Densho Digital Archive - Jiro Sugidono Interview (denshovh-sjiro-01-0003)

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TI: So let's talk about your parents a little bit. Let's first talk about your father.

JS: Oh, (yes). I don't know when he came from Japan, but he must have came up early, 'cause when he came over here, someone said that he learned English at the church, you know, our Christian church. 'Cause we had some, couple of American ladies helping. I think he must have learned from that, 'cause he didn't know several word of American from Japan. 'Cause from what I know, he speak good English. In fact, I think when he went to Heald College, that must have been 1918 or 1919, somewhere around there. 'Cause I don't know if my wife showed you, but he had a... well, application or something for him to come at World War (I), and he's supposed to go in the army at that time. I thought he did, but they said, "Oh, he was called but he didn't go." 'Cause I know a friend of ours, Dr. Ito, he was in World War (I) -- I mean, in World War I. That's the only one I know that, Issei that was in World War I.

TI: Okay, so let me make sure I understand all this. So when your father first came from Japan, he didn't know hardly any English.

JS: (Yes).

TI: But then when he came to Watsonville, he learned at the church more English.

JS: (Yes), I think he, that's where he learned it.

TI: And about during this time, he also got, like, this notice or some kind of notice about possibly serving in the military during World War I.

JS: (Yes), right.

TI: But he didn't go.

JS: No, I don't know what happened, 'cause that was, must have been around 1918 or whatnot, about '19, around there, 'cause the war was over by then.

TI: And do you know how your father met your mother?

JS: Well, actually, what I heard about my father and my mother was telling me, especially my mother, that Sugidono, in the country, they live in the upper part of the mountain, and Fujimoto, that's my mother's maiden name, they were on the lower part of the mountain. And I guess that's how they know each other, and the story goes that my mother told my wife, Jane, that when my father went back to Japan to get married -- and I don't know if that was around 1918 or 1919 -- anyway, he went back and he was gonna marry the older Fujimoto daughter, but she didn't want to go. [Laughs] And the funny part is my mother, she was only sixteen, and she volunteered that she wanted to get married and go to America. And you know, I guess she heard that there's lot of opportunities in the United States and everything, and so she went with my father and my father married her instead. And later on, she found out, oh, she wished she was back in Japan. She didn't know it was so hard, you know, trying to make a living over here without knowing English or anything. 'Cause there was a lot of, I think later on I found out there was a lot of Issei ladies like my mother would really like to go back to Japan. 'Cause a lot of 'em got fooled from the picture bride. When they came over, they found out it was, there was a bunch of men standing. [Laughs] But fortunately, my father went there in person, so she knew what she was getting into. But she didn't know how hard they had to work to keep a living.

TI: And what was the age difference between your father and mother?

JS: Oh, my father was, it was more than me and my wife. Me and my wife is close to twelve years, and my father and my mother, I guess it could be, maybe close to twenty. 'Cause she was sixteen, I think my father was... (yes), he must have been in the twenty-something or better.

TI: Okay, so...

JS: It must have been over twenty (years) anyway.

TI: About twenty years. And so tell me, I forgot to ask, what was your father's name?

JS: Well, his Japanese name was Saichiro, but later, when he came to the United States, he took the American name of Roy. So that's why there's a picture of that shop he had, it kind of says, Roy Garage. So that was his name, Roy Saichiro.

TI: And your mother's name was?

JS: It was Asa. Well, naturally her maiden name was Fujimoto.

TI: And where in Japan were their families from?

JS: Oh, (yes). My father and my mother was Yamaguchi-ken, and the prefecture is, was it Yanai? I think it's Yanai.

TI: Yeah, I don't know.

JS: (Yes), see, it's in Yamaguchi-ken, but it's that village is Yanai or something like that, I forget what it was. 'Cause there's, in Watsonville, they got quite a bit people came from Yamaguchi. 'Cause I know the Shikuma and all those bigger old-time Watsonville now, there's quite a bit of people from the same area.