Densho Digital Archive - Lois Yuki Interview (denshovh-ylois-01-0012)

<Begin Segment 12>

RP: Do you recall what your father, your father did in Japan? Did he, did he have a job in addition to his construction work? Did he do anything else in Japan?

LY: When he went to, back to Japan, they did farming and raising the rice and planting the soybean along the aisle and raising the vegetables and I remember they had a, I think as a pig, cow, duck, what else did we have? Ducks and cat. My sister loved the cat very much. And then that's, oh, that's about it. Maybe Francis knows. I don't remember, but I know we have some picture with all those animals. 'Cause I never really liked the animals that much. My sister who was right above me, just loved it. And then besides farming, oh, dry goods store. That was --

RP: Your, dad...

LY: -- you know, we had a uniforms, every day wear work clothes, uniform for school, and then what else? That's about it. Everyday thing that we need.

RP: Your dad ran that store?

LY: Pardon me?

RP: Your dad ran the dry goods store?

LY: Oh, my mom and he did. Uh-huh. So that's how we made a living. And then talking to my brother, (Paul) said when he went back to Japan and my mom too, if he ran the... oh no, he ran the business like what he did in Menlo Park. You make a promise, you do it. You don't have to write anything. So he took that and applied and it didn't work well because what happened was -- my (brother Paul) told me just recently -- he said when my parents were in the Menlo Park and Palo Alto area with the florist, that's how he operated the business. And then he applied that and then my, let's see, grandfather's younger brother, which would be my mother's uncle in Hiroshima said, "Do not lend or let the product go without getting paid. Exchange money, otherwise you won't be able to do the business well." So, my brother said that Mom was doing okay. My mom listened to Uncle. But my father was still thinking about what went on in U.S. So they had a very hard time trying to do the business. It didn't... you know, when you purchase something you have to pay them, wholesale people. And here, in Japan, those days you have to wait 'til the rice is harvested or wheat is harvested. And they'll exchange, you know, with that and they get the money and they pay you. No, can't do that. So, we had a very difficult time at the time. And when we came back we had to still pay back to the people our parents owed. So that's what we did one whole year, pay back whoever we still have it, owe. But when we were leaving they knew we're leaving so they didn't pay it purposely. 'Cause they're not gonna be here. So my mother said, be honest, pay whatever you owed to other people first. So, we're okay. If we didn't do it, we won't be able to go back to where we live. People talk about it.

RP: So everything was, got cleared up.

LY: Because in Japan many times they stay at the same place, many generation.

RP: You want to always go back.

LY: So pay all the debt and we're okay and be honest and pay back so I'm sure that my brothers and my sister and my parents have to really work hard in trying to make a living here too. And go to school. Most of 'em, us, we still need to go to school.