<Begin Segment 14>

KL: Do you remember any gardens in Poston?

MM: Yeah, we had, in front of our house, a fish pond.

KL: Who built it?

MM: One of our neighbors, I guess. I think Mr., what was his name, Hamagiwa, he was our neighbor. And believe it or not, we were barrack 211-1-B, I mean the block was, the whole block was 211 and we were barrack number 1, so we were next door to the Christian church. I never went to the Christian church. I went to block 214 to the Buddhist church with my friends, and I ended up in the Christian church.

KL: Did you ever hear the Christian church in Poston?

MM: Oh yes, I used to hear this tune, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Every Sunday I heard that tune, and years later I said, "Gee, that sounds familiar. I wonder where I heard it?" And I said, "Oh my gosh, that's the hymn I heard every Sunday morning." I could hear the piano playing. I guess she was practicing or, yeah, practicing, because I heard it on my way to the Buddhist church the next block over.

KL: What do you remember about the Buddhist church?

MM: We had a wonderful priest. He had two boys, same age as us, so he loved the kids and he would tell us stories with a moral to it, tell us wonderful stories. He was just a wonderful man. Everybody, all us kids loved him, and after camp he died of a heart attack, in his early forties. It was very sad.

KL: Where was, do you know where he was from?

MM: Somewhere in the Bay Area, I think, because that's where his widow ended up.

KL: What was his name?

MM: Iwanaga, I-W-A-N-A-G-A.

KL: Was his wife really involved in the congregation too?

MM: Yeah, she was a soloist, a pianist, she taught the Japanese arts. Very gifted woman, talented.

KL: And what were their boys like?

MM: They were cute. [Laughs] And that's all, I mean, I never played with them or anything, but I remember they were cute. They were younger than me. Their names were Ryo and Mutsu, R-Y-O, and then Mutsu, M-U-T-S-U, Mutsu. And one of them died of a heart attack like his father, and so... yeah.

KL: You mentioned that it may have been Mr. Hamagiwa -- did I say that right?

MM: Yeah.

KL: -- who built the fish pond. What do you recall about him?

MM: Well, he was a, I remember he was kind of a fancy dresser, and I think his wife was, that was her second marriage. She was kind of a stern, stern woman, meticulous dresser. Those two things I remember about her, and she would tell my mother, "Why don't you send your kids to the Christian church right here?" She would tell my, my mother told me that's what she said. And I said, "Well, I want to go to church with my friends." So naturally, I went over there.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2014 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.