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MA: Okay, so today is July 28, 2008, and I'm here with Chiyoko Yagi. We're in the Kizuka Hall of the Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL in Watsonville, California. So thank you so much for doing this interview. I'm really excited. So I just wanted to start with a few basic questions. So when were you born?

CY: July 25, 1920, and I was born in San Juan Bautista, California.

MA: And what was your, the name given to you at birth?

CY: The name of (Chiyoko).

MA: The name that your parents gave you.

CY: Chiyoko Matsumoto.

MA: And a little bit about your, your father and your mother. So what was your father's name?

CY: Isaku, I-S-A-K-U (Matsumoto).

MA: Matsumoto.

CY: (Yes).

MA: Isaku Matsumoto. And where was he from in Japan?

CY: Yamaguchi-ken, Takamori-mura.

MA: Do you know what his family did in Japan, what occupation?

CY: I have no idea. I wished I asked. [Laughs]

MA: And where did he, sort of, settle when he first came over to the U.S.?

CY: He came to Hawaii in 1903. And he worked a few years to come to America. And he came to America during the earthquake, so he couldn't land in San Francisco, he landed in Oakland.

MA: So he was in Oakland for a few years and then...

CY: No, he came to Watsonville. See, they all seem to have come to Watsonville. It seemed like they, either their friends are here or something, they all came to Watsonville.

MA: And then a little bit about your mother. How did he meet your mother?

CY: I think it's "picture bride," but she's from Yamaguchi-ken, too, and her maiden name is Shio Kuramoto.

MA: So they, she came over to the U.S. to marry your father?

CY: She came in 1911. The day she came, they got married. I have the passport and the marriage license. I finally gave it to my sister because I'm getting old and I want to make sure somebody has it in the family. So I just mailed it to her. [Laughs]

MA: Did they get married in Watsonville?

CY: San Francisco. Got married in San Francisco.

MA: Do you know how old she was when she came over?

CY: Gee, that's... she was the eldest in the family, and she didn't get married sooner because they had no son. And just before she got married, they had a son, so she has a brother that was quite a bit younger.

MA: And what, I'm just curious about your mother and father and what they were like, what their personalities are like, what they were like as people?

CY: Oh, they're very strict. [Laughs] (And hardworking).

MA: They were strict with the kids growing up?

CY: Yeah, uh-huh.

<End Segment 1> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL. All Rights Reserved.