<Begin Segment 7>

JS: Now, you mentioned something about having to go to church all the time. Tell me something about that, what was that like?

MN: Oh yes, uh-huh. I remember Reverend Fujimura, he was so nice, Reverend Fujimura, and there was another minister, Reverend Fujikado. I remember those two ministers. Reverend Fujimura had these long, long fingernails, long, about two-inches long fingernail. I remember that so distinctly. [Laughs] I don't know what he used, why he had this long pinky fingernail. [Laughs]

JS: Where was the church located in Salinas?

MN: It's right on California Street, right around the corner from Lake Street.

JS: Okay.

MN: It's only about a block away.

JS: Is it still in the same location?

MN: Yes, it's still same location. They have a great big huge temple bell there, I don't know if they ring it, they used to ring it every night at six o'clock, I remember.

JS: Now you, you went to school there in Salinas.

MN: Uh-huh, yes.

JS: Now, did you have any idea or plans of what you might want to do when you finish school there?

MN: No. No, I had no idea of what I was planning, what I would do.

JS: Did you have any, did you have any sort of secret wishes that you would like to do something or something like that?

MN: No.

JS: Nothing like that, huh?

MN: No. Not at that time.

JS: Didn't want to be a movie star or anything --

MN: Yes, I, well, after, yeah, when I got to be about twenty years old, I wanted to be on Broadway. That was my...

JS: [Laughs] This is when, now?

MN: When I was twenty years old.

JS: Twenty years old?

MN: Uh-huh.

JS: Okay, this is long after the war was over.

MN: I, see, I did, when I was twenty years old, I had a beautiful voice. [Laughs]

JS: Oh, okay, but you weren't --

MN: But I lost it, I lost my --

JS: Were you singing at that time when you were, before the war in Salinas?

MN: No, no, I wasn't. But then I must have been, because, because during the war, twenty-years old... when did the war start?

JS: '41.

MN: '41?

JS: 1941.

MN: Yeah, no, I was... no, no. See, I was, yeah, twenty years old, yeah, I was already. I was...

JS: Okay, we'll, we'll get into that a little bit --

MN: Okay, all right, okay.

JS: -- because we're still kind of still here in the prewar period of time here.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2004 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.