Densho Digital Archive
Oregon Nikkei Endowment Collection
Title: Kena Gimba Interview
Narrator: Kena Gimba
Interviewer: Masako Hinatsu
Location: Milwaukie, Oregon
Date: January 29, 2003
Densho ID: denshovh-gkena-01-0001

<Begin Segment 1>

MH: This is an interview with Kena Gimba, a Nisei woman, eighty-eight years old, who lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, on this day of January 29, 2003. When were you born and where were you born, Kena?

KG: I was born May the 22nd, 1914, and I was born right here in Milwaukie about five blocks from where I presently live.

MH: And who were your parents?

KG: Motonosuke and Takano Tanabe.

MH: And what was your father's line of work? What did your father do?

KG: He farmed. This area was all farming area, and Dad had a berry farm at the time.

MH: And what did your mother do?

KG: Helped.

MH: How many siblings did you have?

KG: For the present time, I have just my two sisters, but I had a brother that lived 'til he was a little over two years old. But the baby, I do not remember, but I did have two brothers.

MH: And where were you in the line of your siblings?

KG: I was the second one.

MH: Okay. So the brother was older than you?

KG: Yeah. One brother was older than I am.

MH: What do you remember of those early years?

KG: What do I remember of those years? I don't remember anything other than when we lived here, but as getting into -- going to grade school, oh my, I can tell you all kinds of stories, but I don't know which --

MH: Begin with one of the stories, then. Tell me one of the stories of your grade school.

KG: Well, I remember going to grade school, and we had to walk almost two miles to get to school. And we got a nickel for lunch in those days, and that was a lot of money. We got... well, the ordinary childhood, played games and stuff. We played, and I remember some of our teachers were a little more stricter than the others. But, well, I can tell you about one incident where this -- this was after, I must have been about a seventh grader, there was one chap that we got out in the hall and he started to give, you know. In this day and age, we were not supposed to be talking about racial and things like that, but he come out there one day, and I was really telling him off. And the teacher caught us out there in the hall, and she says, "What are you two up to?" you know, and I just told her that what he had just said to me. And I remember her giving her the most strictest that I could remember because she says, "We do not," you know, "do this kind of thing here. We are all one people." But that's the thing that I remember going to grade school. But other than that, it was just an everyday routine.

MH: Now were there other Japanese children over at that --

KG: No. I was the only one.

MH: So did you feel like you were Japanese, Japanese American?

KG: No. I never felt like I was an outsider, I never did. That's one of those things that I guess I felt I was just as good as they were. I didn't think I was different. So that kid went and started in on me, and I was ready to battle for my rights. [Laughs]

MH: Did you go to Japanese school?

KG: Yes. That was much later in life. I think I was... must have been maybe like an eighth grader, seventh, eighth grader and then into high school. And we had classes once or twice a week, and we went every Saturday.

MH: Where was this Japanese school?

KG: It's here in Milwaukie just a short distance from where I now live.

MH: And besides learning to read and write Japanese, did you learn any of the cultural things there?

KG: Well, if you... yes and no, I guess. We learned Japanese dancing, and that's just about it that I can remember. I'm not very good at this. Whatever I learned in Japanese is all out of my head right now anyway, good gracious, plain blank.

MH: When you were home, when you were eating dinner, what kind of conversations did you have with your parents or siblings? Did you have a special place to sit?

KG: Good grief, I don't remember any of that kind of stuff. All I remember is I, being the oldest, I had to do a lot of cooking. That, I can remember that.

MH: How about high school?

KG: How about what?

MH: High school.

KG: High school. Well, I was known as a woman of silence here. So, you know, I had my good friends. I had dear girlfriend and neighbors. We were very close with the neighbors, but that's about all I can remember. We didn't do anything. I didn't stay for the games or nothing, so I couldn't tell you.

[Interruption]

KG: No, I'm not much of a, I was just one of those quiet things, but I did have like I say a few good friends, but very close friends. We used to do a lot of going back and forth. I used to go and stay overnight with them and stuff like that.

MH: Were they Caucasian friends?

KG: Huh?

MH: Were they Caucasian friends?

KG: Yes. They were all hakujins. In fact, when I was growing up, there was, the nearest Japanese family was I'd say a good mile from where I resided, and they were much younger than I am too by I think about five or six years.

MH: What was the name of the high school that you went to?

KG: High school?

MH: Uh-huh.

KG: I went to Milwaukie, at the time I went, it was Milwaukie Union High School. But now, it's Milwaukie High School. That's right in the City of Milwaukie.

MH: As a teenager, did you date? Did you date?

KG: Heavens to Betsy, I didn't even date when I was old enough to do so. [Laughs] Goodness sakes.

MH: Did you think of ever getting married?

KG: No. That was the farthest thing from my mind. I was just a regular old tomboy. You couldn't give me --

<End Segment 1> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.