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TI: Well, let's talk a little bit about your mother. So what was her name and where was she from?

IS: Tsuta Suzuki was her name, and she was from Yamanashi. And Yamanashi prefecture is neighbor to Shizuoka, and actually, not only neighbor, but she was in the southern part of Yamanashi prefecture, and my father was in the northern. So it was a different prefecture, but they were only about two towns apart. They were very close. So when they had a marriage arranged, there was some contact there. And then she... after she finished, I imagine it was just elementary school, but then she went into nurse training. And so when she was, the miai, you know what miai is? Where they meet to get married, the arranged marriage, I think she was a nurse at that time. Because I've seen pictures of her dressed like a nurse. And so it was a typical miai, miai kekkon, they called it, where it was all arranged, and that's how they met.

TI: Good. And tell me about your mother's family. What kind of work did they do?

IS: Oh. My mother, my mother's father, my grandfather, died very early. I don't know what age, but my Japanese father had to be sent away when he was still like, when he just barely finished elementary school, I think, he was sent to Osaka to work. And so I didn't hear too much about my mother and her brother growing up together.

TI: And like your father was the second oldest, was your mother, on your mother, did she have an older brother or younger brother?

IS: That's a older brother.

TI: Older brother.

IS: Yes. And that's my Japanese father.

TI: Right, that's the one you later on went to go live with.

IS: Yes.

TI: Okay. So let's go back to your father is in the Imperial Valley, at some point he goes back to Japan, meets your mother through an arranged marriage, and then they get married and then they come back to the Imperial Valley, your mother thought maybe for three years, but much longer. And about when... so this is about 1916?

IS: Yes, I think that's right.

TI: Okay, good. At that point, in 1916, where was your father in terms of his farm? Did he have the dairy farm at this time, or did that come later?

IS: No, I think he already had it at that time. That must have lasted a few years, when he had the dairy, because when he went to Japan, I was told by his, my uncle, that's his brother, that he looked at the foot of Mount Fuji and mentioned something like, "Gee, what a nice place to raise cattle." [Laughs] He mentioned that. So he must have started that before he even went to Japan, raising cattle. And then... and I don't know how long he was... and I think my brother mentions that among the family, he's one of the first Japanese cowboy in the United States.

TI: Yeah, I saw that. But he was somewhat successful, because he went from 80 acres, later on to about 160 acres?

IS: Well, yes, had to lease that. They couldn't buy land. And then another thing that always I remember is that, being that he was lucky, or had a good crop, was in Imperial Valley, that's when cars started coming out, too. And like my mother was able to drive the old Model T. But my father, before that, had a Dodge, they called it a Dodge Brother car. And he said it was the only Dodge car in the Imperial Valley or something, and it was... so that he did well on farming, and he was able to afford a Dodge. So he did well before we came along, it seemed.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.