Densho Digital Archive - Chiyo Endo Interview

<Begin Segment 1>

MK: Thank you very much for being here for an interview today. Could I ask your name first?

CE: Yes. My name is Chiyoko Endo.

MK: How old? Can I ask how old you are?

CE: When I came over?

MK: How old are you now?

CE: Oh, now. I'm ninety-seven. My birthday is on the 16th, so a bit shy of ninety-seven. They already had a birthday party for me at the church though.

MK: You are blessed with longevity for ninety-seven years. Would you say it has been a happy life when you look back?

CE: Yes, it's been a happy life. I have been a greenhouse farmer all of my life. I have not done any craft making or other fancy creations.

MK: Growing flowers.

CE: Yes. Growing flowers and vegetables.

MK: It has been a good life with a lot of fond memories.

CE: Yes. I worked as a farmer until I was ninety.

MK: That is impressive.

CE: Yes. [Laughs] Until I was ninety. I grew pansies. Kei was worried about me falling while I was working. I worked until I tuned just ninety. [Laughs]

MK: And you made a lot of natto.

CE: [Laughs] I make natto almost once a week from October through March. I keep giving it away to those who enjoy it.

MK: Everybody loves it.

CE: Some people asked me to teach them how to make natto. It is tricky to know when to take it out. Mrs. Fujita was my next door neighbor. She is also a natto lover. I tried to show her how to make it, but she just cannot get it right. It is tricky to take it out at the right time.

MK: What's the secret?

CE: The secret is to cook beans in an electric pot. Timing is tricky though. Cooking beans too. It takes a whole day.

MK: Simmering for a long time.

CE: Simmering in Japanese style. You cannot make decent natto with a pressure cooker. You want the beans so soft that you can crack them with your fingers. [Laughs]

MK: You don't use natto yeast?

CE: I don't.

MK: You don't worry about contamination.

CE: No.

MK: You wrap the pot with paper?

CE: In a box. I put the electric pot in a box just big enough to hold it. I put a lot of newspaper on the bottom and top it with clean sheets of paper. I put the beans in the box and let them cool down. Then I put them in the electric pot. I usually make about ten cups. It takes about two days. First night, and the second night. I keep them warm until the following morning until about 9 o'clock. I add water at the end.

MK: Add water?

CE: Slime.

MK: Oh, it gets slimy.

CE: Uh-huh.

MK: It takes two days?

CE: Yes.

MK: How can you tell if they are ready?

CE: I can tell them when they are ready on the first, second night. I check them around ten, twelve o'clock at night. If they look ready, I keep them warm and let them rest until the following morning. Then I take them out. [Laughs] That timing is tricky.

MK: I always enjoy it. We all love your natto.

<Begin Segment 2>

I would like to ask you a lot of question by going way back, starting with your life in Japan as a child.

CE: I see, back in Japan...

MK: Can I ask your father's name first?

CE: Shin-e-mon.

MK: Shin-e-mon. And your mother?

CE: Kin. Ki-n.

MK: Kinu?

CE: Kin.

MK: Kin?

CE: Yes.

MK: Are they both from Fukushima prefecture?

CE: Yes, from Fukushima.

MK: What did your father do?

CE: My father graduated from a sericulture school and was a silkworm business instructor. [Laughs] He was traveling around. My mother was running her silkworm business at home. Our grandfather and grandmother, and great-grandfather and great-grandmother were with us when we were kids.

MK: You all lived together?

CE: We all lived together.

MK: In a big house?

CE: Yes.

MK: With silkworms?

CE: The family was running a silkworm business.

MK: In the house?

CE: Yes.

MK: Were they kept in the attic?

CE: No, no. We had a separate shed for our silkworms. Our mother was the boss. [Laughs]

MK: Did you make silk too?

CE: Silk making was done by female workers. We had about seven, and they span waterwheels. They tied silk thread together when it broke, they took a bunch of thread off the wheel when it's done, and our grandmother cleaned it. They sometimes got extra, and that was the source of grandma's spending money. She really loved it. [Laughs] She was bringing some snacks to the women to bribe them for a bigger share for her. [Laughs] That was pretty funny.

MK: Do you remember which county your official address is?

CE: Yes, It was Shinobu County.

MK: Shinobu County.

CE: It was called Amanome Village. It is Amanome, and there was South Nome and North Nome. We had branch schools there. Children in South and North Nome went to each branch school by the end of fourth grade. We went to the main school together for the fifth and sixth grades. Kids in South Nome had to walk for about 6.25 miles to go to school. We didn't have any public transportation like train back in those old days, right? Everybody had to walk. [Laughs] There is a mountain called Shinobu Mountain. When my father was a head of the village, the village merged with Fukushima because we got a deal to have a tunnel built through the mountain in return. The tunnel was there when I went back last time. South Nome didn't used to have a lot happening, but it was crowded with a bunch of wholesalers and other businesses. [Laughs]

<Begin Segment 3>

MK: What do you remember best in your childhood?

CE: My father came over to the States when I was a third grader. He said that would be the last chance to move to the States and came over supposedly to work at an orchard. He was able to come on a condition that he was to be paid to support himself. He came over to work at an orchard in Hood River. I was a third grader and extremely happy to see him leaving for the States. He was quite short-tempered and hit us if he didn't think we were studying hard enough.

MK: That was quite a relief for you then.

CE: Yes. We were so happy that our father was gone. [Laughs] We were raised by our grandfather and grandmother. We are supposed to be cheaper by three cents. [Ed. Note: Japanese saying: Children brought up by grandparents are not as good because grandparents tend to spoil their grandchildren.]

MK: Your mother also came to the States when you were eleven.

CE: Yes, she came to the States.

MK: You must have missed them. You were a fourth grader.

CE: I missed them, but we had four grandparents and great grandparents. We were not sad at all.

MK: Do you have any siblings?

CE: Four girls including me. I am the oldest. We also had an elder brother; he passed away. My three younger sisters are still doing well.

MK: When did your brother pass away?

CE: Umm...

MK: Did he die in the U.S.?

CE: No, in Japan. My father came to the States and thought this was the best place to live in. He would not have left such a great country and gone back to Japan if he had not had the responsibility of caring for his aging parents. He had to, though, and ended up going back. My brother did the same and went back to take care of his aging parents.

MK: When was that?

CE: 19...25.

MK: He went back to Japan before the war.

CE: He went back after the war.

MK: I see. Then it must have been 1950...

CE: 1920...1955.

MK: He went back in 1955.

CE: Yes. Masako was working as a teacher in a small town in Salem. We went to visit my brother in Japan during her summer break. We took her all around the county. [Laughs]

MK: Did you go together?

CE: Yes, together.

MK: Did your sisters all get married in Japan?

CE: Yes. I asked them to come over to the U.S., but they did not want to as they don't know how to speak English and all. They would rather have me back frequently and have fun chatting and visiting hot springs together. [Laughs] That's why I went there nine times after the war. We visited many hot springs and had a great time.

MK: Nice life, isn't it?

CE: Yes. [Laughs] We were so poor before the war that I could not afford to go back even once. [Laughs]

<Begin Segment 4>

MK: You went to elementary school when you were a child.

CE: I went to an elementary school.

MK: Was that co-ed?

CE: Yes, it was co-ed. I went to a girls' school after that. That was in 1919.

MK: How many years did you spend at the girls' school?

CE: Four years at the girls' school back then.

MK: Six years at the elementary school.

CE: Yes.

MK: And four more years in the girls school after that.

CE: Yes.

MK: Ten years all together.

CE: Yes, I received a letter from the girls' school last year and found out it opened for boys and girls starting this April.

MK: It is a co-ed school now.

CE: Yes. I heard that it is not only for girls any more.

MK: Was your elementary school co-ed?

CE: Yes.

MK: The girls' school was not. When you went to the girls' school, did you have classes like sewing and cooking?

CE: Yeah, those were the main classes, and flower arrangement too. We also had some elective classes like tea ceremony and Japanese archery. We were able to choose what we liked. And English...

MK: Some hobby classes were included in the main curriculum.

CE: No, they were separate.

MK: Did you wear kimono when you started to go to the elementary school as a young child?

CE: Yes, everybody was wearing kimono. We had uniforms to wear when I was in the girls' school. It was a striped cotton kimono. Girls had been competing against each other about what to wear before the uniform was introduced. Everyone was trying to dress up. Girls from poor families were not able to attend the school. Uniforms were introduced to offer equal learning opportunities to poor children. [Laughs] We all went on a trip to visit the Ise Shrine at the fourth grade at the girls' school. We were told that we might not have a chance to do it after we get married. We visited the shrine while we were still students so we would not have to feel regret when we get married. I came over here to the U.S. after the trip to the Ise Shrine.

MK: Did you travel to Ise from Fukushima by train?

CE: Yes. By train. My class was divided between the east and west, and there were a total of one hundred students.

MK: It was a school trip.

CE: Yes, school trip. We went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and all the way to Ise.

<Begin Segment 5>

MK: What kind of meals did you have on the trip? Packaged meals? Did you buy them on the train?

CE: Well, sometimes on the train. Where was it? When we went past Shizuoka prefecture, we started to see fish in our packaged meals and were told to watch out for it. [Laughs]

MK: Is that because it was not fresh and could be spoiled?

CE: Fukushima is far away from the ocean. Women in the region did not used to eat raw fish just in case. We were afraid of food poisoning.

MK: Did men get to eat fish?

CE: Yes, only men could eat fish. [Laughs]

MK: Was that because it was expensive?

CE: No, no. We were trying to avoid food poisoning. The ocean is far away from where we lived, and fish had to travel a long way. We were not supposed to eat raw fish. The ocean is getting closer though thanks to the modern transportation. Now, everyone is eating it. [Laughs] We would not even dream of eating raw fish when we were living in Japan.

MK: Did you eat tomatoes?

CE: We did not have tomatoes.

MK: How about lettuce?

CE: Lettuce...

MK: Lettuce came into the market after the war, I guess.

CE: That is right.

MK: I am assuming you didn't have celery either.

CE: We didn't back then.

MK: I bet you had spinach.

CE: We did have spinach. That is Japanese. [Laughs]

MK: And daikon radish.

CE: Daikon radish, nappa cabbage and kabu radish, you know.

MK: You grew them all.

CE: We were all farmers and grew them all.

MK: Did you learn how to sew?

CE: Just at school. I came over to the States while I was still learning. That's why I am not a great seamstress. [Laughs]

MK: Did you make waraji straw slippers?

CE: Waraji...

MK: I made them when I was a young child just in case we could not get new shoes.

CE: Oh, right. We did. We made straw boots too when it was snowy.

MK: It is very cold in Fukushima, isn't it?

CE: We were wearing those boots.

MK: You made them.

CE: We made them at home. We spent long winter nights making things when the cold season arrived. That was one of our activities. [Laughs]

MK: Winter season in Fukushima is pretty long. Did you read a lot under a heated table?

CE: We went to school and studied. We didn't really read for pleasure.

MK: Didn't you read any novels?

CE: I didn't read a lot.

<Begin Segment 6>

MK: Your father came over to the States, and your mother followed. You are the only one out of the four siblings who came over here, right? Your three younger sisters...

CE: No, they did not come.

MK: All the way to the U.S. Why did you want to come?

CE: My father asked me if I would be interested in coming over, and that's why I came over with my older brother. [Laughs]

MK: You were fifteen.

CE: Right. I was giving such a hard time to my brother. [Laughs] I was telling him that I should never have come to the States. We had electricity and a record player back in Japan like everybody else. We did not even have electricity when we came over to the U.S. and settled in a town called Gladstone. We moved to Milwaukie, and we finally got electricity in the first year we moved in the area. That is why I was thinking, "Oh my goodness. I should not have come over here." [Laughs]

MK: You were working in the fields in Japan. You came over to the U.S. and started to work in the fields again. Which was harder?

CE: I did not work in Japan. [Laughs] Our family was running a pretty large silkworm business and had several workers spinning silk for us. We also had babysitters and cooks. I never had to work. [Laughs]

MK: Were you just hanging around then?

CE: Not just hanging around. I went to school.

MK: So you all of a sudden found yourself in a situation where you needed to work when you came over.

CE: Yes. [Laughs]

MK: Were you happy to see your father and mother?

CE: Yes, I was happy. I went to school for six months.

MK: Did you go to school here?

CE: In Gladstone.

MK: What grade were you in?

CE: I was not in a particular grade. I was learning simple words.

MK: Were you learning English words?

CE: English words. [Laughs] But I didn't have to speak English after that. We were speaking Japanese at home. I forgot all of it. We came back after the war was over, and I applied for American citizenship. I took Japanese classes for the test by Mr. Matsuda and Mr. Yasui with the Nikkei Association. Then I was told that I would need to take the test in English because I was a bit too young to be qualified for the test in Japanese. Mr. Matsui had another class in English for the English test. I took classes twice, in Japanese and in English. [Laughs]

<Begin Segment 7>

MK: Let me go back to what happened before the war. You were fifteen when you came over to the U.S. and had to work in the fields. You learned English at school. Did you go to American schools at all?

CE: I went to the American school for about three months.

MK: Three months. Was that all?

CE: I didn't have to speak English. [Laughs]

MK: It was probably just like when you lived in Japan.

CE: Yes.

MK: Nothing was different at home.

CE: That's right.

MK: Did you frequently go visit Japantown in the downtown area?

CE: We didn't go out very often.

MK: It was far, wasn't it?

CE: It was far.

MK: Was rice available?

CE: Yes, rice was available, and so was everything else.

MK: Did you make natto then?

CE: Yes, we did. We didn't have an electric pot in those days. We placed a pot next to the stove and kept stirring to make natto. [Laughs]

MK: Oh, I see. The cooking stove was a wood burning stove, wasn't it?

CE: Yes, yes. We burnt logs, put a pot over it and kept stirring on and on.

MK: There was no electricity, right?

CE: No electricity.

MK: Everything was wood burning.

CE: Yes.

MK: How did you keep yourselves warm in the winter?

CE: We were burning logs.

MK: In a stove?

CE: Yes.

MK: In the house?

CE: Yes. [Laughs]

MK: So you lived with your father, mother and your brother, four of you lived together in the house.

CE: Yes.

MK: Your father was working hard.

CE: We were working hard too.

MK: So were you. Your mother was working hard too in the fields.

CE: Yes, we all worked together.

MK: Did you lease the fields?

CE: Yes, we did. The landlord's house had gas, and he had gas lamps. We were renting one of his houses, but it was a small one without electricity or gas.

MK: How about water?

CE: We did have a water pipe coming in. We had water.

MK: It must have been hard.

CE: It was.

MK: I would imagine especially in the winter.

CE: We burned wood in the stove when it was very cold.

MK: Did you have an outhouse?

CE: Yes, it was outside back in those days. [Laughs]

<Begin Segment 8>

MK: After a while, you got married. When was it?

CE: 19...24.

MK: In 1924. How did you meet him?

CE: He was staying with us. My uncle was living in Mexico. He was in Mexico, and my husband went there and brought him back. [Laughs] They were from the same region, Miyagi Prefecture, pretty close to where we were from. My uncle worked with us as a farmer.

MK: Was he a farmer in Mexico?

CE: No, no. In here.

MK: Your uncle was brought over here.

CE: Yes.

MK: Why did he go to Mexico?

CE: My uncle told me that he got married into a family. It was a Shinto priest family. He realized that he could not possibly serve as a priest and fled to Mexico. [Laughs] He stayed in Mexico, but the condition there was not really desirable, I guess. That's why my husband went over there to bring him here.

MK: That is your uncle.

CE: Yes. He is my uncle.

MK: Your uncle.

CE: Yes.

MK: That's who you married?

CE: No. no. My uncle got married in Japan. He wasn't able to work as a priest and went over to Mexico.

MK: How about your husband?

CE: My husband got into an elementary school when he was small. He was discharged when he was in the second grade because he got pleuritis. [Laughs] He entered a middle school later and worked on a deep-sea fishing boat after he graduated from the school. He gave that up and came over to the States.

MK: Was he born in Fukushima Prefecture?

CE: No, in Miyagi Prefecture in Sendai City. He was in Sendai, but he made a lot of money working as a farmer in Tacoma. He went back to Japan and got married. I heard that the wife was very nice, but he couldn't bring her over with him. He left her behind, and his father, I don't know why, maybe the wife did something wrong. His father decided that she was not a suitable wife and arranged a divorce without consulting with him. My husband was furious. [Laughs] He and his father were not writing to each other. Meanwhile, his father finalized the divorce without his agreement. His father did not think the wife was right for the family. [Laughs]

MK: Not right for the family?

CE: [Laughs] I heard she was a very nice wife.

MK: Then he had arranged marriage and married you later?

CE: No. When we came over, my husband brought my uncle from Mexico. They worked together as farmers. That's how. [Laughs]

MK: Your husband was much older than you are, wasn't he?

CE: He was. He was much older, but my father did not want to have a stranger in the family. I heard that he told my mother that it is such a reckless idea to send a daughter to the States. If you do it, consider her as gone. [Laughs] My father and mother decided to keep my husband around. They asked him to go to Mexico to bring my uncle, and they owed him a favor. [Laughs]

MK: Oh, so your husband brought your uncle from Miyagi Prefecture. He brought your uncle to Mexico then.

CE: No, no. Not from Miyagi Prefecture. He brought my uncle over here from Mexico. My father paid dues to the Japanese Association as he was expecting my husband to bring my uncle here. [Laughs]

MK: What made you decide to marry him?

CE: I don't know.

MK: No? You thought he would be good, didn't you?

CE: I just got married. The ceremony was at the house of our white boss. I had a priest from Gladstone and hosted a very nice ceremony.

MK: Did you were a wedding dress?

CE: No, I didn't wear a wedding dress. [Laughs]

MK: What was a wedding like then? Did you have a lot of guests?

CE: We had a lot of guests at the wedding reception.

MK: Did you all cook?

CE: No, we had it at a restaurant.

MK: Which restaurant was it?

CE: It must have been the current Fanfa Low.

MK: Was that a Chinese restaurant?

CE: Yes, it was Chinese.

MK: You lived in the States, in Portland in Oregon. Did you experience any discrimination?

CE: No, I didn't. Everyone was very nice. We saw Japanese people detained after we moved to Milwaukie, but people offered their basement for us to stay. Everyone in Milwaukie was so nice. I didn't encounter any discrimination.

MK: You didn't speak English, but you could tell that they are very nice people.

CE: Everyone was so nice to us in Milwaukie.

MK: Did your children go to public schools?

CE: They went to public schools.

MK: They were not bullied, weren't they?

CE: They were not. They were so nice to the kids. Teachers brought them home from school for a while as we did not have a car in those days. They were all very nice. [Laughs]

MK: How many children do you have?

CE: I have six.

MK: That many. That must have been hard work.

CE: It has been sixty-one years since my husband passed away.

<Begin Segment 9>

MK: When the war was coming close, did you often turn on the radio for updates?

CE: Yes, we were listening to the radio. It was Sunday when the war started. Our children came home and shouted, "Mom! Japan started to fight!" I remember that I could not stop my legs from shaking when I heard about the Emperor's announcement. The war started.

MK: You were scared.

CE: Yes. We saw Mr. Watanabe and Mr. Fujita. Mr. Fujita lived next door, and we were going back and forth like relatives. They came, and we made a fire in the hot house. We kept working though.

MK: You kept working after the war started on December 7th.

CE: We planted what we needed to plant in the hot house. Just as we always had been.

MK: The Executive Order was issued in February to send you to an incarceration camp. Were you sent to an assembly center first?

CE: Yes.

MK: You had to sell everything before you left, didn't you?

CE: We left everything behind because we had our white boss...

MK: ...to take care of your belongings while you were gone.

CE: Yes. Our white boss was very nice. He took us to the assembly center, no, no, relocation center, in Gresham in Portland.

MK: You left with all you could possibly carry.

CE: Yes, with all we could physically carry. [Laughs] I had children and didn't know what to do.

MK: Did your husband pass away at the assembly center?

CE: No, no. He died at home.

MK: It was in April, wasn't it?

CE: It was in March.

MK: Oh, in March.

CE: It was on March 25th. He went to the hot house with Mr. Watanabe from next door and Mrs. Fujita. He came home with a headache. I think he had a stroke. We asked Shiomi, Dr. Shiomi to come over to see him. The doctor told us that it was the worst possible case. We watched him all day with Mrs. Fujita. Kei was still only nine, and he went over to his father in the morning and said, "Dad, are you still sleeping? Wake up!" [Laughs] That was it. He was around for only one more night. He smiled and passed away. I was told that he would have about one hour before he would lose consciousness. He just kept looking at me and said, "I see you. I see you." I think he knew that his life was ending. He was asking me to take care of the family when he was saying, "I see you, I see you." That was the end.

MK: How old was he?

CE: He was much older than I am. Forty... How old was he? He was fifty-six, I think.

MK: Fifty-six years old.

<Begin Segment 10>

MK: You took your six children, and where did you go?

CE: We went to Portland first.

MK: You went to Portland.

CE: Then we went to Minidoka.

MK: You went to Minidoka.

CE: Yes.

MK: So you were in Minidoka with six children to take care of by yourself.

CE: Yes. [Laughs]

MK: Oh my, it must have been hard. Your eldest son was already eighteen years old though.

CE: No, no. He was not that old yet, but he took off and went to work. We went to the assembly center, and our eldest daughter, Akiko, was a Sunday school teacher. At the camp, we had a very nice high school teacher, and the teacher offered a scholarship to Akiko. To an enemy foreigner. She went to New York and learned sewing. She was staying with a pastor family. She spent three years there. They took her everywhere, to family visits and all.

MK: Did she learn English too?

CE: She didn't have English classes. She was learning sewing.

MK: Was it an American pastor?

CE: Yes.

MK: Then she learned how to communicate in English.

CE: Yes. She also went to school.

MK: Yes, she went to school too.

CE: The children speak English. She was there for three years. We started a hot house and came back. We worked so hard on it. [Laughs]

MK: I heard that you were receiving about eleven dollars every month when you were at Minidoka.

CE: Yes. We couldn't receive it without working. I worked. We spent the money for clothing and other items. We also had a lot of different classes like embroidering and flower arrangement at the camp, and everyone was taking some classes. I could hardly go to church as I had small children to take care of when we were at home. My husband went to church. [Laughs] I always stayed home. Pastor Hayashi baptized me, but I didn't know anything about the Bible. There was someone who came for mission work, and I went to her class. There was also Pastor Sakuma offering a class. We had Pastor Shoji from Seattle. I was taking bible study and church song classes. [Laughs] I didn't take any flower arrangement classes at all.

MK: Many students take bible study and church song classes to learn English in Japan. Was that your intention, too?

CE: The classes were all in Japanese. Even church songs were in Japanese. Bible study was in Japanese. The teachers were Japanese, and I didn't learn any English. [Laughs]

MK: Was it in Minidoka?

CE: Yes, it was in Minidoka.

MK: What made you interested in Christianity, not Buddhism?

CE: My husband's family has a history of Zen religion. We didn't have Zen priests in the States though. We had Buddhism temples, but he was not crazy about Buddhism. He wanted to have the children religious. We had a church upstairs, and the children went there for a long time since they were little.

MK: Because you didn't have Buddhist temple...

CE: Right.

MK: That's why you went to church?

CE: Yes. They were singing the "Jesus loves me" song when they came back from the church in their father's lap when they were small. We had them baptized in 19... That was the 2600th year of the Japanese Imperial reign. The girls got baptized by the pastor. All four girls. Our boy was supposed to go back to Japan as he was to take over the family. [Laughs] They were baptized by Pastor Hayashi later in Portland when they were older. [Laughs]

[Interruption]

<Begin Segment 11>

MK: I didn't realize that you were thirsty. So, you were listening to the radio when the war started.

CE: Yes, we were listening to the radio.

MK: How did the news come out that the Pearl Harbor was attacked? How was it described? It was in English, wasn't it?

CE: Yes, it was in English, and we didn't know exactly what... [Laughs]

MK: Did your neighbors tell you that you were enemies?

CE: No, no, not at all. They were all nice in Milwaukie.

MK: Did the FBI come over to investigate?

CE: Ken Sasaki was the first one to be detained. Ken Sasaki was the first. That was the eldest son... instead of Ken. His brother was detained. Ken was in a poor health, and the brother was another Sasaki. [Laughs] Later my brother was detained as he was reading a newspaper, a magazine called Sokoku. [Laughs]

MK: How long was he gone? For how many days?

CE: He was taken away and sent to Missouri and Montana. He took off to work somewhere else from there. He was working on dam construction. My children filed a petition, and he came to the camp on the first anniversary after my husband passed away.

MK: That was your brother?

CE: Yes. Pastor Shoji conducted the first memorial ceremony for us. We sent a notice to Japan through the Red Cross to let the family know. It took them three years to receive the notice. They didn't know, and nothing was arranged. They kept all their assets as always. My husband was the eldest son and to inherit the household. Ben was named as the successor as he was the oldest son. [Laughs] My husband did not go back, and his younger brother went back to take care of the parents. It wouldn't have worked if we all had gone back, as the assets would have come to us. [Laughs] Kentaro's wife asked us to transfer the assets to Kantaro. I didn't know how much the family had and contacted my father in Japan to figure out what to do. He told me that the assets of the Endo Family are not what Kanichi personally had earned. It had been passed down in the family through generations, and the one who took over the household should take them all. He told me to be a good wife and a good sister for the rest of my life and give up everything. He also told me not to even think about coming back to Japan to live there. He said that none of our kids would be sophisticated enough to live in Japan. [Laughs] He invited me to visit them as often as I liked. He told me to transfer everything over to my husband's brother, and we received documents from their attorney in Japan. Our friend was a public notary. He took care of the paperwork, and it was accepted. He said, "It usually takes a lawyer, but they accepted. I will go ahead and take care of everything," and did it. Masako and I went to Japan for a visit after we transferred everything from my husband to Kantaro.

<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.

<Begin Segment 13>

MK: You studied for the test and acquired American citizenship in 1957. Was it in Japanese?

CE: No, no. I couldn't do it in Japanese. I was a bit too young. [Laughs] I had to study for the test in English.

MK: Could older people take the test in Japanese?

CE: Older people could take the test in Japanese.

MK: Younger people were not allowed to do it?

CE: I was not allowed because I was a bit younger than the threshold.

MK: What age was the threshold?

CE: I don't know what age. I missed it by only one or two years. Hinako, I and another man who passed away, three of us studied for the test together in English. [Laughs] We had a lot memorized because we studied hard. I went to Japan and came back. I was told to report for the citizenship test. I talked to my teacher, Mr. Matsui. He told me to come over for a lesson that evening, and I took the test on the following day. I didn't want to go to him. I was supposed to repeat to him word for word in English as I was instructed. I thought I could just wing it at the test if I didn't have the lesson with him. [Laughs] They didn't ask a lot of questions though.

MK: Do you remember any?

CE: I forgot them all now. I still have the notebook though.

MK: Do you remember any questions they asked you?

CE: I don't remember. I passed the test without a lot of questions to answer. Too bad because I studied very hard for the test. [Laughs]

MK: They asked me the name of the President.

CE: Oh.

MK: Didn't they ask you the same question?

CE: They didn't. They did ask a few questions. I answered, and that was it. [Laughs]

MK: Were you happy to become an American citizen?

CE: Sort of. It works well when I go to Japan. It is very convenient. [Laughs]

<Begin Segment 14>

MK: The war ended in 1945, and you came back to Oregon. Did you experience any harassment?

CE: No. no. Not at all.

MK: You found your farm managed by Filipinos when you came home.

CE: Filipino people were running the farm, and it went on sale. They decided to leave, and it became available to purchase. It was a small farm, but that was okay with us. We bought the farm.

MK: Japanese people were not allowed to purchase land, were they?

CE: In the past, but it was allowed then. We have children...

MK: Your children have American citizenship.

CE: Yes.

MK: You didn't.

CE: No. Our children bought the farm. They all, including the one who lived in New York, were working. Kazuko had a job after she graduated form a business college. And Masako, Tokuko and Kei. Masako went to Oregon State University right after.

MK: Did she go there to study?

CE: Yes.

MK: Was it in 1945?

CE: 1945... She received a scholarship from the Oregon State University.

MK: Did Masako become a teacher right after she graduated from Oregon State University?

CE: Yes. It was hard to become a teacher in those days, but she did. She became a high school teacher in Jobs, close to Salem.

MK: What did she teach?

CE: I think she was a P.E. teacher.

MK: Do you know what year she became a teacher?

CE: I'm not sure what year.

MK: She graduated from Oregon State University.

CE: She became a teacher right after she graduated...

MK: Could it be around 1949?

CE: 1940... 40... No, no. It was in 1955. She was working as a teacher when we went to Japan in 1955.

MK: I heard about discrimination against Japanese people, but you didn't experience any...

CE: Not at all. We didn't feel discriminated. [Laughs] Milwaukie is such a nice place.

MK: That is great. We are going back a bit, but you have six children. Did you speak Japanese at home?

CE: Yes.

MK: What happened when they started to go to school?

CE: They spoke English. That was my turn to go to school and learn English. [Laughs]

MK: Did your children tell you to study hard?

CE: No, no. They didn't. [Laughs]

MK: Do your children speak Japanese when they come home?

CE: Yes, in Japanese. They speak Japanese. [Laughs] Tokuko's family lives far away, but she does not forget Japanese. I don't have any problems talking to her.

MK: Did your children go to a Japanese school?

CE: Yes, they did. No. no... just for a short while.

MK: It was closed because of the war.

CE: It was. My husband also told me that the children would not learn a lot at a Japanese school in the States. He was planning to send them over to Japan to be educated when they were older and have them back to the States again. We had to support the Japanese school though, because the building was very close to our house in Milwaukie. We had to make a contribution like everyone else when they were asking for donations for a new building.

<Begin Segment 15>

MK: Did your children grow up in Milwaukie?

CE: Yes.

MK: Did they go to school there?

CE: Yes.

MK: Did they go to the Japanese school?

CE: I think only two of them, Akiko and another one, went to the Japanese school.

MK: What did they do on weekends? Did they join the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts?

CE: I think Kei joined the Boy Scouts. I don't remember very well. A lot of girls joined the Girl Scouts. Masako went to this place while she was working as a teacher. Where was it? A school over the river.

MK: Willamette River?

CE: Yes. She always went to the place in the mountain for a couple of weeks when she was working as a teacher. She was teaching there.

MK: Was she teaching P.E.?

CE: Yes. She was also supervising.

MK: I'm glad that you didn't experience any discrimination or hardship.

CE: We didn't. Our children worked hard during the summer break though.

MK: What did they do?

CE: They picked beans, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries. They didn't take a single day off. They had to save to go to school.

MK: They did well.

CE: Yes. Ben worked very hard too. We worked hard to make money to send them to school. All of them received some scholarship like Masako. That's how they went to school.

MK: They worked hard.

CE: They all worked very hard.

MK: How impressive.

CE: Now I think about it, Nisei children were all hard workers.

MK: Because the Issei generation was very hard working. The Nisei generation grew up with hard working parents and inherited the work ethics.

CE: The Sansei generation is very laid back. [Laughs]

MK: How about the Yonsei generation? All of your grandchildren are working hard.

CE: Sort of. They are doing well, and I'm happy about it.

MK: Do you sometimes go back to Japan? Have you been back nine times so far?

CE: Yes.

<Begin Segment 16>

MK: Do you feel like you are lucky to live in the U.S. when you go over to Japan?

CE: Yeah, living in the U.S. is great. You have to do a lot for your relatives in Japan. I don't think I can live there. [Laughs]

MK: Same here.

CE: It is such a hustle.

MK: It is especially complicated in the countryside.

CE: My sister's child is in charge of a temple called Ryozen Temple. It belongs to the Tendai sect of Buddhism, and he came to hold the highest position in the Buddhist priesthood. He was the second, third one in the Tohoku region. There are only twelve, fifteen priests in the highest position. [Laughs] I cannot talk about Christianity at all when we go to Japan even though I am a Christian. All the wives in the family are from a temple. They go to classes at a temple, invite instructors to lecture at home and travel around together once a year. I cannot talk about Christianity at all. They are all firm believers of Buddhism.

MK: It is a lot easier to live in the States.

CE: Yes, it is. [Laughs] The Hiei Mountain Temple, the main temple of the Tendai sect, they say that there is no difference between Buddhism and Christianity. They say everyone can just believe in one religion, and there will be no more war. The temple is trying to shed light all over the world with one candle. I cannot talk about Christianity with them.

MK: What year did you get baptized?

CE: That was during the war...1940, 1945? That was before Pastor Hayashi left.

MK: Was that in Minidoka?

CE: Yes, it was in Minidoka.

MK: Did you have both church and Buddhist priests in Minidoka?

CE: Yes, we had everything.

MK: Were there Buddhists?

CE: They were there. Those who believe in Buddhism got together, and so did those who believe in Christianity.

MK: Did you get together every Sunday?

CE: That's right.

MK: Did you have separate gatherings?

CE: Yes. We belonged to the Christian group and went to one section of the camp. Section 30 or 40. We were practicing our church songs. We went to the house with 50 cents when someone passed away and sang our songs in a chorus. We brought 50 cents. It was 50 cents for celebrations too.

MK: You had to work to make money, didn't you?

CE: We had no money and had to work. Living in the camp was good for us in a sense. [Laughs]

MK: You didn't have to work.

CE: We didn't have to work. I washed dishes and pans. I went to the church song class and the bible study as soon as I was done. [Laughs]

MK: You didn't have a lot to do, did you?

CE: Not a lot. Everyone was learning how to arrange flowers and how to knit. [Laughs]

MK: The camp was a comforting environment for women, wasn't it?

CE: Yes, it was great. I learned how to read the Bible because I lived in the camp. [Laughs]

MK: You never know what would work for you.

CE: You don't. It was too bad that the war started, but it pushed the Nisei generation out in the society. It worked out as a result. [Laughs]

MK: I agree.

CE: I think it worked out.

MK: Issei people suffered though. They lost their position as a doctor or as a professor.

CE: Yes.

MK: I feel very sorry for those who were robbed of their profession they were working so hard on.

CE: I personally didn't know anyone like that. Well, we had hardships, but I feel fortunate to live in the States just as my sister always tells me. [Laughs]

MK: I agree.

CE: My sister tell me that she is the happiest person in Japan. [Laughs] That's what she says. I am happy to live here in the States too.

MK: Do your sisters feel envious for you?

CE: No, no. They are receiving their husbands' pension in Japan. They are happy to live on the money without depending on their children. [Laughs]

MK: I'm glad that everyone in your family is doing well.

CE: Yes.

MK: Where is your husband's mortuary tablet?

CE: We don't have one because we are Christian. His ashes are in the Lincoln Memorial.

MK: Where is it?

CE: Lincoln.

MK: Oh, Lincoln. I see.

CE: Yes.

MK: Where was it held during the war?

CE: The undertaker was holding it for us. He is such a nice person.

MK: Was it in Hennessy?

CE: No, no. He was an undertaker in Milwaukie.

MK: That was very fortunate.

CE: Yes. I left some money for flowers and asked him to place some flowers for him on his memorial day. He kept it with him until I came home. It was at the undertaker's place in Milwaukie.

MK: It sounds like everyone was very nice to you.

CE: Yes. Everyone was really nice.

MK: No one was mean to you.

CE: Not even one.

MK: Your children are all so nice too.

CE: [Laughs] Their teachers were also very nice.

<Begin Segment 17>

MK: Has it been a happy life so far?

CE: Yes, it has.

MK: You worked very hard.

CE: Yes. It is a happy life. I don't know how long I will be around. I don't want to put a burden on my children or grandchildren, but I cannot just die. [Laughs] There is nothing I can do about it.

MK: I hope you will be with us for a long time.

CE: You do?

MK: I really do.

CE: Our family has longevity genes. My grandmother who married into another family lived to be 100 years old. [Laughs] We have a family history.

MK: What is the secret for longevity?

CE: What is it?

MK: Natto fermented beans?

CE: Natto. [Laughs] Natto and pickled plums. [Laughs]

MK: And eating rice.

CE: Eating rice.

MK: Do you mix in any wheat when you cook rice?

CE: I did in Japan but don't do it here. I cooked rice with wheat in Japan.

MK: It is good for you, isn't it?

CE: It is. We mixed in some wheat when we grated yams to put over the rice.

MK: What do you eat for breakfast?

CE: I don't have breakfast. They don't serve breakfast here.

MK: How about lunch?

CE: Anything like sandwiches and others for lunch. I eat anything that is served.

MK: Do you eat downstairs?

CE: Yes.

<Begin Segment 18>

MK: Do you join group activities?

CE: I have been joining the group since it started.

MK: Is it once a week?

CE: Yes. Kei, I and Mr. Honma came over too. We were singing the dead pampas grass song, but I don't know why we ended up singing it. That was with Mr. Dozono.

MK: It is a nice song, isn't it?

CE: Is it?

MK: Yes. The melody is rather sad though.

CE: Isn't it?

MK: Do you like singing?

CE: I do. I like listening to music too.

MK: Do you remember Japanese songs?

CE: I do. I used to sing an American pigeon song as a lullaby. [Laughs]

MK: American pigeon song?

CE: Yes. Someone in Seattle composed it. [Singing] My pretty pigeon/ cuckooing and singing/ flying out of the brushwood/ perched on my shoulder and on my hand/ cuckooing with lovely voice/ singing happily/ flying away good bye after eating beans. [Laughs]

MK: That is a very nice song.

CE: I used to sing it to the kids when they were small.

MK: I would like to learn how to sing it.

CE: Would you? This is an American version of the pigeon song. The Japanese version goes: "Come down from a temple roof, come down from a shrine window," right?

MK: When you look back at your childhood in Japan, do you remember any lullaby your mother used to sing to you?

CE: [Singing] Go to sleep, go to sleep. I remember that one.

MK: How does it go?

CE: Where did the boy go/ Over the mountain... How did it go? Went to the town/what did he get as a souvenir/ a drum and flute/ [Laughs]

MK: I thought it was a Chinese lullaby, but the Tohoku version is the same.

CE: It's the same.

MK: Just a different melody.

CE: I like singing. Here I have... [Looking at notes]

MK: You wrote everything down in your notes.

CE: I wrote everything down. [Laughs] I wrote down a lullaby too. [Looking at notes] Where was it?

MK: Singing is also a secret for longevity, isn't it?

CE: Here is the writing. "I never have sung a song to celebrate the birth of the holy son, never sang a Christmas song. I never celebrate and greet Christmas out loud. Never have look at a card or written down Christmas. However, what is it... However, sing in your heart in a room with wind and snow banging on the window. Greet yourself... write in your eyes. Thank God for the birth of the holy child. Be in joy. If I don't suffer, if those who do not know God's love do not suffer, it was not possible to spread God's love." That is how it goes. "If Jesus did not suffer, it wouldn't have been possible to see God's love." [Laughs]

MK: Oh.

CE: I don't know what, but there is a lot written down here. Poem by Meiji Emperor, and Prince Nashimoto. There are a lot.

MK: Yes.

CE: The Manchurian Incident... Meiji Emperor and the Empress.

MK: What a long history. You have lived through Meiji, Taisho and Showa era. And it is Heisei now.

CE: That's right.

MK: This goes, "Prince Akihito was born on December 24th, 1933. Long awaited son to succeed the family. The light of the three countries shines brighter." [Laughs]

CE: Oh, it is about the emperor.

MK: That is a great diary.

CE: It is just a journal. I wrote about a lot of things.

MK: Long life for ninety-seven years.

CE: This was when we celebrated the special 88th birthday, who wrote this? "The heart-warming gathering in the harsh world. May it last for a long time. Setsuko on November 14th, The father Tsuneo Hiramatsu on January 14th, 1953, Prince Chichibu in August in 1969. They are all gone."

MK: Yes.

CE: How sad.

MK: It really is.

CE: I wrote about a bunch of different things. I certainly did.

MK: It is such a great way to keep memories.

CE: Here is another one. "The fifth Infantry Regiment from Aomori Prefecture was stranded in the blizzard while marching in the snow on January 25th in 1902 on Hakkoda Mountain. 199 soldiers died. It was a very painful incident."

MK: I see.

CE: This is a poem to remember Empress Teimei written by the Emperor. "My mother gathered..." what is it? in the autumn garden. What was it?

MK: Many Japanese poems are very emotional.

CE: Yes. Here is another one. "I keep my bright moon in my heard and let it shine on the dark in the world." This is the farewell poem written by Dharma.

MK: You are always carrying it with you, even when you go to Japan.

CE: That's right. I brought another notebook when I went to Japan. I always keep a diary.

MK: You should have it translated for your grandchildren to read.

CE: I don't know.

MK: They can read about what you like.

CE: They already know what I like. I showed them like how to make ohagi mochi cakes. Kei is very good at it. [Laughs]

MK: That's great.

CE: Akiko cooks beans to make natto. Kei takes over and finishes the process.

<Begin Segment 19>

MK: We would like to present this interview to children at the Japanese Overseas Migration Museum in Yokohama when the video is made. Do you have anything you would like to tell Japanese children?

CE: Not really. Not at this point.

MK: Anything you would like to tell them? I can be something about living in the States.

CE: About living in the States. There is not anything good about living in the States.

MK: Is that what would like to tell them?

CE: My father told me that he would never leave such a great country and go back to Japan if he had been the second son. He said there is no better place to live in than America.

MK: That will be the message for Japanese children.

CE: I don't know what to say about the States. Those who were making a lot of noise about loyalty for Japan ended up receiving 20,000 dollars. Those who had died before the law was signed didn't get any. I feel sorry for those people. People went to Italy and went to the war. They didn't get anything, and their children did.

MK: It is not fair.

CE: It is not fair. I always think about it. What a shame. [Laughs]

MK: It was a dark spot in the history.

CE: People went to the war and went through such hardships. They didn't receive any compensation because they passed away before the law was signed. Their children didn't do anything but got the money.

MK: You are talking about the $20,000 redress payment, aren't you?

CE: I've always thought it is so unfair. Everyone tells me not to talk about it.

MK: You have a point. Those who had passed away...

CE: I feel sorry for those who had passed away. Some missed the payment by only one or two months. They need to do some research. Their children should receive it.

MK: Thank you very much for sharing a lot of stories with me today.

CE: Oh, just a bunch of boring stories.

MK: No, no. Such a valuable life, really. You worked so hard.

CE: I did okay.

MK: I learned a lot.

CE: Looking back, I have been doing okay, thanks to my children.

MK: You have been working so hard.

CE: Yes.

MK: Thank you very much for your time today.

Densho Digital Archive Oregon Nikkei Endowment Collection Title: Chiyo Endo Interview Narrator: Chiyo Endo Interviewer: Michiko Kornhauser Location: Date: March 11, 2003 Densho ID: denshovh-echiyo-01