<Begin Segment 12>

MK: How old was Masako?

CE: She was a high school teacher at Jobs.

MK: Was that her first time to go to Japan?

CE: She had never been there. My brother told her to go visit him in Japan anytime when he went back to Japan. He offered to show her around as a tour guide. She took him up on the offer. She asked me to go with her. [Laughs] Both us of went there on behalf of our family. My father took us to the Endo family to meet them for the first time. [Laughs]

MK: The Endo Family was not in Fukushima Prefecture...

CE: It wasn't. It was in Miyagi Prefecture.

MK: Miyagi Prefecture?

CE: Yes.

MK: In Miyagi Prefecture. Was it close to Sendai City?

CE: Yes, it was Izumi Ward. It has subway lines and everything now. I heard it used to be empty when my husband was going to middle school there. My husband's family is farming, and the house is still there. They didn't have cars, and he had to walk for 6.25 miles to go to school. Now the area is fully developed and very crowded. The house is still there, and the mountains are too. They are renting their houses to a hospital or Toshiba. They are not selling them. They are collecting rent and making a living out of it. [Laughs] There is a school called MeySen Academy that offers an English immersion program. All our grandchildren, all the grandchildren from the Endo family went to the school. Masatoshi, who is currently the head of the family, came over to our house on his honeymoon. [Laughs] There is a campground somewhere in Seattle where they stay every summer. Masako takes them. They all had a lot of fun there. They are farmer's children and were so impressed by the vast farmland in the U.S. [Laughs]

MK: Japan is a small country.

CE: Eiichi is saying that sending Masatoshi to the States was a mistake. That was a bad idea. If Eiichi becomes interested in staying in the U.S., he might not come back just like Uncle Kanichi didn't. [Laughs]

MK: Your husband was here in the States, and the second son is Kanichi...

CE: No, no. My husband was Kanichi, because he was the eldest. There are ten sons in the family. [Laughs] There was Kannosuke and Kantaro under him. Their mother didn't think Kantaro was an appropriate name for the third or fourth son and didn't like the idea at all. She gave in though just like any other women in those days, and the name stayed. And Kantaro was the one who took over the family. [Laughs]

MK: Among the ten brothers, how many came to the States?

CE: From my husband's family?

MK: From your husband's.

CE: Only one did.

MK: Your husband was the only one?

CE: Yes. No one else came over from my family, and no one else came from my husband's family. I celebrated my special 88th birthday here. We had thirty-something family members all together here.

MK: Everyone came.

CE: Yes, everyone came.

MK: What a party.

CE: I wish they were here. Other families came with uncles and aunts. No one came from our family, and I felt lonely.

MK: But you have wonderful children.

CE: Yes, I do.

MK: Six of them.

CE: Yes, I'm proud of them. My grandchild in Texas was enrolled as a college freshman when he was in the tenth grade in high school.

MK: He must be a very strong student.

CE: Yes. He was highly capable and got a scholarship, but he lived in a dorm. It cost some money, but now he is a doctor. He is graduating this September and becoming a medical doctor. [Laughs]

MK: That is great.

CE: He received a lot of scholarships. The eldest grandchild is becoming a nurse.

MK: A nurse.

CE: Yes. My grandchild Sharon was a lab technician for blood tests at a hospital managed by a Methodist Church.

MK: Blood test?

CE: Yes. She travels around for her work.

MK: Everyone sounds like an achiever.

CE: [Laughs] I have nothing to worry about the grandchildren. They are American grandchildren, and they are doing well. They are all coming over this Sunday.

MK: That is great. Your 97th birthday.

CE: Yes.

MK: That will be fun.

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