Densho Digital Archive - Taketora Jim Tanaka Interview (denshovh-ttaketora-01-0006)

<Begin Segment 6>

KP: Did you celebrate some of the Japanese holidays?

TT: Oh, yeah, we always celebrated New Year's. Back then, that used to be a two-day celebration. Like now, lot of people don't celebrate it. They're too Americanized. They celebrate, they have a little party for Halloween and Christmas, things like that, but back then, the New Year was a big thing, but shindig, man.

KP: How was it celebrated? How do you remember it being celebrated?

TT: Oh, well, they usually cook the typical Japanese food, like sushi and things like that, they just buy it now. Over there, they had to make it. Barbeque chicken, and kill our own chicken and prepare it. Matter of fact, we raised all our own poultry and everything. So all vegetables. Naturally, like fish, we had to go buy that, but outside of that, mostly we raised our own.

KP: Where did your, where did your family buy your rice and fish from?

TT: We used to go into, this used to be a Japanese store, they called Oshima Brothers. They carried Japanese produce, rice and certain Japanese things. Or if that, you go into Sacramento, what was that, Fourth and... Fourth between L, M, something like that. There used to be a Japanese community there. Used to have a lot of Japanese store in there.

KP: Did your family also celebrate Girl's Day and Boy's Day?

TT: No, I don't remember that before the war. I know after the war, my wife did. But before the war... but we celebrated New Year's, I know that. That's for sure. Christmas, well, you know, we're so poor, especially our Issei parents, it didn't mean much. But Halloween, like Halloween, we celebrated Christmas, Halloween, Christmas. We're Americanized, so like Fourth of July, you know, we used to have a good time then. Times changed now.

KP: Any other memories that you have of those early days before World War II?

TT: Well, besides our, the holiday, rest of the time, that's all I remember, lot of work, that's all I remember.

KP: Did you have the traditional Japanese bath at your house?

TT: Oh, yeah. That's something that our Issei parents, that was a must. They call it furo, you know, they call it hot tub nowadays. We had a redwood siding, and I think galvanized, and then we had a wooden flooring on the bottom.

KP: Whose job was it to keep that going?

TT: That was, we used to burn wood. Once you got the water hot, you didn't have to worry too much. You just get a slow fire, you know.

KP: And who got it, who --

TT: Well, one of the kids had to do it, because the parents would be working. After we come home from school, one of us would have to do it.

KP: It fell upon you sometimes to do it?

TT: Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. No matter how young, starting the fire, it was your job.

RP: Jim, did you, were you involved in kendo or judo at all as a young kid?

KP: Were you involved in judo or kendo as a child?

TT: No. We didn't have time for that. Don't forget, we lived out in the country. And the city people like my cousin, they lived in the city, they had the kendo and things like that, judo, but out in the country, we didn't. We lived too far apart. And besides, I don't think we could afford it. [Laughs]

KP: Did you see much of your cousins and other family members in the area?

TT: Once in a while, yeah. It was all scattered out, see. And I remember one was living in Isleton, one of the girls, scattered. Don't forget, they were mostly all farmers. But we used to see 'em quite often. At least maybe, at least three of four times a year.