Densho Digital Archive
Manzanar National Historic Site Collection
Title: Toshiro Izumi Interview
Narrator: Toshiro Izumi
Interviewer: Richard Potashin
Location: Los Angeles, California
Date: March 2, 2010
Densho ID: denshovh-ftakayo-01-0013

<Begin Segment 13>

RP: So you went through junior high and then graduated to San Pedro High School?

TI: San Pedro High School, yes.

RP: And did you, were you working at all during the summers or did you...

TI: No, I didn't do any work. Well, I take that back. I did work on weekends. My next door neighbor, you mentioned Bunkichi Hayashi, he used to work on weekends too and he'd get me a job working in the fruit stand and those were long hours but just enough to make you happy that you had a little coin in your pocket.

RP: Where was the fruit stand?

TI: Huh?

RP: Where... was the fruit stand in Terminal Island?

TI: No, no, no. We'd have to go outside Terminal Island. There was a time when I worked in San Pedro. And I worked in Wilmington for a while. And I came to Los Angeles for a while too. Now, those were with friends like Bunkichi. He had a car too, you know, he'd take me out with him.

RP: What was he like? What kind of guy was he?

TI: Oh, he was, he was a big, well-built fellow just like his father. But I think he was liked by everyone as far as I know. Because, oh, he was easygoing and he did everything real well. He played high school football and, well, of course, he did kendo too. He was real good at kendo.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.