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KL: And I just want to confirm, that was your mother's father who attended the university and started the nursery?

KN: Yeah.

KL: Okay. What were their names? What was that family name?

KN: Nishimura.

KL: Okay. So your mom was Nishimura also even before her marriage?

KN: [Nods].

KL: What was the name of the nursery?

KN: Fuji Nursery. It was a fairly large nursery. And, of course, the government confiscated the nursery, actually.

KL: The U.S. government when the war? Uh-huh. You said your grandfather was sent to the U.S. by Japan to study agriculture?

KN: That was the other grandfather.

KL: Did that cause any problems for him, that he decided to stay in the U.S.?

KN: Things get fuzzy in that area because the elders only tell you what's convenient to tell you. And if you start asking questions, usually the answer comes back in Japanese, "Sore wa muzukashiin desu ga," which means, "It's slightly complicated," which means, "Quit asking questions." So you don't ask the next questions, right? So I don't know. [Laughs]

KL: That's good. If I hear that, I'll know what to do. [Laughs]

KN: Yeah, you just say, "It's sort of complicated," muzukashii, to stop the conversation politely, right?

KL: Yeah. Did you ever hear what caused him to decide to remain in the U.S.?

KN: No, that side grandfather didn't say too much. All I can remember seeing him was twice.

KL: And did he farm and grow things also in the U.S.? Was that his profession?

KN: That's the one that lived in Gardena.

KL: Okay. Well, back to the nursery, what are your memories of the nursery? Do you know who... I guess you probably don't have any from before the war because you were not around. But do you know who their customers were, like, in the 1930s or what they grew?

KN: Yeah, the reason I know a little bit about their customers is when my grandfather came back, he landscaped a lot of yards in Pasadena, south Pasadena, San Marino and Flintridge and all these other places. And so they hired him as a gardener. And so all his customers used to call him Fuji because it was Fuji Nursery. And a few of the places that he landscaped he ended up taking care of. So I do have memories of him, but it was after the Second World War.

KL: And then did your mother come with her parents to the U.S.?

KN: Yes.

KL: Do you know around when they came, or how old she was?

KN: I don't know when they came, but I do know, I can give you an interesting story. I somehow, coincidentally, had a English teacher, Ms. Sharp, that taught my mother. She was in junior high school.

KL: Did she say anything about what your mother was like as a student?

KN: Well, she, obviously she was a very obedient, good student, because she used to reprimand me all the time. She says, "Your mother would be very embarrassed of your performance, and she'd wear a bag over her head if she knew how well you did. [Laughs] I think she just did that to try to make me do better.

KL: Did it work?

KN: No. [Laughs] It didn't work. I looked at her and said, "Okay." And it was always a threat kind of a thing that she would tell the whole class what a wonderful, well-behaved student my mother was. Of course, they get a big laugh out of the class. She's trying to embarrass me, that's all.

KL: Do you know if your grandparents did anything to sort of, how they educated themselves about different growing conditions in California? Were they part of any agricultural organizations or any continuing education?

KN: I don't think so. As you know, the Isseis were very resourceful. And so when my grandfather started the nursery, he figured out how to grow things. Of course, he knew how to grow things, because he was a farmer's kid. My uncle was pretty interested in plants, too, so, even though he was a physicist. [Laughs]

KL: Yeah. Tell us his name, this uncle.

KN: His name is Shimpei Nishimura.

KL: And your father's name?

KN: Joe.

KL: And your mother's name?

KN: Kyoko.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2015 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.