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AC: Can you describe your father?

MH: My father?

AC: Yeah.

MH: He was not the oldest. You know in Japan, the oldest stays home and takes care of the rice field or whatever they had. He was the second one, and he was short, so he tried to join the Japanese army, but too short. [Laughs] And so he said, "I want to go to America," so he came. He was single. I would describe him as a very hard working person. I remember when we, I was growing up, we had moved from the home place to another place where we lived, and then we still had the home place. So in the morning, he'd go to work up there couple hours, and by the time he'd come back, it was time for us to have breakfast together. He really worked hard. His father was, liked alcohol, drank, so he never drank, maybe a hot toddy. But he was the head of the household. Everything he said was what we did, and I appreciate that because now in our family, we just never know.

AC: Never know...

MH: Whether the father is taking over the family or Mother or nobody, you know.

AC: When did your father come to the United States?

MH: Now you're asking me a question that I can't quite remember.

AC: Just curious.

MH: Maybe you can figure that one out because my brother died about three years ago at eighty-five, and he hadn't married for a quite a while, so it was a long, long time ago.

AC: How would you describe your mother?

MH: Mother was a very, she was, did everything Dad said. In fact, I never knew this, but my sister had married this Caucasian fellow, and his mother came over and asked Mother how she came to America. And I never knew this, but she said, "I never knew my husband." It was arranged by Father's mother and her mother and dad. She, the families knew each other, but my mother did not know my father. So when you think of this, I've gone to Ellis Island in New York where the people come from Europe, and so I placed myself that my parents came to Seattle in the same order. She was a very, she just did what Dad did, worked hard, had all of us children, have children, worked out in the orchard, and didn't have the conveniences that we have now. We have nothing to complain about, you know.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2004 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.