She came given that a picture bride within the 1918 toward Shinyo Maru whenever she is actually eighteen yrs . old
From the fulfilling Ayako Kikugawa the very first time on the winter of 1985 during the Dot’s Cafe inside the Wahiawa, Oahu. It absolutely was within yearly Kumamoto kenjinkai (prefectural pub) toward Wahiawa/Waialua region shinnenkai (New year celebration). The fresh pub try reactivated just after The second world war, in about 1955, after the nisei sons came back home out of serving with the Eu battlefields. My better half, Douglas, is president of one’s Waialua/Wahiawa urban area club to have a decade. Therefore i was lucky meet up with some of the issei female that has come once the visualize brides regarding Kumamoto. Many of the issei husbands had just after already been management of pub however, had due to the fact passed away. These wives were still into the great health and you will searched toward the newest celebration every year. One wife try Ayako Kikugawa. At eighty-seven, she was still gorgeous and also elegant. Their own delicate have, darkish vision, and you may reasonable skin matched her silky-verbal, comfortable trend. It absolutely was tough to imagine that she was previously one of the numerous visualize brides who had been obligated to toil away from inside the Wahiawa’s pineapple fields beneath the sizzling hot sunrays and work out a full time income. Once retiring from the pineapple plantation, Ayako paid down with her spouse, Shitoku, and her 3rd child, Akimi, for the Wahiawa. Akimi got purchased the latest property once World war ii. Wahiawa is actually often referred to as “Pineapple Urban area” because it are in the middle of acres and you can miles out-of steeped pineapple fields. Their house is actually based in a peaceful setting out of high eucalyptus trees along side Kakunahoa Lake, and this flows lazily into quiet River Wilson, the most significant freshwater lake to the Oahu. Brand new Waialua Sugar Business first built that it tank so you can irrigate the fresh new sugarcane industries of up to Waimea Bay. People titled it the brand new Wahiawa Reservoir, however, today it is preferable labeled as Lake Wilson. It’s a well-known seasons-bullet fishing spot for tilapia, catfish, bluegill, or other designs of seafood. The fresh river even offers green turtles. Leading yard away from Ayako’s solitary-facts household is remarkably improved that have a good Japanese stone lawn, shapely pine bonsai tree, and reddish camellia flowers.
She sat easily on the settee together with her hand collapsed into their own lap
as well as their lovable yonsei (fourth-generation) grandkids all resided joyfully in one place. As i went to Ayako on August 11, 1987, she greeted me personally which have an enjoying laugh and you will bowed their unique lead once or twice within home. We replied with a bow, just as my personal mommy got instructed myself whenever i try really young. Ayako, like many other issei feminine, dressed up conservatively, from inside the a simple blue cotton dress safeguarded into the a flowery pattern. Their particular silvergray hair is actually place for the an effective chignon on the back of her direct and you may held in place which have an olive-environmentally friendly lacquer brush. We noticed that their hand was secured inside markings regarding stripping the spiny, razor-evident makes in the crown of pineapple bush. These people were the sole revealing cues remaining of your own ages she had done the latest plantation. Just like the she began unfolding their unique earlier in the day, their own voice faltered sometime having feelings. She paused, and slowly regained their particular composure. She was new embodiment of a typical woman about Meiji era: strong-willed, separate, and you can seksikГ¤s irlantilainen-naiset hardworking. Surprisingly, within her a couple of-hours interviews she don’t have fun with the majority of their particular Kumamoto dialect. She utilized practical Japanese which includes dialect and incredibly absolutely nothing Pidgin or English. We began to inquire in regards to the ways she spoke. During the period of my personal interviews with quite a few issei on the isles, I ran across that those just who kept in personal touching together with other villagers regarding exact same nations hired its dialects and you may village tradition. It had been better to communicate with each other within their common vocabulary. New
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