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RP: And so what did your father, did he go into business with your uncle or...

HN: No.

RP: ...uncle give his, give him an opportunity to get started or something?

HN: Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause he, he had a, the uncle had a, a sister-in-law living in Pasadena that, where, like I said, came very early and they had a, they had a rose farm. And I think he, he worked there, well, that's where he came. And I think he stayed a very short time, but then, to start his own business. That's how he got involved into the rose, rose growing business.

RP: Started there, in Pasadena.

HN: Yeah. And that, that was in south Pasadena, and that was a cut-flower. They were growing roses for cut-flower, to sell, sell to the florists.

RP: And your father started his own business on Wilshire.

HN: Yeah, a retail nursery and he started the rose growing business in San Fernando valley.

RP: The land in Pacoima.

HN: Yeah, Pacoima, yeah.

RP: You said that was about a hundred acres?

HN: Hundred acres, yeah.

RP: So he started that jointly with this floral shop.

HN: Yeah, I think what happened is he called, he... oh wait, I think I told you that he was the only son, there was another, he had another brother. So I do have an uncle, yeah. He called his younger brother and had his younger brother take charge of the, of the farm in San Fernando.

RP: Was that Akira?

HN: Yeah, exactly.

RP: I just remembered two and you said he had another son I was like, wait a minute, I see pictures of his brother in Manzanar.

HN: Oh, yeah. 'Cause he, we lived together in the same barrack, yeah.

RP: Right, right.

HN: Yeah, the family, yeah.

RP: And how... was Akira younger or older than, than your dad?

HN: He was younger, yeah. I mentioned that he was the only son, but there was, there was two, two sons. My, my dad and the younger brother.

RP: Did your sister-in-law's husband help, help your dad get started in terms of investment and financing?

HN: Yeah, what she did, my aunt, what she did was, because my mother was very involved in the flower business, and so my aunt took, took care of the kids. So, because she was, so she was needed just to run the shop, flower shop, which was like an all-day job. So my aunt did, did the housekeeping, taking care of the kids. 'Cause at that time there was, I had an older sister, which was Setsuko. Yeah.

RP: How old was she?

HN: She was just a, just a year older than I was.

RP: Uh-huh. So there was Setsuko and then you.

HN: Yeah.

RP: And then who came afterwards?

HN: There was Midori, then there was Mary, Edith, and Barbara. [Laughs]

RP: Let's see, that's five or six, I think.

HN: Yeah, it's five. Yeah.

RP: So you were outnumbered.

HN: Oh, yeah. [Laughs]

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.