<Begin Segment 8>

JS: How was your relationship with your parents?

MN: Well, I couldn't, I couldn't understand Japanese, and they couldn't understand, they couldn't... although my mother was pretty good in English, though. She was, she took care of the buying and produce and things like that, but, but no, I had a nice relationship with my father and mother. I did, uh-huh.

JS: So your father spoke only Japanese, then, huh?

MN: Yes, uh-huh.

JS: You spoke some Japanese, though, didn't you?

MN: Yeah, some Japanese, uh-huh. We had to go Japanese school. All of us had to go to Japanese school.

JS: Oh, that was part of your growing up period. Where did you attend Japanese school?

MN: At the Buddhist Church, the local Buddhist Church.

JS: How did you like that?

MN: Mmm... I wasn't very smart. I wasn't very good at it. [Laughs]

JS: Okay, so you, when you spoke to your parents, and you spoke in Japanese, or whatever you could manage.

MN: Yes, uh-huh. Whatever I could manage, uh-huh.

JS: When you did that, was there things that you could not talk about because of that?

MN: Of course, of course.

JS: Okay, like certain thoughts or things like that.

MN: Yes, uh-huh. Puberty. [Laughs]

JS: Okay, so who did you, who did you...

MN: My sisters.

JS: You discussed that with your sisters, then, huh?

MN: Yeah, uh-huh. Yes, uh-huh.

JS: Okay, they were the ones that straightened you out, or informed you about certain things.

MN: They were just like... uh-huh.

JS: Okay. So did being Japanese have any meaning for you at all at that time?

MN: Oh, I, I think I was proud of being a Japanese. I think I've always been proud of being a Japanese.

JS: And how did you express that pride, if you did express it?

MN: Well, I didn't express it. I mean, I just told my friends, but then all of my friends were so clean and neat, and they're all so intelligent, and I just envied all of my Japanese friends.

JS: Why did you envy them?

MN: Because they were all so pretty and smart.

JS: You didn't think you were?

MN: No, uh-uh. I didn't think I was.

JS: But you were the bully, too. [Laughs]

MN: Yeah, uh-huh.

JS: So you couldn't convince them?

MN: No. [Laughs]

JS: Okay.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2004 Densho and The Japanese American Museum of San Jose. All Rights Reserved.