<Begin Segment 7>

LG: Where did you go to elementary school in Philadelphia?

MR: At Friends Select for a while. I think Louise had some kind of a discount, because he was [inaudible], but then eventually they were, I think it got really too expensive, so I went to Girls High.

LG: What were your friends like in Philadelphia? Did you have Japanese American friends?

MR: No, they were just friends from the school, I guess, and they were all Caucasian.

LG: What was that like as a child? Were you aware of your Japanese American identity?

MR: Yeah I guess I was, I guess I was. I was aware that I was different, and of course, they were usually very nice about it, and I guess they were, I don't know, trying to... well, there's something about, did I try to do things more Japanese or something? I don't think so, unless there was some activities that I would try to bring out my Japanese heritage or anything.

LR: You didn't end up going to any school?

MR: I never went to Japanese language school or anything of that sort, no. I never learned Japanese. But it was Japanese, if Louise had activities with the JACL or some other Japanese group, I would be with other Asian people, but that's about it. She was always cooking things for JACL dinners, there were always dinners and things like that that we'd go to, I think, I remember that. But most of my playmates were not, were Caucasian.

LG: So growing up as a child, what sort of aspects of Japanese culture did she have in the home? Was it cooking, holidays, or was there a lot?

MR:  I guess she prepared, Louise prepared Japanese food. I think we always celebrated New Year's, and did something special for New Year's, all that kind of stuff. I guess she was pretty involved with Shofuso, so there would be activities there, and there may be things going on with JACL, I think there would be dinners for them and things like that, and we'd go there.

LG: Do you have any specific memories of those JACL events?

MR: No, not especially, nothing special. They were always kind of fun. I remember, I guess when they were smaller, you could run around and fool around. They were usually very pleasant events, there was something good to eat, Japanese food, enjoyed that.

LG: So you went to a Quaker school. Was your family Quaker or connected to the Quakers in any way?

MR: No. I think when you're talking about religion, I think one of the questions is, well, my mom, we had an Episcopalian church nearby, and my mom would send me there every Sunday so she could sleep late. [Laughs] I went to Sunday school there, and I was confirmed Episcopalian, that was kind of fun, singing in the choir and things like that.

LG: Are you still religious today?

MR: No, I'm not religious at all.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2023 JACL Philadelphia. All Rights Reserved.