How I met Eisaku (Dictated by Michi to Joy)

Eisaku Mano and Michi Morio met for the first time when Eisaku Mano came with his cousin Teijiro Mano to the home of Sadamaro and Mary Takemori to see their new baby boy that was born on April 8, 1937.

I, Michi Mano, was living in Seattle with my father, Tsunemichi Morio, my sister, Lily, and my brothers, Henry and Noboru. My eldest sister Mary married Sadamaro Takemori in 1931 and moved to Los angeles, California.

My brother Henry and I were in Japan when she got married. Henry and I went to Japan in 1927 and lived in Japan from October 1927 to October 1934. Henry stayed a year longer because he was not well and was under the doctor’s care. When Henry and I lived in Japan with our grandmother, Misa Morio, and our uncle and aunt, Tsunetaka and Setsuko Morio. They were very good to us and we enjoyed a wonderful family life, but when I graduated the girl’s high school, I was ready to come back to America because I was born here and this was my country and my home. After I came back to Seattle, Washington, although we were a family, it wasn’t like a real family because we did not have a mother. I missed the family life in Japan.

In Seattle, I started to go to night school at Baily Gatzert School. I went with my aunt, Mrs. Handa, to study English. I worked at a home of an American family as a house girl to get used to English. Although I had my own room and they were very good to me, I got home sick and came home in 3 months. I should have stayed longer because I could have learned a lot. I worked at a market in Seattle and we had about 5 Japanese girls that worked there so we went and came back together on the bus, it was fun.

My sister, Mary, was expecting her first child in April so she needed help and asked me to go and help her. I went to Los Angeles, California to help her out. Their baby was born on April 8, 1937. Mary had her baby at home with the help of a midwife. Mary suffered 12 hours before the baby was born. The baby boy was named Fred Sadayasu Takemori. He was a healthy baby with lots of hair.

Eisaku Mano came to see the baby and we met for the first time and started going steady right away. About a month later we were engaged and I went back home to Seattle, just to tell my father about my engagement and to get my belongings and then I went back to Los Angeles. We set our date for our wedding on August 22, 1937, just 4 months after we met.

We had quite a large wedding at the Shinto Temple in Los Angeles. The reception was held at a Chinese restaurant and many people were there. After our marriage on August 22, 1937, we lived in a cute house on 967 Dewey Avenue, Los Angeles, California