<Begin Segment 12>

JC: Is there anything that I haven't asked you about that you'd like to talk about given that this videotape is going to be available for generations to come? Is there anything important? Is there an event in your life that I missed? Is there a feeling? Is there an experience that we should have on this videotape?

SN: Well, I've been very fortunate that right or wrong, that I became the first Asian or first non-white to become board members of prestigious organizations such as Standard Insurance Company, First Interstate Bank. I've been appointed as commissioner of the Oregon Department of Transportation, commissioner of Port of Portland, and those things there makes me feel very good that I was the first Asian to do. I was the first Asian, non-white to join the Arlington Club which is pure white. And I feel those things put me, not in a different light, but that those things were sort of rewarding to me. And I've been given, my brother and I were nominated as the first citizens, and we were nominated as, given the Watseka award. We've been given just all kinds of rewards, and I think that I want to think that my breaking in as the first Asian in all these organizations has sort of helped to break the color code or whatever you want to call it which is, I think is important.

JC: So your successes have opened the doors in a new way for other Japanese Americans?

SN: And other Asians.

JC: And other Asians.

SN: Yeah, right, because up to them, you know. One thing I must say is that for whatever reasons, maybe it's because Asians are shy, they have not worked hard to enter into that arena that is joined into, joined on the boards of corporations here, joined in exclusive clubs and going to lectures or going to meetings. I go to meetings, many meetings, and I'm the only Asian there. I know that they are shy. That's why they don't do it. But I don't feel that at all. And I think it really goes back to, I got to thank my father and mother for keeping me out of the ghetto when I was very young to be with all-white people. I think that's important. And so, and my boys all grew up that way too, so they have no hesitation of being... I think subconsciously, Asians feel like they are out of place if they go anywhere. I don't ever. Ever. I walk into the all-white Arlington Club. They are all bunch of snooty people, you know. You know what I mean. They think so, and I just go up there and talk to all these people, these name people that you hear about all the time. I have no problem talking to them and saying things. But I really hope that, and I don't see that slowly changing, but not en masse, you know what I mean, more. I mean, in other words, the Asian population here is something like, the minority population here is about six percent in the city. I think it is lower in the state, but here I think about six percent. So there should be six percent people sitting in a lecture hall. For example, six percent should be on different boards and so on, I mean, state boards and county boards and so on. That isn't happening. Even today, the situation has got to change. It's got to be the Asians got to step up and get themselves recognized and be accepted more. And you do need to, you know, in order to be recognized, you do need to have some accomplishments. You got to be just, you can't be just a, you know, just an ordinary Joe Blow, just going to work, eight to five and play golf on the weekends and just be ordinary, you can't. You got to do something a little more than that. Otherwise people will... I think that's important. And there are a few Asians who are getting that way. I know that there are a few business people that are getting... Asians in Portland are Mr. Yoshida, he's a Korean man, and Koreans are, I have to hand it to them are very aggressive businesspeople. They are much more so than the Japanese Americans. Japanese Americans got to be more aggressive in doing things I think, really.

JC: I think of -- being a Caucasian, I think of Japanese Americans as being very self-effacing and the very thing they're raised with which is to be humble, to take a background position, seems to be counter to what you are saying which is to step forward.

SN: Yeah, I think so, definitely. I just, I know that people are going to be upset when I say this, but I just don't believe that if you're in this country, that you should have your own ethnic little church, ethnic clubs and so much of that. They should make it, join an integrated club of different, or to just join clubs that you're the only Asian or you're one of few Asians in the club and so on so that you get people to know you. The problem, you see, prejudice comes on mainly because you don't know the other person, so you think you're a different animal and so on kind of thing. You've got to get yourself over there so that you can see that, you know, they're just as much as a human being as you are kind of thing, and I know it takes effort, you know. It takes effort to do it. I went to, I went to the governor's inaugural ball and looked around and there's hardly any Asians there. There were quite a few -- I won't say quite a few -- few blacks there, but Asians, they were not there. I know that Los Angeles is maybe different because there are that many more people. But here, I think it's easier for one to go into these white groups easier in Portland because of a smaller town than it is in Los Angeles.

JC: Do you think it's a fear of prejudice that keeps people from going into those?

SN: I think, they become self-conscious, you know, and shy and feel, like you walk in there and nobody knows you and so on. Well, you can't do it one time. I mean, you've got, you can't let that embarrassing feeling get to you. I think that you need to overcome that and just go. I go places where I don't know a single person there, and people stare at me saying, "Why is that Oriental person sitting in this audience?" Exactly, but I just...

JC: I wanted to ask you a question. When I was told that I was going to be interviewing you, somebody said your name is Naito, and I said, "Naito, I've heard 'Nayto' all my life." What is that like to have something as special as your name mispronounced in the news day after day after day?

SN: Well, I don't want to fault anybody, but you see, from years back, lots of people, my brother and his family, you know, because his family is half Japanese and he thought well, they're not really Japanese, so I'll make them all "Nayto." That's basically the kind of a thinking that was going on. I didn't care. I'm just one of those people that's happy as... but Vern, my son Vern was, thought that, oh, it is very embarrassing for me because the Japanese people who come here, come here, Japanese, like Japanese company people are here and so on and a white person says to them, "Oh, do you know Mr. Nayto?" "Nayto, that's not Japanese man. Is that Korean? Okay, got it?

JC: So I'll ask you once again, is there anything else that you want to say that I haven't asked you about, anything else you want to talk about?

SN: Talk about? I would say that I had a very happy life. I'm very fortunate, extremely fortunate, and I think that, like I say, luck is everything, just to be lucky. I know that Japanese Americans, Niseis, who are much more wealthy than I am. My god, I'm really very happy with where I am, not looking for anything, and at my age, my age, I hate to talk about age because I'm very self-conscious about age, self-conscious about age. I don't want to, at my age, I really think that very few people will have more ambition of doing more, but I do have. I do want to do some more things and have been looking at a lot of things to do. I'm trying to open up another store at the airport, looking at a new concept, couple new concepts of stores. I'm looking at, we're looking at some other real estate situation. It's not very good right now to buy anything, so we're watching very carefully. In other words, we're not just retired, retired in that I don't do anything. So I really feel that I have to keep on thinking about those things. Otherwise, you see, you just deteriorate. You end up with, you can end up with dementia and that's the end. So I feel getting up every morning, and I really think that, really think, thinking positively every day is a very important thing. I get up in the morning and some mornings I get up and I used to jog all the time, but my doctor told me, "At your age," he always tell me by my age, "you shouldn't be jogging because it's hard on your knees. Your knees are getting bad, so you might end up with bad knees." Then when I'm with my friend, one of my friends had a double knee replace, both knees replaced, those artificial, and he just barely walks around. Oh god, I don't want to look like that. I do want to look halfway, I like to look a couple years younger than I really am if I can, but I have lots of fun. I do really have a lot of fun. I think that's the most thing, to have fun, enjoy yourself.

JC: Thank you, very much for this interview. It's been extremely informative and delightful and that's a great ending to end on. I don't think you're in danger of getting too old, at least not in the near future.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.