<Begin Segment 28>

TI :And then how long did your parents live?

TM: Both my parents lived 'til, they passed away in '79, they were both ninety-four.

TI: Wow, so they both lived a long, long life.

TM: Yeah, they good... yeah.

TI: And were they both pretty healthy all the way?

TM: Yeah, they never went to the doctor. My father never had a doctor and my mother never had a doctor, so they were lucky.

TI: So I'm curious, did they ever return to Japan to visit?

TM: No.

TI: And how about you? Have you ever visited Japan?

TM: I visited Japan to see what the home... you know.

TI: And what were your impressions of Japan when you visited?

TM: It was too crowded. Well, although where my folks lived, out in the country, inaka, so it was all right.

TI: Yeah, in the Fukuoka, that area there.

TM: Yeah, Fukuoka, yeah.

TI: Yeah, because that area, in some ways, the climate reminds me of this area. It's cooler.

TM: Yeah, it is, good time of year I went, and we spent about, my wife and I spent about four weeks in Japan looking around here and there, traveled all over, just spent a good time over there. So I got one cousin there, he still lives there. He used to live here, and then he went back to Japan, and he's still living there.

<End Segment 28> - Copyright ©2008 Densho and the Watsonville - Santa Cruz JACL. All Rights Reserved.