<Begin Segment 11>

SG: So, Mr. Ouchida, you were talking about going from school, elementary school, helping out on the farm and how hard the work was. Was there, it seemed, at the same time, it's something you enjoyed about working on the farm?

BO: Enjoyed? The only thing I enjoyed is that we are doing what Mom asked, not what Dad asked, so we get that done so that she'd be happy. And then she would buy the clothing and stuff like that, go town and buy clothing for us. She kept us dressed up; otherwise, we'd all look like a tramp.

SG: So you had mentioned that you went to Japanese school. When did you start going to Japanese school?

BO: Japanese school, approximately all of the, when we were fifth grade because the other Nihonjins were sending their kids going Japanese, and then Dad was for the judo, so we did that. Then later on, we did kendo. Like in high school, we went to do the kendo. But that used up our energy, so we won't get in trouble, but it was good sport, you know. But like Dad always told everybody, he says, "Oh, don't worry." We got one, as long as the horse is working, the rest of the family can go play, so you work your horse acres after acres. They're going out again, but that's the country life. You keep the horse going because we didn't have a tractor. But after that, we had a wheel tractor and stuff like that. We just go and get it all done.

SG: How often did you go to Japanese school?

BO: Three times a week and then judo about two times a week. But you know, you go Japanese school, and then you see those girls start giggle, laughing, and you expect us to keep up with them, us kids, the way we are. We're just like a tag along, you know. All the kanji and stuff like that we had to try and learn. Oh, boy. That's why I keep telling everybody that's the beginning of our secret weapon for the Asian Pacific Theater. That's the beginning, or you know, sit on the benjo and would pass up. He said, "What's the matter with you guys? You've been missing bed check," said, bad food. He said, "You got your pants all up, not down." [Laughs] That's how hard they studied, under the blankets. They have a light under the blanket. Boy, they sure studied. You just can't study that hard and expect to master that language. To me, it's like a chicken scratch. But it's a serious business though when you get out to war. You're out there with yourself or maybe you might have a partner, and you have to face it, you know. That's what happened out there, so, because we couldn't find or produce enough people. Boy, it's rough. Lots of lawyers and stuff, they all came in from California, Hawaii. One of them had seven or eight kids, and he came in leaving the family behind. But they all tried to get their ranks back. They can't get it because they're all ROTC or something like that, but they won't let them have the rank back. In a way if you think about it, if they give the rank, they figured that he got, he knows something, have to get rid of that guy. If you don't have no rank or anything, oh, he's just another, dummy so that's why we have to keep our mouth shut fifty-some years.

SG: I want to, I just want to, a few more questions on Japanese school and then some more about your experience in the military. In Japanese school, what type of, what did you learn? What type of things --

BO: Katakana. Katakana, you know, beginner, and we started Montavilla, then we changed to Gresham, and then they make us start over again, from beginning again. In other words, memorize it, you can just, just sat there and, sound right off because you memorize it so many times, you know. She changed school, and it was good. And some of those instructors, they turn out, too, like Colorado, Ann Arbor. They went that way because something to do. Some of them came to our school, but most of them went out to college or university and teach over there.

SG: What was Japanese school like?

BO: In civilian life?

SG: Or going to it when you were a kid going to Japanese school here?

BO: Yeah. Well, we really enjoyed that you get with each other and play around, then go in this room and study hard, then go outside play around again, chasing each other. It was a lot of fun, ball games. It's things that's different from farm work. Of course, I don't know. You only have about three hours, two and a half, three hours, then you got to go and drive home again, it's a short time. But it's good.

SG: It sounds like you really enjoyed going to Japanese school?

BO: Yeah, it was, it was good. I learn a lot of, I liked to learn some more, you know. Like my older brother, he was learning hiragana and stuff like that, and it was getting complicated, but it was good, a lot of fun. At home, Dad, he had a pad made out and sumi, you make sumi and word for day. We supposed to write, and all that. We used to write, like old fashioned, they write. We were practicing that, how to write that, press, but that didn't go too far either because you get to high school, the thing starts to, well, we had judo and kendo and they're different nights and kept us busy at night. Still same time we had to, we have to study or night packing, packing our Brussels sprout or broccoli or pack at nighttime. You harvest daytime then haul it in. And after, we had to stay up in nighttime, warm room and bundle them up or crate them up together and load up the truck, so Dad could take it in the morning. So finger work, finger work, I was doing just as fast but right along with my mom, so she liked that, that I sit right by her and do the same thing, go fast. The others always get tired, so we just let them go. I would stay right along and finish it, then go in and take a furo and then retire. I like a furo here too, furo pool.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.