Densho Digital Archive - Yo Shibuya Interview (denshovh-syo-01-0010)

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RP: This is a continuing interview with Yo Shibuya. This is tape two. And, Yo, we were just talking about some of the other musical inclinations of your family. Your sister played --

YS: Took up the mandolin.

RP: -- played mandolin and your brother was --

YS: Shakuhachi.

RP: -- practicing shakuhachi.

YS: Yeah.

RP: You said there was a mandolin band at Manzanar?

YS: Yeah, I think at the music 'cause that's where she learned, you know, the fingering. And now I don't know where my brother... there must have been a group of maybe Issei guys, Isseis that played the shakuhachi and yeah... I don't ever remember them holding like little concerts or anything like that.

RP: Do you remember people taking up koto or shamisen or anything like...

YS: Shamisen or koto? No, I'm just trying to think... but you know, when they did have like some event when they had a stage where they would have a program, yeah, koto and the shamisen, yeah. I don't know whether they actually had a teaching class, you know, they had classes for those who wanted to learn. Of course I don't know if, where they would get that instrument if somebody really wanted to... where they would even buy it or order it or...

RP: A lot of your focus obviously was around music during the time that you were in Manzanar. But what about school in general there? What were your impressions or observations of your, of school there? Keeping in, keep in mind what school was like for you at Belmont or...

YS: Yeah well, yeah, we had the regular classes you know. Yeah, the foreign language was Spanish. I don't know whether they taught German or French but then they had like chemistry, physics, and American history, English, and all that, and a journalism class. They had, they had all the classes just like you would on the, on the outside, the public school.

RP: Do you feel like you learned while you were there?

YS: Yeah. Of course, I studied what I wanted to study. You have your inclinations, your... certain things I didn't care for I just passed, that basically is what it is, yeah.