<Begin Segment 4>

MK: Did you make rice cakes during the New Year celebration?

RM: Yes, yes, yes. We spent an entire day pounding rice cakes. We kept eating it for a long time too. We brought rice cake grilled with soy sauce and sugar for lunch when we went to school. We had it tucked in our kimono to keep it warm. We had it for lunch. When we were hungry after we came home from school, our grandma used to toast rice cakes over a charcoal grill. That was such a treat. We ate it and went out to play in the cold. [Laughs] We also had a lot of persimmons. We grabbed a bunch of dried persimmons when we went out to play. [Laughs] That how it was when I was a child.

MK: You clean the entire house at the end of the year to celebrate the new year.

RM: Yes, yes.

MK: Did you eat soba noodles for longevity at the end of the year?

RM: No, not really. Other people might have, but it was not really special. We were excited because we gain one year on the following day. Yellowtail fish for New Year. We used to hang a big yellowtail under the roof. We ate it during the New Year's celebration.

MK: Did you have a custom to avoid using a knife during the first three days of the year in Nagano Prefecture?

RM: I don't know. We might have, but I don't know. We were told not to cry. You would end up crying for the rest of the year if you cry at the beginning. We were not supposed to cry.

MK: You got a gift of money in a small sack.

RM: We didn't get any money.

MK: New Year money gift.

RM: Right, we didn't get any. My family bought us new pair of clogs or a new kimono. Well, they didn't really buy them, they made them. We were so excited to get new kimono. We played hanetsuki badminton games.

MK: And hyakunin-isshu card game?

RM: Not really. We played a card matching game when we were kids. We spread cards all over the table top of our heated table. There was this big board on top of the table, and that was where we played the game with cards spread all over.

MK: Did you make rice porridge on the seventh day of January?

RM: No, the seventh day... We always had something special throughout January. Children all liked regular meals though. [Laughs] That's what it was like.

MK: You had the bean throwing festival in February.

RM: Yes, yes. We did. Shouting out loud. [Laughs] Yes.

MK: It goes, "Luck in"...

RM: "Luck in. Demons out." We shout out loud and throw beans.

MK: Children love the festival.

RM: Yes, yes. Everyone was shouting out loud, and you could tell which household was starting the throwing. People in the countryside talk in a loud voice. We could hear them very well even the houses were quite a distance from each other. They talk loudly. Not soft voice. You can hear them very clearly.

MK: Did you celebrate the Doll Festival in March?

RM: Yes. We used to display old dolls that were passed down through generations. A newborn girl would get a set of dolls, and they display the dolls every year to pray for her well-being. Our display platform was full of dolls. We have old dolls out. I wonder how they celebrate it now. They might have a new set of dolls.

MK: Did you bring your dolls over with you?

RM: No, I didn't. I didn't bring them.

MK: You must have had a lot of deutzia flowers in April.

RM: A new school year starts in April. A lot of flowers would came out. We had a long winter there, and April was when the flowers were in full bloom. The silkworm season started in May. Everyone replaced the tatami mats with straw rugs on the floor and constructed a lot of shelves with bamboo sticks. We put a lot of basket to keep silkworm caterpillars, and all the houses were rearranged for this.

MK: That was in April. Anything special in May?

RM: Caterpillars turn into pupas in May.

MK: Also Boy's Day with carp kites in May.

RM: Yes, we did have carp kites out, too. Boys, unlike girls, were very important members of the family, I guess. [Laughs]

MK: Your family didn't have any boys...

RM: We did, but he died when he was still small, I think when he was five. He passed away. Everyone was disappointed, and our parents didn't have any more boys after that.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.