Hatsu Mochizuki

              HATSU MOCHIZUKI
MRS. HASEGAWA: Today is April the 9th, 1980. I, Helen Hasegawa, am privileged of being in the home of Mrs. Hatsu Mochizuki at 748 South Minnewawa; Fresno, California; 93727.
Before we get into the interview proper, I would like to have you give your full name, and tell when and where you were born.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: My name is Hatsu Hori Mochizuki. I was born in 1893, the second month, on the 7th day, in Shizuoka-ken, Shimizui-shi, Orido, 85 Banchi. I have lived most of my life in America. For over 65 years I have lived in America! In 1912, Mr. S. Mochizuki, after having lived in America for six years came back to Japan. We were married in 1913 and then "tobei" (to-to go, bei-America, from beikoku).
MRS. HASEGAWA: You say that Mr. Mochizukir was in America for six years prior to 1912. Where did he live? What did he do?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Sa--probably he lived for a while in San Francisco, but didn't stay very long because it was right after the great earthquake. So he came to Fresno to live with and work for a Mr. Ramacher. His son Henry and my husband became very close friends. Even now the children, Henry's and mine, are good friends.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Why did Mr. Mochizuki come to America?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: He wanted to seek new horizons. You see, in Japan, the eldest son inherited the family property. Since he was the middle boy, he had to seek his fortune elsewhere.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Yes, I've heard that about that time. Many young men were looking toward America for new opportunities.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: When we came; father, I, and husband, the three of us came together.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Oh! Whose father? How unusual!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Mine. Yes, my father at that time was well known in Japan for his expertise in budding and grafting, and he came to "shishatsu" (to study), to observe agricultural practices here. He intended to return to Japan after about three years, but stayed longer. Let's see, he must have been here about seven or eight years.
MRS. HASEGAWA: That is most unusual, isn't it, to have a parent of an issei come here?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes. You know, he would have been unable to come unless he had a certain amount of property and means. He had to prove that he had "zaisan" (fortune). Certain persons might have run away, become stowaways. But father had been thoroughly examined as to his "zaisan" and was given a permit to study agricultural practices here.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long did the trip from Japan take?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: We left Japan in 1913 after having been married about six months and reached San Francisco on May 5th. It took 18 days to cross the Pacific! We were put in a small boat and taken to Angel Island where we were asked why we had come to America. I could say "housewife." And we were examined for any diseases such as trachoma, et cetera.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Were there any picture brides on the boat?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Oh, yes! I became friends with quite a number of the passengers during the long trip. When they finally met their "husbands," some were so shocked that they ran away! You see, some of the men had not sent pictures of themselves!
MRS. HASEGAWA: What an experience! How brave they were to even get married like that! You were really lucky since you knew your husband before you were married, and he was right with you! Now, before we go on, I'd like to ask you how you happened to meet Mr. Mochizuki. Did you have a "baishakunin" (a go-between)? Did you know him before you got married?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, no. No "baishaku-nin." It happened when he returned to Japan that younger sister and I were in our back yard one day weeding among the sweet potatoes. There were two of them, Papa and a friend, and they were giving us the "once over" as it were, glancing here and there, back and forth. So sister and I laughingly remarked "How strange! They are looking at us as though they were looking for brides!" He wore a mustache, and he was older, quite a bit, about 13 years. He must have been about 30 years old at that time.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Then did you get a bai-shakunin? Some have go-betweens to look into the family background of the couple and to help make the wedding arrangements.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No. You see my husband's mother was from our village, so she used to come to visit us. So it was not an arranged marriage. I must have been about 20 years old. Girls who had married earlier were around 18 years of age because they had not gone on to school.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Let's get back to how you came to Fresno. How did you travel, and how long did it take you to get here from San Francisco?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: As I started to say, the three of us came by train, and it took all day. When we arrived here, since there were no hotels, we stayed at a boardinghouse, Nanka-ya was the name. It was run by people from Waka-yama.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you experience any prejudice at any time?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No. But Papa had told us about some Chinese in San Francisco throwing objects down at the Japanese from their upstairs windows.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you come to this farm after that?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No. We went to Sanger to live with a Dr. Karle. There, though I couldn't speak nor understand English, I took care of their baby and helped in the kitchen for about one-half year. Then we moved to Madera where we made "nai-ki" for a nursery. I believe it was the Kirkman Nursery. After almost two years--you see, it took a year to start the little peach trees from seed and then another year to bud or graft them--we moved to this area. We rented a place across from here for about seven years from a Mr.Walter Henderson.
Then came World War I, prices of products rose, our income increased; consequently, we could save some money, so we bought this farm. The Ramachers, father and son, helped my husband very much to get this property. They said, "Frank, no matter how hard you work, you will never get ahead. So even if it is only five acres, buy some land. I will help
you." You know, at that time Japanese aliens could not buy land. So the Ramachers set up a corporation and made it possible for Papa to have some shares. When Yosh and Bob came of age, the land was put in their names.
We built a large barn on this place. We divided it in half and kept our horse in one part, and the other half became our living quarters! We had 40 acres and had grapes, alfalfa, and hay. Oh, we worked hard! Just like beasts of burden. We were young then, and so could take it, you see.
I pitched hay onto a wagon just like a man, and those wagons were tall! Not low like the vineyard wagons we have these days. When I think back now, I am amazed that I could endure so much.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Really! Many issei women worked side by side with their men and then on top of it had to cook and do all the household chores at night. You bore children during this time, too, didn't you?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Uh-huh. Oh, yes!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Where did you leave them while you worked like this?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: They were left at home, sleeping. They were all small; four of them were born there.
MRS. HASEGAWA: When the time arrived for their birth, did you go to the hospital?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Oh, no. I worked all day, came home to cook, did the dishes, began feeling pains, sent my husband to call the doctor, set the water on the stove to boil, washed the tub for the baby, and before he had come back, the baby had already arrived!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did this happen with your first child? How did you manage?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Since we knew nothing about childbirth, we had a midwife who had been recommended by a friend come out to Madera. We were still at the Kirkman Nursery. From the onset of labor until the baby arrived, it took about three days. It was really convenient having a midwife because she stayed on to cook and do the laundry. But with the others, when my husband, who had been sent to call the doctor, took so long to visit and the baby arrived before he came home, Dr. Aki said, "If you're going to have such an easy time I'll show you how to take care of things," and instructed me how to cut and tie the umbilical cord and sterilize. I even did the last few by myself.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How fortunate you were, to have had such easy deliveries!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: All our children were born at this place except one child who was born in Japan.
MRS. HASEGAWA: When did that happen?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: In 1915. I had promised my grandmother that I would return to show her our firstborn. We reached Japan on his first birthday! Grandmother and mother greeted us with great joy! We had left America in April and reached Japan in June. A daughter born there that same month was left in mother's care when our son and I again left for America. You see, my mother also had a little girl who was just a year or two at that time. And so our daughter grew up calling her "o-ne-e san, o-ne-e san" (older sister). She was born in Japan, she can't come here to live. She visited us several years ago, but she preferred Japan.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How brave to travel alone so far with a year-old baby and being seven months pregnant! Did you return to Japan after that?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Again in 1935 and 1951 to visit my mother and grandmother. In 1959, my grandmother was gone and 1971 was the last time I saw my mother. During all this time, except for one sister in Berkeley, four other sisters had all died. One younger brother, 15 years younger, died just last year. He had been a soldier and had learned social dancing like they do in this country and could twirl a bowl or dish atop a wand. Yes, he must have learned how to do these up while in the Army in China. Both he and his wife were slender and tall and they used to go dancing often.
MRS. HASEGAWA: My, they were modern, weren't they?
How about Mr. Mochizuki? Did he visit Japan after that time he returned to get married to you? Did he go as many times as you? Did you go together?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: He must have gone about three times, but we took turns in going. I would stay home when he went and so on. Yes, I went many times. But, of course, when you no longer have any parents or sisters and brothers there, there is no incentive for going. Nieces and nephews don't have that close of a hold on you.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You said that you have a sister still living. And your husband had a brother in LA. When did they come to America, and did they live here in Fresno with you?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, they didn't come here. My father called two of my sisters to work with him near Sacramento. Again it was to grow nursery stock for Kirkman. He became bankrupt and didn't pay his men. Actually, he transferred his property to his wife's name so he no longer was held responsible. It seems there were other cases such as this, where many bosses didn't pay their workers.
MRS. HASEGAWA: But you had a good, kind boss and also a very thoughtful landlord.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, we did. When depression came and we couldn't make payments, he said that just the interest would be all right.
MRS. HASEGAWA: When did Mr. Mochizuki's younger brother come and where did he go?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: He was a stowaway aboard a ship and worked for his passage. Upon reaching San Francisco he ran away. He went to a Japanese motel where the owner hid him for a while and took care of him and later contacted my father here. My husband went after him and brought him here. Later, he went to LA where he died of a car accident.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Shall we now go back to your children? You mentioned that you have a daughter in Japan.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes. Then our oldest son died when he was about 17 years of age. He had become ill with pleurisy and after about a year he had apparently recovered. He was a well-built fellow and friends urged him to join the football team. No doubt he wanted to play, too. Though he was warned not to, he must have played without telling us, and he became ill again. Of course, if it were now they have all kinds of medicine and treatments, and you never hear of any fatalities from pleurisy or tuberculosis. The others, six of them, are all well. Four are living in-Fresno; Shizu, a beautician; Kiyo working for the IRS (she and Shizu were in New York for many years and have in recent years returned to Fresno); Yoshio, a pharmacist, owns the Arrow Drug Store; Bob, farming and has a very busy fruit and vegetable stand; Michi, in Berkeley; and Fumi in San Francisco, both are housewives. They are all married to Japanese. But it is different with the grandchildren.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How many grandchildren?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Fifteen, and five great-grandchildren.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Really!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes. (Delightedly laughs.)
MRS. HASEGAWA: How wonderful!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, five grandchildren, all girls!(laughs). Yoshio has five boys and Fumi four, all girls! If they could somehow have had one or so of each!
MRS. HASEGAWA: What a wonderful family you have! Your children are all doing well, your grandchildren graduating from colleges and universities in various fields; pharmacist, soon three doctors, various other fields. And great-grand-children coming along. How truly wonderful!
You worked very hard in your younger days, but so did your children as they grew older, didn't they?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, they did. Bob and Yoshio both drove the horses to cultivate the field before going to school. And how I wished that they'd return home early! They would rush home, hurriedly wash up, change clothes and all together dash off to school in our car!
MRS. HASEGAWA: The girls had their work, too, didn't they?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, they did! They had to make the beds, clean the house and make all the lunches because, you see, I took off for the fields. When it was strawberry time, they had to pick 10 baskets apiece before they could go to school. We had grapes, too, so they tied vines in the winter. And, of course, helped harvest the grapes. After school, they immediately changed clothes and went out to work!
MRS. HASEGAWA: My, they certainly worked hard together as a family!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Nowadays, the children don't work like this. Nor do the parents let them or expect them to. Because they are not asked to help, they don't. Our American neighbors have asked why the grandchildren don't work. They remembered our children working hard.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Times have changed. But I do remember well how diligently your grandchildren worked during the summers. Where did you go during the war? What was your feeling when you heard about Pearl Harbor?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Of course, we were shocked and couldn't believe it. We were supposed to go to Gila where the rest of our area went, but our family was sent to Tule Lake. There were many soldiers aboard and they said, "You people aren't supposed to be here!" When we told them where we were going they seemed to understand and carried on a friendly conversation with the children all the way to camp. We were the last to arrive, so could not get good work. But one worked in the camp hospital pharmacy; a daughter as a nurse, a bookkeeper in the coal-dispensing office; as school teachers; and the youngest of six, a helper in the kitchen. She was still very young then.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long were you in Tule Lake?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: We were there a year. The snow was very deep, but somehow it was warm. Then the "no-no" people began coming so at the end of the year we went to Topaz, Utah. Oh, the weather was bad there! It snowed and when the wind blew, it was cold! The ground froze over and when snow fell on top of that, we used to slip and fall! It was dangerous!
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long were you in Utah?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Before the war ended, my husband died in camp.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Was he buried in camp there in Topaz?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, no. He was cremated and we brought him back with us. He had been saying that he must go home to Japan or he could not die, but he wasn't able to fulfill his wish. Yes, it was his heart. He went while we were talking. You know, heart patients, somehow, because they go suddenly, look so good. His complexion seemed better than when he was alive. I suppose it's because he had not suffered from a long illness.
MRS. HASEGAWA: I'm very sorry to hear about this. This must have been a very difficult time and experience to have to go through. Were there other situation you would care to talk about? When did you start to think about returning to California?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: One year. And though the war was still going on we came back to Fresno. Many people were still in camp but since we had our own property, we were allowed to return. Bob had come ahead earlier, but the tenants who were living in our house were very reluctant to leave. Bob lived and worked for a white family who lived about one-and-a-half miles from here. It must have been almost a year when the tenants finally left, so Bob came to get the rest of us.
The neighbors around here were telling us, "Come home," "Come back again," "We will look after you" –
When Bob came to check on the farm and the house, he found screens torn, a maggot-infested pig carcass swarming with flies in the back yard. It was a mess! Bob got hold of the husband of the family to help dig a hold to take care of that. They were from Oklahoma. He worked in San Francisco and came home on weekends. Bob had gone a second time and again found condition intolerable. We had just lived in the house three years, so the house was yet new. We had left with the understanding that they only had to take care of it so asked for a mere token rent. Originally, we had rented it to a young couple, but he was drafted and she went back to her mother. So after that the Oklahomans moved in. I suppose the government rented it. When I went in to clean the closet, it was covered with mice droppings! They must have been living together with mice. Our new house had become so filthy!
MRS. HASEGAWA: As I understand, the war had not been concluded yet. How did your neighbors welcome your return?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: They were so kind and good. They had said "We all will watch out for you, so come back." When we returned, sugar and meat were still rationed and unless we had coupons we couldn't buy these items. We would find bacon and sugar in our back porch. And my son and I wondered who the donor had been. Later in the evening, a phone call from a kind neighbor informed us that they had been by, or some others would bring us vegetables and melons they had grown themselves. We were truly happy and grateful.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Were you able to go into town?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No. We weren't allowed to get out. But a friend would take our car and get it filled with gas for us.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Before the war, I imagine there was no feeling of prejudice toward your family by your neighbors.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, no. No feeling of prejudice.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What a nice neighborhood.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, yes. You know, after all, you must treat your neighbors well. No matter what the nationality, if they are treated kindly, they, too, will treat you so.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How would you compare the difference in the feelings and attitudes of your neighbors during and after the war?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: I don't think there was any change really, toward us. Before and after the war, they all treated us well. After all, I suppose they recalled the times when we gave them fruits and vegetables. And when we didn't have anything, they remembered us with their gifts. MRS. HASEGAWA: What social and economic changes have you seen?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Everything is so much more expensive. But then, everyone is earning so much more that they can make a go of it.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Prices of food and goods cost so much during World War I, I've heard. How would you compare the conditions of that time to now?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Well, everybody became wealthy and bought cars and ranches. But, suddenly, we had the Great Depression, and many had their cars and farms repossessed. We were fortunate because our landlord was understanding and kind to us. He told us that as long as we paid the interest it would be all right. "You have many children to care for." Sometimes it was difficult even to meet the interest payments.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What was this kind landlord's name?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Let's see. I can't recall. It might have been George Van Vleet. He was such a good person! I recall he owned all the property from the Fresno Winery to here (Minnewawa) and he sold us a long strip from Kings Canyon to Butler, 40 acres. We sold 20 acres before going into camp and kept this 20-acre parcel which Henry Ramacher took care of while we were in camp. He had said, "The government can't take away your land. Don't sell. I will look after it." Many Japanese thought before entering camp that they would never return to their homes, so they sold their places, but because of our friends, the Ramachers, we were able to return and had a place to come home to. We thank God for this. We were most happy and grateful.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Have you been involved in any religious and social organizations?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: I belong to the Japanese Congregational Church and the Clovis Community Organization.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How about a Kenjin-kai?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: There are so few from Shizuoka-ken, that we didn't have any organization like some of the others.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How about Japanese language school?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Our oldest son attended our church language school in Fresno and was taught by Reverend Fukushima.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long did your children go to Japanese language school?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Shizu and Kiyo must have gone the equivalent to the year of Jogalko, but, of course, they attended only once a week, so they didn't retain much. There was a language school built in this Sunnyside area. It was sold at the time of the war.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Yes, when war was declared, so many things Japanese were burned, sold, or given away. The people were afraid to be caught having Japanese things in their possession. It was a frightening time, wasn't it?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: We had some mementos of Hiroaki's funeral written in Japanese, family photographs and other valuables. We had a small room in the barn where we dug a hole under the floor and buried a cement box in which we placed all our valuables. But when we returned, alas, it had been opened, everything had been taken out. Where we don't know.
MRS. HASEGAWA: My goodness! Things like family photos are of value only to the family.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Of course. So –
MRS. HASEGAWA: Do you still observe some Japanese customs?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Not any more. But long ago, as was the Japanese style, for three days we weren't supposed to hold a knife. Therefore, on December 31st, New Year's Eve, we cooked enough so that we could eat for three days, picked and washed the napa to have it all ready for the New Year's morning "O-zoni." Of course, there's no such a thing these days.
MRS. HASEGAWA: The house had to be thoroughly cleaned from front to back—
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: And our hair had to be shampooed and all clean for the New Year. I don't think that they do such things even in Japan these days.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you make the rounds of your friends' homes?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Oh, yes! We all used to visit each others homes and eat, and drink, and sing. We had such good times! We must have continued that custom for about 10 years or so. I remember making so much osushi and other delicacies to last the three days that we often couldn't eat all that we had prepared and had to throw away much of the food!
MRS. HASEGAWA: What a pity! How about Hina-matsuri?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Oh, yes! We observed Doll Festival in March and Boys' Festival in May.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you fly paper carps?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Certainly! When the boys were small, we had one large and two small carps flying from a tall, tall bamboo pole. And the neighbors would come over to admire them. And the Hina dolls used to be displayed. They were sent from Japan to the girls when they were born. I think we gave them to the church later. I wonder what became of them?
MRS. HASEGAWA: They must have become a casualty of the war. I heard that our church building which was "rented" out to a group with the understanding that they only need to take care of the property, suffered from lack of attention and that much of the contents disappeared.
What about birthdays for your children?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: We always had a little special "gochiso" and observed each child's birthday. Only daughter Shizua lamented the fact that she never had a birthday celebration, because, you see, her birthday fell on the same day as the memorial day for Hiroaki.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What about weddings: What was your wedding like?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Oh, mine? Well, over there you see my granddaughter's wedding picture. The outer kimono which is called the "uchi-kake" was changed after I had sat down at the reception for a while, and then go up to change, and again, and again. The wealthier the family, the more often the bride changed her kimono during the reception. It was a nuisance. A poor family could afford the only one kimono in which their daughter was married.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Obasan, what did you do with all your beautiful kimonos?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: They were all left in Japan in a tansu (chest of drawers), but each time I visited Japan, one by one, my sisters had taken them. Of course, I couldn't use them in America. But later when Papa went to Japan, he brought a complete set of pure silk purple colored kimonos with obi for Shizue and Kiyo. And once when there was a program at the Japanese language school, Mrs. Abiko dressed Shizue and she danced a Japanese dance. After that when my nieces had been burned out by bombings during the war, and didn't have anything, we sent them these kimonos.
MRS. HASEGAWA: They must have suffered a great deal from deprivations of food, clothing, and shelter—
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, yes—
MRS. HASEGAWA: Awhile back when we were talking about your wedding, you showed me your granddaughter's wedding picture. Now, this is very interesting, a sansei (third generation) in the traditional Japanese kimono with the "tsuno-kakushi" "horn-cover" a bride was supposed to keep her "horns" or antagonisms or displeasures or anything of like nature under cover or control. The groom, even, is in formal attire with "hakama," a pleated skirt-like pants not unlike the Scottish kilt, except that this is long, and also the formal haori or coat.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, this granddaughter not only has interest in things Japanese, but likes to do things that others would not ordinarily do. They rented all the robes and the formal styled wig from a beautician in Los Angeles who does this for a goodly-sized fee! She even went to Omaha, Nebraska, to outfit Masako's sister-in-law's niece. I heard that it cost $3,000!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Obasan, did you ever get your American citizenship?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, I didn't. I have lived here a long time and all my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are here, so I feel that this is my home. But my children take care of all my necessities and so in my old age I have not felt the urgency to do so. And there is a provision for aliens of long residence through the annual Federal Alien Registrations to take card [sic] of situations such as mine.
MRS. HASEGAWA: After having lived in America for such a long time, what was your feeling when you visited Japan? You know the nisei have American citizenship, but are usually thought of as Japanese here in America, and when they go to Japan, though they have Japanese faces, are pointed out as Americans.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes! While in Japan, I tried to speak only in Japanese, but somehow or other my relatives seemed to sense my Americanism. Some English words just crept into conversation. Automatically I would say "No" or some such words. Our manner of walking is entirely different, too. In Japan, generally the toes are pointed inward, pigeontoed, as they say, even though most people wear shoes now. But when they saw me, they could spot the difference immediately. My nephew who lived with us here in Fresno for a year, and who is in Japan now said, "Oba-san, you can immediately tell someone from America."
MRS. HASEGAWA: It isn't only the appearance of English words now and then that give you away, I understand, but also the manner of speaking! My mother said that her relatives noticed her loud voice when she visited Japan after being here over 30 years, and she told them that American is such a vast country that she had to speak loudly!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Is there any other information of the Japanese-Americans that you would care to share with us?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, I can't think of anything else.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You lived a very peaceful life in this neighborhood, haven't you? Well liked and admired by your friends.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, yes. The children have been very happy. When Hiroaki died, there was such a show of affection by the teachers, students, and their families. They were all there at the funeral. He was attending Roosevelt High at that time.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You had several relatives here in America, Mr. Mochizuki's brother, your father, your sisters. How nice it was for your children to grow up with uncles, aunts, and cousins around them. Your sister is still living in Berkeley. I had heard that she was blind, but now can see.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes. For about four years she was practically blind, but could do everything for herself. The doctors had told her that since her blindness was due to diabetes, they could not help her. But her most recent doctor realized that she could see light, so urged her to try some glasses. She can see better than before.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Obasan, you have very good eyesight, I've noticed. You do a great deal of embroidering and have made many beautiful items. I know that you have told me during our past visits that they disappear just as soon as you complete them. How wonderful that your children and grandchildren have your handiwork to treasure!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: I wear glasses to read and embroider, but can't wear them to watch the television.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How fortunate to have such good eyesight! (She brought out her latest needlework which was a garden scene with a scarecrow guarding over all kinds of flowers and vegetables.) How beautifully stitched! How colorful and wonderful detailing; the darling little animals, too. I wonder who will get this one?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: I don't know. Other than my needlework, I go out once a week to participate in the “Hot Meals” program and to the Nikkei Center where we make little items to take to patients in the various convalescent hospitals. Last week we made little koi-noboris (carps on poles, mini-style). We have birthday parties once a month at the center and enjoy visiting with our friends from various areas around there.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You must be tired, having sat this long!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: The sitting is all right, but I have a little difficulty getting up and starting to walk. My rheumatism in the joints make me a bit stiff.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Otherwise, you seem very healthy.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Well, I have diabetes. In fact, I have all kinds of illnesses; high blood pressure, cholesterol—
MRS. HASEGAWA: Oh, all diseases of the well-to-do!
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: The doctor assures me that everything is all right. But I must always be careful of what I eat. I have learned to restrict my eating habits so that, though there is much delicious food around, I can resist the temptation.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You have lived with Bob and his family ever since he was married. I imagine you were very busy especially after the children came.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: So-so. Masako went out into the field, and there were four little children to watch. I mopped the floor every day because they crawled, made lunch, took in the wash which Masako had hung out before she went to work, cook the evening meal—
MRS. HASEGAWA: Yes, you must have been very busy. But when you think back to the days when your own children were small, how would you compare the times?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Of course, with your own, busy as you may have been, you didn't realize it. With grandchildren, there was worry; what if there is an accident, you don't like to see them cry. Yes, there was much to worry about. With my own, and, of course, I was young then, I didn't think too much about it. I did go out into the field to work, too.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Often, even nowadays, when passing farms, one sees little children playing nearby their parked cars. I imagine the issei had to do that, too, to take their children out to the fields with them.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes, then we'd have to go home and cook, make the bath by burning brush under the deep, rectangular tub of the bath house. Then, after everyone was through, used the bath water to do the daily laundry by hand. You must remember that everyone thoroughly scrubbed himself outside of the bathtub before getting in it to soak and get warm. So the water was still warm and fairly clean. MRS. HASEGAWA: Was Mr. Mochizuki the first to bathe?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Oh, yes! That was the custom in Japan. The head of the family was the first to take his bath, and the wife the last.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Then did you serve your husband his evening meal before you served the children, as was customary in some Japanese homes?
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: No, in our family, we always ate together.
MRS. HASEGAWA: It must be very gratifying to look back over the years of struggle and hard work to see all your children and grandchildren doing so well and living comfortably and respected by neighbors and having so many friends.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: Yes. As I said earlier, if you treat your neighbors well, they, in turn, will treat you well.
MRS. HASEGAWA: This has been such a long interview. I'm afraid you are very tired. Truly, you shared with us so many interesting experiences and explained everything so patiently. I thank you very much.
MRS. MOCHIZUKI: You're very welcome!