<Begin Segment 10>

BH: And tell me about your children.

HI: We have three children. One is deceased now, but I have a daughter and then a younger son. I have seven grandkids.

BH: And the names of your three children?

HI: Alan and Cheryl and Robert.

BH: And their spouses?

HI: Alan's wife is Neale, and Cheryl's husband is Steve, and Rob's wife is Tracy.

BH: And the names of your grandkids?

HI: Oh, my. Have to go from the oldest. Brandon and Stephanie is Cheryl's children; and Kyle, Justin and Greg are Rob's, and (...) Ryan and Emily, (Alan and Neale's children).

BH: And earlier your parents went to the Buddhist church in Milwaukie, and you were married in the Presbyterian church. Did you take your children to church or Sunday school?

HI: Well, we tried. We tried to take them to Epworth at first, they went for a while. Then we tried to have them learn Japanese a little better, so we took them to Nichiren and Reverend Kodachi was the teacher. And every Saturday we'd go, but they didn't get much out of that. So I thought, "Oh, that's wasting his time."

BH: And now you and Yosh are members at Epworth?

HI: (Yes).

BH: How did you get involved with Ikoi no Kai, the senior lunch program?

HI: Takae Okazaki talked me into it. She asked me if I would come, 'cause they needed some help. So I said, "Well, I don't know what I can do, but I'll try," so I started. I can't remember when I started. It's been quite a while.

BH: Yeah, it's been several years.

HI: Five or six years, maybe longer.

BH: And after you and Yosh were married, where did you live?

HI: Oh, we lived near the drugstore. And then I was still working at the Veterans hospital, so I commuted by bus.

BH: Now, unlike many Nisei, you've been willing to talk with your kids and grandkids about your wartime experiences. Did you initiate those conversations or did they?

HI: (...) Sometimes I may have. Yosh wasn't in camp, (his) family moved voluntarily, 'cause (they) had so many boys he didn't want 'em in camp. So he might have talked to them about that. But other than that, he didn't say too much. Then when (our) kids were like fourth and fifth grade, they wanted to hear about the evacuation and all. So we did go talk to them about that (in school).

BH: At their schools?

HI: (Yes), one's in Canby and (one) in Clackamas. So that's how they got to know about (the war and evacuation).

BH: Why do you think most Issei and Nisei have been reluctant to talk to their kids and grandkids about their assembly center and camp experiences?

HI: I don't think they liked to talk about things like that. They didn't think of it as history. Then the fact that Japan was their native land, and they felt kind of embarrassed maybe? I don't know, that's my thinking.

BH: Sure, sure.

HI: Our oldest... Alan's oldest son (Ryan) was in college, and he wrote a thesis on evacuation. (...) He got a lot of help from the Legacy Center, he talked to Mari, and got a lot help there. And he got an A-plus on his thesis. We're proud of him.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2014 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.