<Begin Segment 16>

KL: This is tape number three of a continuing interview with the Takayanagis. And let's see, one other thing, and this is backtracking a little bit, but I wondered if your moms worked when they were in Manzanar, or if they pursued any projects like painting, like your fathers had painting and gardening.

MJT: No, my mother learned English. And the one thing she did in Manzanar was write to my brother while he was in the army, one letter, which was an accomplishment.

KL: Which was what?

MJT: And accomplishment for her. Not that she didn't talk English, she did. But she never undertook English classes. My father was self-taught. He read a lot, he did a lot of resourceful reading, devotional readings and so on, and he could write. He wrote letters and so on. But my mother never undertook to learn English. But this one time when my brother was in the army, she wrote one letter to him, which was really, I wouldn't say an accomplishment, but really a wonderful thing that she worked so hard to do. Other than that, she didn't have many... she did sewing and things of that sort, which women at that time were expected to do. But as far as taking up one particular project, or other, I don't know what you call it, like a craft or art, but whatever.

KL: And what about yours?

MT: My mother was a knitter, and she taught me how to knit. And she was sort of a student most of her life, attended English classes at adult evening schools. And even to the, she died at, I think at eighty-four or something, and she was still taking English classes and night school. She worked in a church, Presbyterian office in Los Angeles, Federation of Churches, Japanese Churches, up until two weeks before she died at eighty-four. But they didn't, I don't think they took any jobs while they were in, kitchen jobs or cooking, because they needed people to work in mess halls, and my folks didn't do that.

KL: Seems like they were focused on what was next.

MT: Yes, I think so.

<End Segment 16> - Copyright © 2012 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.