Densho Digital Archive - Mas Hashimoto Interview (denshovh-hmas-01-0008)

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TI: So it sounds like by the time your, your parents came here in 1914, there was a, a rich history of Japanese already in this area, first with the railroad, then lumbering, and then it sounds like by the time your parents came, it was more field work. But in addition to that, they had the town, where there were businesses that catered to a lot of the farmhands in the surrounding areas. And that's kind of, I suppose, where your parents came in, too, because they were more, they weren't farmers, they were more in the, in town. So can you describe Japantown? Where was that located and what was that like?

MH: Japantown was located lower Main Street, Union Street, Bridge Street, Grant Avenue, Elm Street. There were a number of businesses, barber shops, boarding houses, restaurants, manju shop, pool hall. If you look at other cities like Lodi and Sacramento and such, you'll find similar businesses. The reason why lower Main Street -- lower Main Street was next to the Pajaro River, and the Pajaro River would overflow almost annually. And so the poor got the lowland area. One interesting story deals with the Chinese that were, some of them were asked to leave. Not all did, but they went across the river into Monterey County, a little township called Pajaro. And they would live on Brooklyn Street, Brooklyn, Big Apple, you know, New York, Brooklyn. And the Porter family had the land and the houses, and Mrs. Porter got the rent from each of the parcels, and she kept meticulous records. So we know how many Chinese families there were, how many, how much rent they paid, how many children they have, and such. And these records become important because the Japanese families are also going to be there. The Yagis had their barber shop on the other side of the river. There were a number of businesses that were on the other side of the river in Monterey County, but they were all part of what we call Watsonville.

TI: And currently, I went down there, so there's a bridge right now that connects. Was that bridge, was there a bridge there back then also?

MH: Yes, there's always been a bridge there. At one time it was a covered bridge. And then they dammed it up and had a little lake, Lake Watsonville, and they had summer picnics, grounds and such. But it was, you couldn't count on the rainfall all the time. But there's an interesting story between the Chinese and Japanese. Where Japantown and Chinatown are mixed together, so right next to a Chinese restaurant will be a Japanese barber shop. And many of the Chinese restaurants and such also doubled as a gambling house. And then on Union Street a few... a block and a half away, 58 Union Street, that was a, the site of the whorehouses.

TI: Which was, based on that address, was pretty close to your house, too, because you were 110 Union Street.

MH: Where it is now, yeah. So then there were two of them, basically one for whites and one for minorities.

TI: So it was a pretty, and I'm guessing lots of gambling, drinking, so it was a pretty rough part of town.

MH: It was the red light district. Fred Oda, the Oda barbershop, they had a bathhouse. And so the people, the field workers, many of them, but not limited to, Filipinos, would come and get a shave, haircut, bathe, and then go dancing, and dancing was with many of the prostitutes.

TI: And so it's a rich, colorful history down in your neighborhood. [Laughs]

MH: Oh, not only in the 1940s, but during World War II, there's Fort Ord, and the Monterey Naval Station, the soldiers would come to Watsonville. Well, finally, Watsonville was off limits to the military. But you could always tell the guys who were in the military, you'd look at their shoes, spit polished at least. But anyway...

TI: So during this time, were there ever incidences where the Japanese consul general or somebody, the consulate, would come through Watsonville and try to make changes? Because I've heard in other cities where whenever the, they felt the Japanese were too closely associated with sort of that bad segment of the gambling, prostitution, the Japanese government would sometimes try to encourage some other behavior. Do you recall any of that happening in Watsonville?

MH: No. Probably took place, I don't know that. But there, in terms of the Japanese government, there was a young student from Japan who was studying in the 1930s at the University of Southern California. And then summertime, during the breaks, he would come to Watsonville to stay at the Hayashi boarding house, and he learned to pick strawberries and such, he learned to do some social dancing. He ate at our place, our udon shop, and became good friends. And later, he goes back to Japan, he joins the government, and he's pro-America. When the war breaks out, he's under house arrest. After the war is over, they need him because he's pro-America, and he becomes the foreign secretary, and later he becomes the prime minister of Japan. Now, my mother, when he was the foreign minister, my mother, in Japan, called on him, and then he sent a car after, after her, and they talked about old times and such. Now, who was this student that became the prime minister of Japan? He was nicknamed "Mr. Clean," he served as prime minister from 1972 to '74, Takeo Miki, Miki Takeo.

TI: Oh, that's a good story. So this Watsonville connection...

MH: That's a Watsonville connection.

TI: And so he must have, his English must have been pretty good and...

MH: Excellent.

TI: Oh, that's a good story.