<Begin Segment 9>

AL: What about when you weren't in school? Do you remember games that you liked to play or the types of games or toys that you...

SO: Well, let's see. My father had us take, you know what koto is? It's a stringed instrument. So my sister and I took koto lessons and calligraphy lessons, and I can't remember if we were... no, just my older sister took piano lessons, too.

AL: So where would you take the lessons? I mean, are these private lessons that you would hire somebody?

SO: Uh-huh. Well, like the koto, I think there were only... I guess someone had, you know, after a while in camp, people from the outside could bring things in other than what we could carry. So I think someone brought in two kotos. So the teacher went to go to her place, because she played one and we played the other.

AL: Do you remember the teacher's name?

SO: No, I don't.

AL: You were pretty little to be playing the koto.

SO: Well, it's very basic.

AL: But I mean just the size of the instrument.

SO: Oh, yeah, right.

AL: Somebody donated their koto to us.

SO: Yeah, it's big. But then the strings aren't that far apart.

AL: Did you like it?

SO: Not really. I wasn't musically inclined. So my sister learned how to play the piano and koto. They gave me lessons, but I never did get any better.

AL: What did your parents do for their non-work time? Did they have hobbies or interests?

SO: My father used to enjoy playing shogi, it's a board game. And what's the other one where they, there's a black and white?

AL: Go?

SO: Go, yes. So he enjoyed that. But he really didn't have that much... I don't ever remember seeing him really relax and do something other than that.

AL: If someone were, like in his role as a minister, do you think he was treated differently, like with more deference or respect than just one of the guys?

SO: Maybe by his congregation, but I think he was treated like anybody else by the camp staff. But he did grow fond of Mr. Merritt.

AL: So I think every picture I have ever seen of your father, he's in his, I don't know if you call them vestments.

SO: His robes?

AL: His robes. Or he's wearing a suit. Is that kind of how he would dress on a daily basis, or is it just because those pictures are special?

SO: No, he always wore a tie.

AL: He always wore a tie?

SO: In fact, there's one picture in the album where he's just in his undershirt, kind of surprised me. [Laughs] But it's just a snapshot.

AL: What about your mom? Did she wear...

SO: No.

AL: ...just typical clothing?

SO: Uh-huh. She was very casual.

AL: Do you think that being in the camp changed either their personalities or the dynamics of their marriage in any way?

SO: I don't think so. They were the same.

AL: How would you characterize... looking back now as an adult, we look back on their marriage, how would you characterize it in terms of, some people say, well, our parents were, they're really partners, or it's this great love story. I mean, just how you'd characterize them as a couple.

SO: Well, they were not too... they didn't show their feelings too much, but I think I would characterize it as mutual respect. They never yelled at each other, physically or verbally.

AL: Would you say that they had a sort of typical Issei arranged marriage?

SO: Yes. I think they appreciated each other for what they did.

AL: Was your mother... I saw in your album you had like a PTA card for your father. Was your mother involved in any sort of social things like that, like PTA?

SO: No, no, it was my father. Even in Gardena, he came to one PTA meeting, he was the only man there. But I was happy to see him there.

AL: So did he take an active role in your schooling?

SO: Uh-huh. I think it's because of the language barrier, too.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2013 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.