Densho Digital Archive - Mary Suzuki Ichino Interview I (denshovh-imary-01-0003)

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RP: Do we know where your father came into? Was it San Francisco or...

MI: San Francisco. And I think the reason why he came to San Francisco, as I understand it was because, you know, he converted to Catholicism. In those days, you know, being a Christian was not considered a thing in Japan. But he was very impressed by some man who was a Christian. And my dad says, "That's what I want to be, like him." And that was when he was nineteen I heard.

RP: And he was in the United States?

MI: And then he came to the United States after that and then he was active in, not active, or he joined the parish, Saint Francis church. And that same...

RP: In San Francisco?

MI: In San Francisco. And we visited that church and it's still there. And he knew exactly where it was after all these years. And he died when he was about a hundred and two. Memory was sharp.

RP: So he had converted to Christianity in Japan?

MI: It's either Japan or when he came to Los Angeles, I mean, San Francisco. So we were baptized. The children were all baptized in San Francisco. Yeah, so we go way back.

RP: Tell us a little bit about your father from a personality perspective. Draw us a picture of your dad.

MI: My dad was quite open-minded, very broad-minded, and a man of few words. He judged a man according to what he saw him. He never judged him for his belief or his ethnicity. So none of us kids ever grew up with any prejudice whatsoever. And when I think about that now I go, well, he was way beyond his time.

RP: Right, and also the fact that more than likely, being and Issei Japanese, he was a subject of prejudice.

MI: He was. And the fact that he let his wife, with four children, go and further her education to get a degree, that's very unlike an Issei man. And, and I give him a lot of credit. And how he started this business in the restaurant business, I said how in the world did he start? He's a self-taught man. He taught himself to write his name in English. And he could understand English, he could speak it. And not, maybe as good as some, but at least he could carry on a conversation. And my mother was the same way.

RP: You told me that your mom also spoke Spanish.

MI: Yeah.

RP: And why was that?

MI: Because -- this is really funny -- there was a young man when we were in Glendale and my dad had this produce business. There was this one man, young man, I bet you he was only in his teens, I think his name was Henry, but he would take the four of us kids under his wings and play with us. And he would drive the car and take us to the beach. And my mother picked up Spanish from him, which I think it pretty neat. And so she would speak Spanish, I guess, before English. [Laughs] So that...

RP: You told me that Henry was a young man from a dysfunctional family.

MI: Yeah. I think that's why he clung to my family. 'Cause my mother was one of those that believed in learning everything and anything you can. Not willingly on my part, but now I could see the, you know, reason for that. But yeah, I did a lot of things grudgingly. You know like taking music and piano practice, my God, who in the world wants to piano practice every single day? And, and in camp it was like taking a tea ceremony. Who in the world wants to sit on the floor... I was such a tomboy.

RP: You mentioned flower arranging.

MI: And flower arranging... I never knew what the front and the back of the flower was. And, you know, but these were things that gradually the seed is planted. But I didn't realize that 'til I got older. And I thank my mother for it. 'Cause that made me a more rounded person because of that. But I guess that's true of all children. You don't appreciate what you're being given 'til you became a parent, you know.

RP: So your father, how did he choose to establish himself in Stockton?

MI: You know, I have, I'm not quite certain. It could be he started as a farm laborer, you know, working out in the field to get established. And he's always been a business person, always has been a business person. And my gut feeling is that he probably said, "Well, this is enough for me. I'm gonna get started in my own business." And he learned the restaurant business. And that's how he got started. Remember I told you about the story about Sacramento? That's where he opened up his restaurant.

RP: Right, he started a restaurant in Stockton first?

MI: I'm not sure whether it was Stockton, but I know Sacramento for sure. And then he started one in Los Angeles, couple of them.

RP: And what type of food and clientele did he cater to?

MI: Well this, that's it. It wasn't Japanese food.

RP: It was western food.

MI: It was western food. And he knew his wine, he knew his good meat.

RP: So he had a, he had a sense of quality.

MI: He knew, yeah, he knew. Where he got that, I don't know. [Laughs]

RP: Years of apprenticeship.

MI: Yeah.

RP: Maybe working out with all those grapes out there.

MI: Oh, it could be. Yeah.

RP: So he started a restaurant in Sacramento and did your mom also was part of that operation?

MI: I sort of recall, I'm not sure whether it was Sacramento or Stockton, but I was still a toddler and I remember my mother helping out at the restaurant. And then there was a, she had a sister that came to look after me while the mother worked, my mother worked, and that I remember. And then after that, basically my father just took over and my mother raised the four of us and was a stay at home mother. And made sure that, you know, we did our studying. Took us to places we had to go to for our lessons. So it was kind of a good, good balance. But my dad worked long hours. Very long hours. So today when I hear people say, well, they worked ten hours a day. I go, gee, my dad worked longer than that and I never heard him complain. But he always came home for supper. No matter how busy he was, he always came home for supper and we always ate supper together.

RP: At home?

MI: At home. And holidays we had a tradition. Like Thanksgiving my brother, Joe -- I think you hadn't met that one, that brother -- he would always get the drumstick 'cause he was the oldest son. And I used to always wonder why he gets the drumstick and not the rest of us. But that was a tradition. He says, the first cut was the drumstick and my brother Joe got it. So that was a given.