<Begin Segment 20>

RP: Do you recall any other teachers besides Louis Pizzell that made an impression on you one way or the other?

KT: There was a blind... what was his name?

RP: Greeley, Greeley, or Greenley.

RP: It was Greenley, Clyde Greenley.

AF: Yeah, a speech teacher. Oh, the young fellows used to make fun of him, poor guy.

KT: He was really a lot of fun, though.

Off camera voice: I think for our class of '44, Miss Goldberg.

RP: Janet.

Off camera voice: She was the one that created the annual, the graduation annual, complete annual. She really outdid herself.

RP: Any thoughts about teachers or remembrances about school?

NN: My dancing teacher.

RP: Yeah.

NN: I had three dancing teachers, but there was this young lady who was from Hawaii. And I don't know, her name is -- she went by Kay, but --

KT: Murakami.

NN: -- but I think in the dancing circles, she was known as Kimiko.

KT: From Hawaii, I believe.

NN: Yes. But she was in one of those photos that, she was hulaing on stage. So I don't know how old she was, whether she was in her twenties. She was quite young. But I don't know what the circumstances, but she had a wig on, so it's very difficult to tell what age she is. So she was involved with the young people's programs as well as in the Japanese programs, which was amazing.

RP: You're talking about your involvement with...

NN: Japanese dancing.

RP: Japanese dancing, and where did you generally perform? Did you perform out in the outside?

NN: That was in the kitchen.

RP: The mess hall?

NN: Well, that was at the beginning, and then gradually --

KT: They built an outdoor stage.

NN: -- they had the auditorium, and they would have some programs every so often, and that's where I would either dance or there was plays, Japanese plays that they had.

RP: How about, there were also teachers there who taught traditional Japanese instruments. You were talking about the shamisen.

AF: She took that.

RP: Did you?

NN: Well, I started to, but I was too young and I couldn't reach -- you know, it has this huge wooden... and so I couldn't start. So it was after camp that I really started. But all I could do was just strum. [Laughs]

RP: Have somebody else reach up there, like me?

AF: My mother loved those classical dancing and instruments. In fact, she wanted me to do it.

NN: And I got the brunt of it. [Laughs]

AF: Yes. So she came along, and so she got the... but she's very good at it, so I'm glad she did it.

RP: I'm trying to remember the instrument, the long...

NN: Koto. They also taught koto. And my former in-laws used to have a group called Baidokai, and the father would play the shakuhachi, the mother played the koto, and they would also teach those instruments in camp. And their daughter, who is the same age as me --

RP: Is it the Wakita family?

NN: Yes. Do you know Kayoko?

RP: Sure do.

AF: She was married to one of the Wakita sons.

RP: Oh, were you?

NN: Her brother, at one time. But they had, she's an amazing woman, too. And so they had programs every so often, I imagine, but I wasn't in that area, so I wouldn't be able to give you any input on that.

RP: Right, right. They kept Japanese music going in camp.

AF: Oh, yeah.

NN: And afterwards, too.

RP: And afterwards, too.

KT: And Kayoko was very instrumental in perpetuating that and promoting that. Because they used to have the classical KFAC radio program every Saturday, and she would have this half hour of productions. And people got educated in Japanese music, and she was so knowledgeable, and her, the description of the piece or the composition or about the artist was so informative. I think a lot of people, even the teachers who teach music would have gotten a lot out of it, too.

AF: I could imagine, yeah. Most people wouldn't know much about it anyway, so that was very good. She's very knowledgable.

RP: We were very fortunate to have people like that, like Pizzell and Wakita, and your dance teachers to keep those things going.

NN: And my feeling is that because -- this is another plus when we were incarcerated there. With all the people and the talents together, they were able to also educate the rest of the internees more about the Japanese culture. Because out here in different communities, I don't think there were too many that were able to see the classical dances or hear the musical pieces that are classics.

AF: Yeah, because even people that were born in Japan, they weren't so very, they didn't have the artistic ability to learn, for one thing, 'cause they had to eke a living. So it was very nice to be in camp where they were able to disseminate all this musical talent and information.

RP: Right, quite a diversity from what Bruce was involved with to classical Japanese music and dance, everything in between.

NN: One of the advantage --

AF: She used to do plays.

NN: One of the advantages were that after camp, they used to also, people would continue with those teachers, but I went to another teacher. But they would have programs, right, on East First Street, in a church called Koyasan. And they would have those where people around would be able to come and sing, and performed by people from other camps, too.

RP: I was just curious, was there, in the year or the year and half that your father was gone, was there any man or male who stepped forward to help your mother out or help the daughters out? Any kind of father figure?

AF: Not really, no. Although there were, our neighbors had a couple of grown sons out of high school that used to help my mother, 'cause she didn't drive, take her --

NN: No, no, this is in camp, I think.

RP: In camp.

AF: Oh, in camp? Well, no, no, this is inside camp. They used to help her. And my father always had enough capital to hire people to run things for him. He was very good in making money, so my mother didn't have to worry too much.

<End Segment 20> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.