Densho Digital Archive - George Maeda Interview (denshovh-mgeorge

<Begin Segment 6>

KL: Well, I wanted to ask you about Japanese language school. Did you like it, what was it like?

GM: I had to like it, I had no choice. None of us had a choice. I went through the second grade, or second year, and there was a time that I could read most of the newspapers that were written in Japanese. I couldn't now, but it wasn't a matter of going to school because you liked it. We went to school no questions asked, every Saturday for all eight hours or whatever. But we had fun.

KL: Why was that, you went to school every Saturday, no questions asked?

GM: Because our parents said we were going to Japanese school. I mean, it was to learn how to read and write and speak the language, so I could understand their point. I don't know, everybody seemed to enjoy the Saturdays because that's when they got together, people from Van Nuys, Chatsworth, Northridge, all got together and went to school on Saturdays. So in that respect, it was a good time. And I did learn how to speak Japanese pretty well because of that, and I'm thankful that I did go.

KL: What was a typical day like? What was the course of studies? Was it all language or did you have literature or history or math?

GM: No, we didn't have math, it was from a book, probably more history, but mainly the text, reading the text and speaking it properly. And we had little skits and plays that we had that we participated in. We all spoke the Japanese language, it was a different atmosphere on Saturdays. We went there to learn how to speak and write the Japanese language, so only the Japanese language was spoken. And then when we went to school during the week, it was just English. When I conversed with my sisters, it was always in English. Oh, by the way, I grew up speaking Japanese language to my parents. But my sisters and I never spoke Japanese, we always spoke English to each other. So we got away with a lot of things that my parents couldn't understand. [Laughs]

KL: Can you give us examples?

GM: Not examples, but I mean, if we wanted to say something and we didn't want them to understand, we'd sort of use English slang, and I know my mother would scold us. But I remember that, it was sort of fun in those days.

KL: What were your sisters' personalities like, or what was important to them?

GM: My two sisters were so different, my oldest sister was more... what's the word? Not old fashioned, but... tell me what the word is.

KL: I don't know, like responsible or straight-laced or serious?

GM: Serious, yes. But my younger sister was a little more Americanized. But they were different, but both loving sisters.