Densho Digital Archive - Fred Oda Interview (denshovh-ofred

<Begin Segment 9>

TI: So describe what, I'm thinking like a weekend, like a Saturday afternoon, when the farmers would come to town. What did this area look like? Was it pretty crowded, were lots of people walking around? How would you describe that?

FO: Yeah, because those days, people lived out on the farm, they used to come into town once a week, I guess, you know, grocery shopping and banking, hair cut and stuff like that. It's not like nowadays. [Laughs]

TI: And would they come usually on the weekend, like on a Saturday or Sunday, or was it during the week they would come? When would be the busiest day?

FO: I guess Saturday would be.

TI: And so describe that. When you think of the streets, I mean, how crowded or how many people would be around?

FO: It's a small town, it can't get that crowded. [Laughs]

TI: But like the barber shop, was it pretty busy?

FO: More activity, yeah.

TI: So would people be waiting to get their hair cut?

FO: Yeah, because, well, not only that, but I think those days, lot of shops or stores stayed open pretty late at night, give the worker a chance. Because they used to work sunup to sundown those days. Not this eight hour stuff nowadays.

TI: So was that true of your dad's barbershop, that sometimes he would open up at night?

FO: Oh, yeah, he stayed open nights, yeah.

TI: And when I think about --

FO: Grocery stores, too, they stay open at nights. In those days, small grocery store had a chance to do business because they used to do a lot of business at night and on Sundays. But nowadays, even the big chain stores, they're open nights and Sundays and holidays, so pretty rough.

TI: Well, that's why I was wondering about the competition, because it seemed like there was lots of overlap. There were, like, multiple barber shops, multiple grocery stores, multiple places where you can buy tofu. So did people shop around, or like, for instance, the barbershop, would the same customers always come back to your dad, and other customers would go to, like, the Nakata barbershop and things like that?

FO: Yeah.

TI: And would your dad ever try to convince other people from another barbershop to come to his place?

FO: It's all how the customer feels, huh?

TI: And so if someone got a bad haircut, would they switch barbershops sometimes?

FO: Oh, yeah, naturally. [Laughs] My dad was quite a master barber. I couldn't live up to him.

TI: Oh, that's interesting. So do you think he was like the best barber?

FO: Yeah, he was really good, yeah.

TI: And so how would his customers be different from, say, the other barbershops?

FO: Well, he had, you know, professional clientele and stuff like that.

TI: Oh, so your dad got more of the professionals that wanted a better haircut. Interesting. And again, do you think that came more from --

FO: Well, he's an artist.

TI: He's an artist, right.

FO: Creative, so...

TI: And so did your dad, you know, I think about when I go to barbershops today, or hair salons, they have those different style books because the hairstyles keep changing.

FO: No, they didn't have those things.

TI: But did your dad ever stay up with the styles? As hairstyles changed, would he kind of adapt and do the newer hairstyles and things like that, or would he always give the same?

FO: Well, those days, yeah, they didn't have stuff like that, stylists like nowadays. He even used to cut women's hair, yeah.

TI: Oh, he did? I've never heard, that's a little unusual.

FO: Yeah.

TI: And so he was able to do that, and what --

FO: I wouldn't say a lot of women, but a few women, I think.

TI: And these were Japanese?

FO: Huh?

TI: Were they Japanese?

FO: Japanese, yeah.

TI: And who would they be? Would they be more, again, the wives of professionals, or who would get haircuts?

FO: No, well, most of the women, they go beauty shop. But this lady, she used to come to him.

TI: Yeah, usually, in most interviews I've done, they'll have the beauty salons for women and then the barbershops for men. I don't hear too many of the women going to barbershops.