Dr. Fusaji Inada

              DR. FUSAJI INADA
MRS. HASEGAWA: Today is July 24, 1980. I, Helen Hasegawa, am privileged to be in the home of Dr. Fusaji Inada, 6208 East Lyell, Fresno, California, 93727.
Before we get into the interview proper, I would like to have you give us your full name, place and date of birth, and place of your longest residency.
DR. INADA: My name is Fusaji Inada. I was born in Watsonville, California on March 18, 1910 and longest place of residency is Fresno,California. I have been here since 1936. That makes it 44 years!
MRS. HASEGAWA: You are not a native Fresnan, would you tell us about your earlier life before you came here?
DR. INADA: I think I should go back and tell you about my parents. My father Mitsuji Inada was born in Kumamoto, Japan in January 1867. He came to Hawaii in 1897. After eight years of working in the sugar plantations he came to San Francisco in 1905. He then went to Watsonville where his friend Mr. Horido was running a noodle factory on the south side of the Pajaro River.
Mother Miijiu was also born in Kumamoto in 1814. She was a Murakami. Leaving her two children, a daughter and a son, in the care of her younger sister, she came to Hawaii to join my father, and together they came to Watsonville, California. In 1910 they sent for my older brother Yoshitaro from Japan, and that was the year I was born. My brother Masaru was born three years before me in Watsonville.
From the noodle factory my father ventured into farming raising strawberries. This was also in Watsonville on the north side out in the country. We lived near a little stream which was below the main land, so it was referred to as "down below." From there Masaru and I used to go to "Yochien" or kindergarten which the Japanese farmers built so that their children could learn Nihongo (Japanese). They also had their social gatherings and functions there. It must have been like a community hall.
While returning from kindergarten one day, I passed by the front of a lady's home. She was sitting at the front window, sewing. I noticed that she had spread out some horse beans to dry right in front of the window. I studied the situation, and I deliberately kicked the beans off the canvas and ran off. I must not have been very fast, because she caught me and cuffed me on the head. That was one time I miscalculated her speed! I can't recall her name, but she was a Japanese lady.
From Watsonville we moved to San Juan and lived in a place called Betabel. That sounds like a funny name, but even now if you are on Highway 101 going from Gilroy to San Juan in between a little past a place called Sargent, there's a little sign that says Betabel. Anyway that's where I first went to public school, the San Juan Grammar School. It was about four and a half miles away, and I had to ride a bicycle. All the kids rode bikes to school. T'here must have been eight to twelve of us going to school, ranging from first graders like myself to eighth graders. I can't recall if there were any girls. Anyway, in winter with frost, fog, and rain, it was a pretty rough ride! MRS. HASEGAWA: Were there other nationalities in this group of youngsters, or were they all Japanese?
DR. INADA: All were Japanese kids from this one camp of strawberry growers. But the rest of the school was typical of a small town mixture of Caucasians. I never noticed any Negroes in school. I have wonderful memories about school, and would like to relate one incident while I was in first grade. We used to sing every morning in class. This one morning she had us singing "Yankee Doodle," and where the song reaches the spot where "ha, ha, ha," comes in, I kept on with the "ha, ha, ha," so she got peeved and put me under her desk! I would look at the class from under the desk and make faces. I must have been quite a character. It was here in Betabel that I fell off of a cart and broke my left arm. To this day my arm has a kink in it and does not straighten out. I remember also that the 1918 influenza epidemic struck in Betabel. After about four years there we had to move again.
MRS. HASEGAWA: In other words, they leased the land?
DR. INADA: Yes, always. In Betabel it was Mr. Fujimoto and Mr. Tashima, who leased the acreage. My folks and other families, about eight to ten, raised strawberries. They grew and picked the berries and shipped them by freight train to market, usually in San Francisco. Mr. Fujimoto and Mr. Tashima would receive the check for the berries and each week they would come to each family and pay them cash for the amount of berries they' had picked. After four years we moved again. This time we ended up in Old Gilroy, and there I went to San Ysidro Grammar School. At this time I want to explain why berry growers moved so often; in fact, every four years.
Growing berries nowadays is a science, and by the correct use of chemical fertilizers the growers can use the same land over and over, and thus stay on their land for years. In my father's time the first year was taken up by planting and growing the plants. So there was no income. The second year produced the best crop so that paid off the debts incurred in the first year, provided the weather was cooperating. Rain during the peak of the harvest would really ruin the crop. The third and fourth year was so-so and the farmers had to start looking for new places to move to find fresh soil and start all over again. This berry growing is a very back-breaking, stooping, squatting, bending, kneeling work. I know because I helped the folks for years, before and after schools. However the womenfolk were the hardest workers. Why? Because they were the first up at daybreak and last to go to bed at night. Get up at 4-5 o'clock, make breakfast, and feed the men so they could go to work. Then they would go out to work. Leave around 11:30 to make lunch, feed the men, go back to the field, work 'til almost dark. Go home, fix supper, start the "ofuro" (bath) fire. Feed the family, wash dishes, get ready for the next day, take care of the kids, mend clothes, et cetera. Boy! Talk about work, the women really had it rough!
Out in the field, the parents with small children would build a box-like structure with a roof, screen or gauze sides, wooden wheels, and put the little infants and toddlers in there to keep them secure and out of mischief while the parents worked. These box-like structures were moved occasionally. All worked hard, but the mothers were the hardest workers, and I have a lot of respect and admiration for the Issei women who were married to farmers. MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you or your family experience any prejudice during these early years?
DR. INADA: Now,-going back to school I only had one run-in with other boys, but I don't think it was prejudice. No one called me "Jap" or anything like that. This one incident happened at recess, and we were hanging around an open carport-like structure because it was raining. This boy started pushing me around, so finally I had to give him the "Koshinage" (judo throw) and threw him. I picked him up, brushed him off, and ever since we've been good friends. We went through grade school, high school, and two years of college at San Jose State. He still lives in Gilroy, where his is quite a solid citizen.
Whether my father ran into prejudice or not I do not know, because I wasn't with him all the time when he went to town. Gilroy had a sort of Chinatown with Japanese stores, so I think he did a lot of buying there. If he ran in with prejudice, he never mentioned it. I don't believe the Nisei mixed with the rest of the students at school dances or other affairs. I know I never did except to take part in athletics.
MRS. HASEGAWA: I think most Nisei who came through that period didn't socialize outside of the classroom with the rest of their classmates. They probably had to help with the work at home, or study, or go to Japanese school.
DR. INADA: Another four years after I graduated from high school it was time to move again. This time we went to San Martin. During all this moving we never moved too far away--five miles or eight miles from the old place. I went to San Jose State from 1927-29.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you commute from home?
DR. INADA: My father found a place for me with a friend of his who ran a laundry on Santa Clara Street in San Jose about three blocks from school, so I was able to walk to school. His name was Mr. Tsurukawa who also came from Kumamoto.
While at San Jose State I had to make up my mind as to what I wanted to do as a career. I originally wanted to be a mechanic, but after observing them work in a cold garage in winter, I decided that was not for me. Then I thought about the health field, but medicine was an eight-year course, and I couldn't or didn't want my folks to support me for that length of time, so I went into dentistry which was a four- year course. So after two years, I went to the University of California Dental School in San Francisco--so again my father talked to Mr. Toda, who was running the Kumamotoya (hotel) on Third and Southpark in San Francisco to let me stay with them. In those days there were lots of Japanese hotels in that area, because the Japanese ships used to dock near there. Mr. and Mrs. Toda were also from Kumamoto-ken. The people from Kumamoto sure stuck together and were always helping each other. That's where I got to know the family real well. Your sister-in-law May was a little girl then. I stayed there three and a half years.
There used to be a Eimoto Hotel a few doors away, and Shig Einioto lived there. He was a star fullback for Galileo High School and made All-City. He used to play for the Japanese team, the Showa Club--and one day he asked me to come out for the team--so I went out and played with the team during 1930-131-'32. In fact, we came to Fresno to play the Fresno Japanese team at the Japanese baseball park on the West Side. We came to Fresno the day before the game and stayed at a hotel above Tenshodo Drugstore. Next morning when I looked out of the window it was snowing! That was something! We played anyway, and we beat the Fresno team. I didn't notice who was who, but later when I came to Fresno to practice dentistry, I learned that boys like; Tom Nakamura; Kay Kawai ; the Omata brothers,Min and Jiro; Bill Ishida; Dina Nakagawa; Yamasaki brothers, Sam and Bob; and others whom I met since coming to Fresno, played for Fresno.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Mr. N. Shohara has the picture of the Fresno team.
DR. INADA: Just the Fresno team? I would like to see the picture someday! We came the following year, and we played at the Fresno High School field. It was a tie or we won. I can't quite recall. Right after this game, we went to Los Angeles to play the Japanese team there. It ended in a tie. I really enjoyed the few years that I played with the team. Even now when I am in San Francisco, I see some of the boys once in a while.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Who sponsored the Showa Club?
DR. INADA: It was the Showa Club I believe--I did not know who the original members were or when it was started, but as a club we played football, baseball, basketball, and a few of the fellows played tennis.
I would like to mention one name because he is the father- in-law of Dr. Ken Kurokawa who is an orthopedic surgeon here. He is Mr. Lincoln Tokunaga, a pharmicist in San Jose who played center for the team.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How did you manage your school work and all these activities?
DR. INADA: All these activities were on weekends, so I managed somehow. We even played one New Year at Kezar Stadium, and we played the Chinese All-Star Team, and it was broadcasted over a local radio station. After playing three years, I called it quits because I realized that I could get my hands injured, and in dentistry you need your hands!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Were there many Japanese in dental school at that time?
DR. INADA: When I was there, there must have been about six to eight in the whole school. In my class there was one Chinese and another Japanese besides me; Dr. Pete Okumoto is practicing in Hawaii now.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How were the professors, did they treat you all the same?
DR. INADA: I would say so. The Japanese students were all more or less very clever with their hands and got along real well in the technical aspect of dentistry. We all worked
very hard! In theory we were pretty sharp, too, so we got by nicely.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Nisei were, as a whole, conscientious students, weren't they?
DR. INADA: Yes, they were.
Now, getting back to dentistry, I remember one lady in our class Miss Peabody. She was a schoolteacher and wanted to be a dentist. After two years the professor told her to forget trying to become a dentist. Imagine, after two years! I thought it was unfair, and I really felt sorry for her.
MRS. HASEGAWA: After two years of dentistry--not pre-dental?
DR. INADA: No, not pre-dental but dental college! After two years of doing technical work like soldering, carving wax, setting up teeth, casting crowns, et cetera. She just couldn't do that type of work to the approval of the professors. She was good in the theoretical part, but that is not enough.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What do they do now? Do they give manual dexterity test or something?
DR. INADA: Yes. They do have to take dexterity tests now, and it prevents cases like the lady I told you about. I was 19 when I went up there, but there were others who were in other fields of endeavor who came into dentistry, so the class was a mixture of young and old of various nationality. It was lots of fun, but at the same time lots of headaches and work. I don't see how my parents kept me in school. In 1929, that was during the Depression. Good thing I stayed at Kumamotoya. I made my own "obento" in the morning, so I could eat lunch at school. Four sandwiches and I would buy something to drink. There were days when I didn't have a cent, so I would ask Mrs. Toda (Sets-chan) for a dime. Carfare--five cents to go and five cents to come home! When I think of those days I really appreciate what Sets-chan did for me. Even now, I don't feel very much like throwing money around.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Right! Many students worked on farms or salmon canneries to help pay their tuition. You were able to go straight through?
DR. INADA: No, I stayed out one year to work. After graduating and passing the State Board, I had to start looking for a place to practice--I even applied for a position in Hawaii. I thought Monterey would be a good town; lots of fishermen then, and there was a Japanese community there. So I ended up there at the Higashi Hotel where I rented two rooms on the second floor. One room for my office and one for my quarters. When I look back now, I think it was a big mistake going onto a Japanese hotel, because right away it's limited just to Japanese patients. The fishermen, I found, were not very interested in their teeth. When they docked, they wanted wine, women, and liquor--hell with their teeth! So I was there barely existing when I heard about Dr. Shirayama's office being up for sale in Fresno, so I came and took over the office in 1936.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Where was this office?
DR. INADA: At the northwest corner of "F" and Tulare Streets, upstairs in the Bank of America building. At that time the Nihonjin-kai (Japanese Association) and the George Studio were up there also. I stayed at the Nihonjin-Kai (Olympic Hotel) on the corner of "F" and Kern Streets, so I was very close to my work. After a few months I was introduced to the Saito family and Masako. We were married in August 1936. I rented a home from Mr. Balavac at 1435 Kern Street. Lawson was born in May 1938.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What did you do with the equipment you had bought in Monterey?
DR. INADA: You know, I can't remember too clearly, but I must have brought all my equipment to Fresno. Dr. Shirayama had two operatories. One was new with modern equipment, the other had old equipment, so I took them out and put my new equipment in there. After a few years of practice, I was doing real well--I paid for my equipment and was starting to be able to save a few dollars, and then we had to evacuate. What a lousy break! Then I had to have all my equipment stored at Lyons Storage Company.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How did you manage to take out all your equipment?
DR. INADA: I didn't have the time to do that, so Richard Cornelius,who was working for Edwards Dental Supply Company, took care of everything for me. Richard started working for Edwards about the time I came to Fresno, so we got to be real good friends. Even after we returned from camp, he helped me get set up. So I really owe Richard a lot, and when he died in April 1980, I lost a wonderful friend and pal, and I really felt saddened.
We used to play golf and shoot pool, and he used to tell me what materials to buy for what purpose, et cetera, so we were good for each other.
As I was saying, we had to evacuate. We moved into the Fresno Assembly Center at the fairgrounds. We were the advance group. Dr. Hashiba was on the advance crew, There were Dr. Kik Taira, and Mich Toshiyuki a pharmicist, and Dr. Hashiba was the head, and we went in there to set up the hospital, dental section, and pharmacy. And as far as dentistry was concerned, it was very primitive; we never had a chair. We used a plain chair, and we made something for the headrest. We had nothing, no permanent fillings. If you had a toothache, we extracted the tooth, and if you had a cavity, we put in a temporary filling. Of course, I don't know what the medics did--whether they had x-ray equipment or anything. We had curfew at night. Since we were the early ones, every week a new bunch of people would come in.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What kind of living quarters did you have?
DR. INADA: Just barracks, wooden barracks. I think there were four families to a barracks. We had to stuff hay into a bag to make our mattress.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How much earlier than the rest did you go in?
DR. INADA: We went in May, so we were there two weeks or so before the others came in. As the other people came in, the medics and people like me had to examine them, which was a joke. Take a mirror and look into their mouths. We didn't have the facility to take care of them. The M.D. exams were cursory, too.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You did that to each evacuee as he came in?
DR. INADA: Each one of them!
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long were you in this assembly center?
DR. INADA: We were in 'til September, four or five months. Then we had to go to Jerome, Arkansas where we had to go again as the advance crew. Dr. Hashiba was sent to Tule Lake later. So, Dr. Taira was the head medical person and me and Toshiyuki, we got on the train, traveled mostly at night and during the day, too. At night we had to pull the shades down. It was rather an uncomfortable trip. We would all get out and stretch. In the middle of nowhere there would be soldiers with guns. Imagine! I thought it was silly--asinine! Dr. Taira was supposed to be the head, but when the train started to move, he got carsick or something and wasn't good for the whole trip. There was a fellow named Kobayashi working with Dr. Taira in camp. So he took care of the people who got sick or needed attention--passed out pills, et cetera.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You had Lawson with you?
DR. INADA: Yes, I don't remember that we had any trouble with him. He and Dr. Taira's children played together. It was hot, and when you opened the window, all the soot would come in. It was an old locomotive. We had the old plush pullman car. When we'd get into town, we'd pull all the shades down. At one place where we stopped, the colored people looked in and asked, "Where you white folks going?" When we got to Jerome, we met the project head. They somehow had the idea that Japanese were all short guys. Dr. Taira and I and couple of big guys got off the train first, and the popped their eyes open. Then, they had to go back and raise all the sinks in camp! That was funny! Even in Arkansas, we were the advance crew, and were in Block 14, which was barely finished. The other blocks weren't finished. So every time a new group came in, say for Block 15 or 20, their shower facilities weren't finished. So they all had to come to Block 14 to take showers. I don't think the mess halls were finished either. Block 14 was the head block, and the only one completed.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Then did you eat in shifts?
DR. INADA: Yes, after a while we got used to this life.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What kind of weather did you have there?
DR. INADA: Muggy weather. When it rained, it would sleet. It was cold. Each family quarters had wood stoves for heating. We actually had to go into the woods to cut wood.
Each block would go and cut wood. Dr. Taira would drive a wagon with a mule team. When the weather was nice, the people would organize softball teams and other activities.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long did you stay there in camp?
DR. INADA: We stayed from 1942 to '44, then we moved again. They were going to close Jerome. It was either Rohwer, which was a few miles away, or elsewhere. My family and the Saitos decided to go to Amache, Colorado. There were two dentists who were going to leave camp, and that left two openings for Iko (Dr. Saito) and me. When we got there, those dentists decided not to leave. So, Dr. Saito volunteered for the Army. I drove a butcher truck. I used to bring all the meat to all the messhalls. That was a change, and I sort of enjoyed it.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How long did you do that?
DR. INADA: I did that for a few months. Then Roy Nikkaido, whose brother Bill owns Bill's Florist here in Fresno, and I decided to go out to Chicago. He took a job at Steven Hotel as a busboy. I went to work at Williams Lamp Company. Originally they made lamps, the floor lamps, but at that time had converted to the war effort, and they were processing nuts and bolts to send overseas.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you have any problems getting permission to go out of camp to Chicago?
DR. INADA: I don't remember how we did it. We must have gotten permission.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Perhaps by then the government was encouraging the evacuees to relocate outside of camp.
DR. INADA: True. I was there in Chicago for a few months. When we got back into camp, it was time for us to come back to California.
MRS. HASEGAWA: When you were going out to Chicago, how did you feel? Did you feel as though you'd regained your liberty or freedom?
DR. INADA: I must be a funny guy, because I didn't feel anything. No elation, maybe a little curious.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Now, when you said that you came back to camp, you knew that people were returning to Fresno. Is that why you returned to camp?
DR. INADA: I think that was the reason. Coming home from Chicago, I stopped in at Mankato, Minnesota. Ty Saiki and the Hirasunas, who had left Fresno before mass evacuation took place, were there. I stopped there overnight and came home.
MRS. HASEGAWA: By the way, did Ma-chan go out with you to Chicago?
DR. INADA: No. She and Lawson stayed back at Amache, and we returned together. After we got back to Fresno, we stayed for a while with the folks in their former home on "E" and Inyo Streets. That house is still there, many in that area were moved or torn down. We later moved into Dr. Yatabe's former home on Collins Avenue. You see, the Yatabes decided to stay in Chicago. I had an agreement with Dr. Yatabe, that if I wanted the place, I could buy it. So we decided to buy it.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What about your practice? Did you have any problems in getting started again?
DR. INADA: When we got back, there weren't any locations. Where I used to be was not a dental office, but a Mexican consulate or something like that. I wanted to go out on Fresno Street. It's not there now, but on the corner of "F" and Fresno there's a Malanca Building now. Across from it was another two-story building the Gigliotti Building, that's where Herman Censi's Drugstore used to be, a shoe repair shop, a barber shop, a grocery shop, and Paul Ma's radio shop at the corner. Upstairs there was a Mexican or Italian family. So L-asked Bill Cornacchia, who was Gigliotti's son-in-law, if I could go upstairs in that Gigliotti building. He said he'll talk to his father-in-law. He said, "Sure, but there's a family up there right now." I'm not sure how long it was, but I waited 'til it was vacated. Naturally, it had to be fixed up, painted, and this and that. I had enough room upstairs on one side so that I talked to Dr. Nishio about sharing the space. He decided to take the corner for his optometry office. The other side of the stairway was empty for a while. Then lawyer Shim Hiraoka came up. George Studio came, and Dave Kawakami had his dental lab there.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Upstairs was occupied by all Nisei professional men?
DR. INADA: Yes, except for Mr. Hishida of George Studio. He was a young Issei. Right now George is across the street. He's in the Malanca building. They didn't tear that building down, but they tore down Gigliotti's building!
MRS. HASEGAWA: That building wasn't so old either?
DR. INADA: No, I don't know why, maybe it was run down, because it was a stucco building. Malanca's is a big stone building.
MRS. HASEGAWA: By the way, you mentioned you were on the Edison High Board?. Would you like to tell us something about that?
DR. INADA: It was an advisory board. We were supposed to help and advise the principal if he had any problems. We used to meet once a month. Mr. Trombetta was the principal, then Mr. Norman McDonald. The members were Mr. Priscoe, myself, Mr. Bixby (the colored man), Mr. Henry Prinz, Mr. Louis Gennusso, Mr. Corsaro, Mr. Andy Casonpos, Mr. Cornacchia, Ben Nakamura, and a few others, and I believe we were of some help to the principal of Edison High.
MRS. HASEGAWA: It sounds as if you were a cosmopolitan group. Were these members primarily parents of students? Was Lawson in high school at that time?
DR. INADA: Yes. He was in high school then. Lot of them were parents. I'm not sure whether Mr. Bixby had any children in school, but he was a well-educated man, and the vocabulary that man had! I think that Mr. Ed Krott was principal at one time, too. Each year, a different member would be chairman. It was a good experience. I wouldn't say we were one big help, but if they had a problem we would get together and try to straighten it out.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What kind of problems?
DR. INADA: Usually a racial problem would come up.
MRS. HASEGAWA: And since you were such a racially mixed group yourselves you were able to discuss problems and try to solve them with a great deal of understanding?
DR. INADA: Quite true. There were quite a lot of Italians, Germans, few Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, who were going to school. Oh by the way, talking of the advisory group, Frank Tuck--Chinese was a member also. It was an international deal. At least the principal could depend on us members. If they wanted to do something, or if there was some racial problem we would talk to the person who was involved and to the parents.
MRS. HASEGAWA: That was a worthwhile community involvement! How long were you at the Fresno Street office?
DR. INADA: I think I was at the Fresno Street office until 1958. Then the landlord Bill Cornacchia said the building was condemned. By then, Dr. George Nishio had moved out and started his own with Dr. Miyake downtown. The old man Mr. Gigliotti said if I wanted to stay there I would have to fix the place by myself. I thought to myself that I'm paying rent and am not the landlord so why should I fix up the place. So I started to look around. I finally ended up in my present location which is Shields and West. I've been there since 1958.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Isn't it quite a distance from where you live?
DR. INADA: At that time, if I had known that I had to move my office, I don't think I would have come over here to build our home. It was too late. I was already here before I decided to move my office. I have further to drive now. It's about 12 miles. I put on about 25 miles a day coming and going. After my brother-in-law Min told me to take the freeway. I find that that is more relaxing than going through town.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did your West Side patients follow you over to Shields and West?
DR. INADA: Some. Lots of West Side Italians got out of there, too. Lots of them lived on Kearney Boulevard and on Hughes Avenue. There were nice residences there, but since the black people started coming in they got out. They are all around the West and Shields area. I get lots of them as patients. Right now, I've got about five percent of my practice that's Japanese, most of them are "hakujin" people.
MRS. HASEGAWA: This is interesting. There's quite a number of Nisei dentists now, and it seems each of them has a majority of Caucasian patients and a smaller percentage of Japanese. Would you say that Japanese take care of their teeth pretty well?
DR. INADA: I would say so. But, I think the Japanese people are getting educated and economically, financially able to take better care of their mouth.
MRS. HASEGAWA: The Nisei seek the services of orthodontists, periodontists along being more aware they have the means. The Issei for most part usually went only for toothaches, their income covered only bare necessities for their families.
DR. INADA: We have very few Issei now. Most of them have dentures.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You are very successful in your profession!
DR. INADA: I don't know. I enjoy dentistry. I'm not a rich man. We make a living--a comfortable one. I don't think you can become rich doing dentistry. If you want to get rich, you have to take the money and invest it in real estate or something. Other than that we make a good comfortable living. Of course, I own my house, my office, and a
few bucks in the bank. My wife spends it (the bucks)! (Laughs.) MRS. HASEGAWA: I know she does a lot of visiting and making people happy. She's very generous.
DR. INADA: I'm getting to a stage towards the end of my career, but enjoy what I'm doing. Few years back, I started taking night courses at Clovis Adult School. I have had a course in mechanics, that is not too complicated. The teacher teaches the basics--what makes the car go, and what you have to do to keep it up.
MRS. HASEGAWA: By the way, do you put into practice what you've learned?
DR. INADA: I did, but lately I'm getting lazy. It's hard work to get under the car and changing the oil filter, et cetera, hard on your neck. It's not worth it.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What about your hands, don't they get awfully greasy?
DR. INADA: That you can wash off. But I used to do my own oil change and change spark plugs. But lately, I let Masao do it at the Union Station. Oh, yes, I also dabbled in pottery, made a few pieces. Prior to this I collected agates, polished them, made jewelry. Good hobby. Then I took up furniture refinishing. I've done a lot of finishing especially for my son Lawson and his wife. Half their furniture is what I fixed up for them. But I enjoyed that. From there, I went into this stained glass work or leaded glass, they call it. What interested me in that was when we visited Tomiko Ishikawa. She had this Japanese Mon (family crest) in her door. I asked Tomiko if she did that and she said,"Yes," so I went to Clovis Adult School and took up this glass work and I'm still at it, and I enjoy it very much--a nice hobby. I like the way the instructor makes us get our hands into our projects immediately, from the very first night! No theorizing—just doing! I think because T. had soldered gold crown in my practice, putting the glass pieces was nothing new. The technique is really similar!
MRS. HASEGAWA: I have seen your framed Pegasus and your lampshade. I think you've done some beautiful things! I recently went to an antique shop in Santa Barbara, and they had some Tiffany style lamps. The prices seemed exorbitant to me--but I must remember that 1,000 pieces were put together by hand.
DR. INADA: Do you see that lampshade there? I saw one just like it in a light shop on Palm Avenue. I thought it wasn't as good as mine, priced at $1,080. He told me he had a daughter-in-law in Los Angeles who said a lampshade like that would go for $2,750. Can you imagine? It's a lot of work. All by hand.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How many sessions or semesters have you had?
DR. INADA: I would say I had about three and a half sessions. There was one session I went for five weeks, at the most four and a half sessions.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You've made many articles. I think that's great!
DR. INADA: As far as I'm concerned, I consider myself a pretty good craftsman. Perhaps my having to do intricate work in dentistry has helped. But I'm not very original or artistic--creative might be the word I'm looking for. Let me turn on the light for you.
MRS. HASEGAWA: That is beautiful when you see the light go through the various colored glass. Oh, that is pretty!
This last hobby has brought you much satisfaction and pleasure and the fortunate recipients and your handicraft.
DR. INADA: You'd be surprised how popular leaded glass is!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Is "shigin" another one of your hobbies?
DR. INADA: I started "shigin" in March 1969, and I enjoyed it very much. I enlarged my circle of friends and learned some Japanese history, and maybe helped my Japanese vocabulary a little so that I could carry on some conversation with my patients. Then in January of 1980, I had a hernia operation so I had to stop "shigin." I haven't been back
since. Why? I don't know.
MRS. HASEGAWA: You also played a great deal of golf, did you not?
DR. INADA: Oh yes. I learned how to play the game in 1936, and I've played it ever since. At one time, I thought I was a good player, but now it's mostly for exercise and camaraderie with the fellows.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What other hobbies do you have?
DR. INADA: We have a group that plays poker every two weeks. This has been going on for years. We play for 1/10 of a cent, so it is not a big game.
MRS. HASEGAWA: If you are on a winning streak how much can you win in an evening?
DR. INADA: Anywhere from $20 to $150. You have losing streaks, too. However, it's lots of fun and relaxing sometimes!
MRS. HASEGAWA: This is one of your social Outlets, this and golf? Do you belong to any other organizations?
DR. INADA: Yes. Dental Society, JACL, Shigin, Golf Club, and Kumamoto Shinwakai.
MRS. HASEGAWA: I understand you are an officer in the Shinwakai.
DR. INADA: I don't know why they thought they needed a Nisei vice-president. There must be a few Nisei coming to the meetings. Actually they don't need one, but I'm in it.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How often do you meet?
DR. INADA: Not very often, three or four times a year.
MRS. HASEGAWA: For purely social purposes?
DR. INADA: Yes, it is mostly social. Bonenkai, that's the year's end party and during summer we have a picnic. Just before these events, we officers get together to pick the date, the sight, and what we're going to do. If someone comes from Kumamoto, Japan, we try to give them a reception.
MRS. HASEGAWA: A welcoming party, that's nice.
DR. INADA: It keeps me in touch with a different group.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How about a civic organization? You were on the Edison Advisory Committee.
DR. INADA: After that we had the West Side Optimist Club, but that is now defunct. We met for about 10 years or longer. Our first president was Bud Easley, remember him? He owned Easley Funeral Home. The purpose was to help the young boys. We had oratorical contests for boys at Edison. Then we had Optimist baseball team and outings. Sent boys to Scouting camp, et cetera. There's no more West Side Optimist Club, so I haven't joined anything else.
MRS. HASEGAWA: I remember you used to enjoy traveling quite a hit. You've covered quite a bit of Western United States.
MR. INADA: Lawson traveled into the Indian country and visited with the tribes. In fact, at one place he was asked what tribe he belonged to! That's what got us curious. It was very interesting.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How about Japan? Certainly you've been there.
MR. INADA: Yes. We went to Japan in 1970 on a dental tour composed of all dentists and wives. This was our first trip to Japan. The Tokyo and Osaka Dental Association really put out. Later I found out we were paying for part of it, but those dental sororities in Japan in Tokyo and Osaka gave us elegant receptions, dinner, and everything. We enjoyed that very much. There must have been about 70 of us. We had two bus loads. Then with all the dentists from the Tokyo Society, it was a pretty good crowd all together.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you find any of them talking English?
DR. INADA: Yes, some. I talked to some with my broken Japanese. I learned very little from what I had observed. The dental work on the Japanese patients I see in my office left much to be desired. We never got to visit a private office. They showed us few new equipment, and other things such as porcelain teeth, silver alloys, et cetera. This was in 1970, I can imagine they must be quite advanced now as they are in other scientific fields. We went to Japan again in 1976. We went with Mike Iwatsubo, so there were lots of Fresno people, so it was very enjoyable. When the group went to Nara, we separated and went to Osaka to see Masako's relatives and Kumamoto when I spent two or three days with my relatives in Kumamoto. The first time, we never left the dental group. I didn't know until I went there that I had five or six cousins. My father's sister's children—actual cousins, and I never knew them. One was in the 70's, the youngest was 55, and he was going to retire from Japan railroad.
MRS. HASEGAWA: I bet they were happy to see you!
DR. INADA: They were glad to see us. The first time we went to Kumamoto, we contacted these people and told them we were coming. So, when we got to the Kumamoto station, two of my cousins came to meet us. They said, "Let's go have coffee." So from there we went upstairs to the coffee room and had coffee. Then this cousin looked at me and said, "Can you use chopsticks?" and "Do you eat rice?" I said, "Oh yes." "Can you sleep on the floor?" he asked. I said I could do that, too. Then he said, "Well then, let's go home." Later I found out they didn't know what we would eat and that was their biggest concern and worry.
MRS. HASEGAWA: How did you find out you had relatives in Kumamoto?
DR. INADA: Before I went I asked my sister-in-law. I think she wrote to them to tell them we were coming. When we got there, we all got together and had a party. I ate everything they had there; sushi, sashimi, kimpira, gobo, nishime, et cetera. Were they surprised!
MRS. HASEGAWA: They thought you were a foreigner.
DR. INADA: Yes, they thought we ate only bread.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What about the potato?
DR. INADA: Next morning, this lady, my sister-in-law's cousin, has the sweet potato sliced sideways and had mochi wrapped around it and steamed it--like Bongo. I ate a lot of that and I was pretty full. And at the same time she was mashing some plain potato. She cuts some cucumber and puts it in there and made mashed potato sandwiches. I reluctantly ate it. Imagine a mashed potato sandwich. I felt like Dagwood Bumstead!
They treated us so nice it became almost embarrassing. They did so much for us. They took us to the Suizenji Park and Kumamoto Castle. That was fabulous! Did you know that it had burnt down at one time and they reconstructed it?
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you feel like you belonged?
DR. INADA: There's a sense of belonging when you go to Japan. Everyone you see is Japanese and so very many of them!
MRS. HASEGAWA: By the way, were you able to share your experiences in Japan with your parents? Did they ever visit Japan?
DR. INADA: My folks never got to visit their home country since coming to America. My mother died a year before we evacuated in 1942. I am very grateful that she got to hold and take care of her grandson Lawson, at least for a few years. She came to take care of Masako after Lawson was born. For this I am very thankful. My regret is that at that time I was not able to do much for her. I would have liked to have given her some luxuries which she never had. I know she was happy just to be with us. She was a wonderful mother. My dad lived to a ripe old age, so he was able to visit us and stay with us many times. He was never a complainer, and it is after they are gone that we realize lots of things we should have done and should have asked, but alas, it's too late.
MRS. HASEGAWA: When you first came back from camp, did you experience any acts of prejudice? I understand some people were victims of rock throwing.
DR. INADA: I think that was out in the country. Also Sakamoto's home just a half a block from where the folks lived was shot at. But we didn't experience anything like that. Ever since I remember, we stayed within the Japanese community. I never pushed myself into Caucasian society, never did. We were berry growers. We grew them, shipped them. We were never in contact with the Caucasian people. We had our own comfortable community. I guess that's the reason we never pushed ourselves into the forefront. Of course, I have always known that there was prejudice, but even when I bought property here, I told Vern Sorensen, the contractor, that if anyone in the neighborhood didn't want a Japanese to be sure and let me know. I didn't want to live in a neighborhood that didn't want us. He said don't worry, nothing like that, and he used to live a few doors away. So that's why I bought the lot and built here.
MRS. HASEGAWA: There was a time when we used to hear of certain areas in Fresno being closed to Orientals or other minority groups.
DR. INADA: That's why I didn't want to force myself. If they don't want me, the heck with it.
MRS. HASEGAWA: After you moved to this location here, what has been your relationship with your neighbors?
DR. INADA: Nothing. I stay by myself most of the time. I don't go around making myself obnoxious.
MRS. HASEGAWA: It's not in you to do that! Now you belong to the Belmont Country Club?
DR. INADA: Yes, lot of Nisei are charter members. Of course, I'm not a charter member. I joined about six months after it was formed. It's close by for me, and I enjoy playing golf
there.
MRS. HASEGAWA: I guess Nisei are gradually being able to get into the main stream of community life. As for the Sansei--they have gone further. I didn't ask you anything about Lawson since Ma-chan covered quite a bit. You must be proud of his accomplishments?
DR. INADA: I certainly am. There must be some fathers who would push their kid into something the father wanted, but I never pushed him at all. He went into poetry, and I'm not much of a poet or poetry reader. But I remember I used to read a lot of poetry to him.
MRS. HASEGAWA: This shows changing attitude of most of the Issei parents who stressed the professions because of its independence, et cetera. He's getting all sorts of honors heaped upon him. Receiving grants and invitations to the White House!
DR. INADA: That was something, when he received the White House invitation. Quite a feather in his hat! He has a nice family. Wife Janet, and two boys Miles and Lowell, good students and quite athletic!
MRS. HASEGAWA: Talking about athletics, you were at one time a sumo wrestler. Sumo, the Japanese type of wrestling.
DR. INADA: I used to sumo as a teenager in our berry camps. Every spring they would have picnics and beside the usual running, et cetera, they (the farmers) would build a semi-authentic wrestling area, and we would wrestle. I was always tall and skinny. As a junior in high school. I was 5'10 1/2", but during all those years playing football, et cetera, I never weighed more than 130-145 pounds. It was only after I got married that I got big. Must have been Masako's good cooking. The first year I gained 20 pounds and by the time I left camp from Amache, Colorado for Chicago, I was up to 200 pounds. In those days that was a pretty big "Jap." That's the reason I was able to be a "Keiko-dai." The youngsters would get a good work-out trying to push me around. This was in camp in Fresno and Colorado.
MRS. HASEGAWA: This is Japanese wrestling?
DR. INADA: Yes, sumo.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Is there an art to sumo?
DR. INADA: Oh yes. Definitely. Lots of holds and techniques, and it takes years of training at the sumo stables to become good.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Did you wrestle on a team or coach a group?
DR. INADA: One year I wrestled for the San Francisco Japanese team. I was on the bottom of the totem pole. I enjoyed wrestling as a “keiko-dai” which is like a sparring partner in boxing.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Do you remember any Japanese customs your parents observed when you were young?
DR. INADA: I don't remember too many. The thing I remember most is the "Shogatsu." They would have this "mochi-tsuki." In a big camp, two or three families would get together and make the "usu" from the trunk of a big tree and carve it out. Out of one big chunk of wood! Get up early in the morning and "steam" the rice. There was about four layers of the stuff. Put the bottom layer in the "usu" and it was the young guys who used to pound it, two guys. A lady would have a pan of water, dip her hand in water, and flop the steamed, sticky rice over. She had to be good to keep her hand from being smashed. Just good timing.
In those days, New Year's was something else. We would start at one end of the camp and go clean to the end saying, "Happy New Year," and sit and drink and eat! It used to be quite a thing. In those days weddings used to be quite a big celebration, too--eat and drink for about two days! Those were the days! Nowadays, we have "shogatsu" but we never go anywhere. Just the family would come.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Watching the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl game on the television have taken over as things to do on New Year's!!
DR. INADA: To some degree the football games on New Year's Day are a must now.
MRS. HASEGAWA: What social and economic changes have you seen? In the local community over the years?
DR. INADA: Well, I think most of the families are getting along pretty well financially. Socially, there's a lot more intermarriages. We're getting accepted into society much more and into the community. Even in government, we have Nisei politicians up there. You have to admit that we have come a long ways, I would say.
MRS. HASEGAWA: We no longer have a concentrated West Side Japanese community. The Nisei and Sansei live in many areas. There are a few of the older stores left, but some new ones have come up!
DR. INADA: Right! On the whole, we have made very good progress.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Is there any advice you would like to give to the younger generation? Words of wisdom?
DR. INADA: I don't think I'm too much qualified to do that. Mind your own business. Keep your nose clean. Work hard. Save some. Enjoy life!
MRS. HASEGAWA: What do you think makes for a happy life? Do you think accumulating a lot of money?
DR. INADA: I'm sure money isn't everything, but it doesn't hurt to have a few bucks. With welfare and all the government help that you could get when you're down and out, still you have to have a few dollars to feel secure. So, I think to be happy you've got to have a few dollars and something to do-a profession, or farm, or a good job, and have
children, grandchildren. Then you have to have a good wife.
MRS. HASEGAWA: A good home life!
DR. INADA: You bet your life you do! I'm lucky and grateful for what I have.
MRS. HASEGAWA: Thank you very much, Fuzzy. It was great fun "accompanying" you as you recalled some of your early experiences. You were a rascal for sure!