty year old in 1906, arriving in San Francisco aboard a Japanese steamer the day after the Great San Francisco Earthquake. So I think they, the disembarkation was in Oakland, probably. My mother probably came over -- my dad went back to Japan and married my mother. I don't know exactly when.

TI: Before we go there, I'm curious. So do you know why your father came to Japan?

YM: Came to the United States.

TI: Or came to the United States, I'm sorry, yes.

YM: I don't know whether it's true, but I heard somewhere that he was probably avoiding the military. In 1906, Japan was at war with Russia. And I don't know whether he came over to avoid being drafted, or whether he came over for education or whatever.

TI: Do you know if he had, if he had brothers or sisters, your father?

YM: No. He had a stepsister. My dad's father, I understand, died when he was an infant, and his mother remarried. And this person had a daughter. And I met her once, some time in 1966, I think it was. She was an older woman by that time. But that's about all I know. I remember my dad used to send money to her so she could build a home. And that's about all I know about her. I haven't kept in touch with her since I met her in 1966.

TI: Okay. So your father came about 1906, he was twenty. On that first trip over, do you know what he did, what kind of work he did or where he was?

YM: I have no idea. I kind of expect he... I think he worked as a houseboy, possibly he worked on the farm. And I'm not sure exactly what he did.

TI: Okay, and then you said he then returned to Japan.

YM: I think he returned to Japan probably, I would guess, around 1915 or 1916 or whatever. The reason I say that is my sister was born in 1919, and I assume she was born shortly after they got married.

TI: So tell me a little bit about your mother. What was her name and where was she from?

YM: Well, she was born in Hiroshima. Not in the city Hiroshima but in one of the small towns outside of Hiroshima called Bingo Saijo. And it's a country town, they had a farm there. And she had two brothers, an older brother and a younger brother. And she went to, I think after high school, she went to Tokyo and attended a school of art or something like that. Her younger brother left home and went to Tokyo and attended Todai, Tokyo University, and got his medical degree there. And the younger, the older brother stayed with the mother on the farm.

TI: And again, her name, and maiden name was?

YM: Yabuki.

TI: So Yoshi Yabuki?

YM: Yoshi Yabuki, yeah.

TI: Good.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.