CHOKI OSHIRO
published Oct 14, 2018

A Friendly Angel

One day, a friend informed me that a school teacher had come to Paia to marry one of the plantation workers. "Why don't we go to see the bride?" he said. I debated with myself: "Isn't it silly for a man to peep at someone's bride just to satisfy his curiosity?" There are probably special reasons why she wanted to come all the way from Okinawa to marry a plantation worker - it was a rare incident. Anyway, I decided to go and find out.

We reached the plantation camp early and walked around the camp since we had nothing else to do. Walking up a hill we passed a house where many people were gathered. A man about 40 or 50 years old, wearing a western suit, came out and invited us in. Since he was very polite, we went inside. We tried to sit in the back, but a man led us to the front. It was a Christian church. The polite man was Rev. Fukuda who began preaching the story of the Prodigal Son. I remember being very impressed and happy because this was the first time I was treated fairly and decently. I recall thinking that the world looks small, but is actually large, and that if there is a God who deserts us, there is also a God who saves us. Even I, a Prodigal Son, should not give up but must try my best to live as a human being.

After this initial contact with the church, I changed my work place from Spreckelsville Plantation with its "hey-how-many Okinawan (animals)- came-foreman," and its $10.00 monthly salary, to nearby Wailuku Plantation. For two weeks, I did various jobs, oiled the sugar mill, and then went to work in the cane fields.

I remember an old couple, the cooks for the camp who made bento (box lunches) and meals for me. I paid a cheap $6.50 a month and was grateful. They lived in the back of Wailuku town with two daughters and took care of several plantation workers. The younger daughter was a frank, humorous and friendly person. When I was in Okinawa, my teachers always scolded me for bad posture; I did not sit straight. Whenever the younger daughter saw me eating supper, she would hit my back lightly. Her mother scolded her, saying: "How impolite! You should not do such a thing to our customers." I always told her mother that I did not mind it at all and was rather glad she cared enough to try to correct my posture.

On Sundays, about 10 o'clock, she would lead me to church through Chinatown, silently holding my hand. We went to church like this for about seven months. Even now, at the age of 87, I still remember her clearly. What she did for me, I can only understand as the deed of an angel, someone sent from heaven to lead me to the church. She was about 13 years old, and I was 16 or 17. I already knew about koi (adoring, yearning) and ai (love); however, we never talked about koi or aijo (love, affection). Our feelings were truly naive, innocent and those of friendship.

Through the church I met friends like Mr. Goto and Mrs. Kanda. Mrs. Kanda was a teacher at the Koken Girls' School in Wailuku where she taught 14 or 15 girls etiquette and other things required to be good housewives. Also, I became a good friend of our minister and his family. These friendships had become possible only through the help of my "angel." When I remember her, I regret not doing anything in return for her. I intended to give a present, a token of my gratitude, but ended up not doing anything for her, something I have regretted throughout my life.

Hunting for the Right job

At one time, I worked as an apprentice at an auto-repair shop, but quit since I could not stand the terrible smell of gasoline. I did not receive any pay there. I even had to bring my own lunch.

Next I worked for a laundry where I started from scratch and learned the ABC's of the cleaning business. I learned to do my job successfully. It was during the Depression and the economic situation was bad. Therefore I received many orders for changing the color of dresses by re-dyeing them. I did it from the early morning on. Then I prepared my ironing set. It was an old-fashioned hinoshi iron with hot charcoal.

When I mastered handling and managing the laundry store, I began to go out. I bought a bicycle and went to the camps of Puunene Plantation and other places to take orders. At one time, I used a horse and buggy for taking orders and delivery, but since I had to feed the horse, it was rather troublesome and not very profitable.

I moved to Y-gap camp on the same plantation because friends from my hometown were working there raising sugarcane. One day, Matayoshi, one of my senior fellows from school, suggested we walk to Lahaina Plantation. Three of us started out about nine o'clock one morning. The road was winding, like Nago no nanamagai (Winding road of Nago), with very few cars. It was fun at the beginning and we felt like we were walking on a private road. But by four o'clock that afternoon when we came to Olowalu camp, our feet started to hurt and we had to rest and refresh ourselves with some soda drinks. Walking slowly, we finally reached Kiawe Camp on Lahaina Plantation.

We stayed at Matayoshi's friend's house and started to work after several days. I asked some young boys from Kin who were very good at chopping firewood to teach me because it was used to boil water for baths and being a good wood chopper was one mark of a good laborer. These boys from Kin were also taking English classes at night. I joined them and learned the Baldwin Reader up to Volume Four. Besides English classes, I started to learn how to cook and smoke. I knew very little about cooking, only how to wash and cook rice, and even less about smoking. I tried smoking because it was the only way for us workers to get a few moments rest during the working day. I tried it, but had to give it up because it was too bitter. I have never smoked again.

I also remember my first drinking experience. It was on the Emperor's birthday, when we toasted with beer. I was drunk after the fifth bottle. I lay down on the grass in the yard to rest and fell asleep. When I woke up my friends teased: "Didn't those people come in your dream? You are sleeping on top of them." I had been sleeping on an ancient Hawaiian graveyard.

In that area there were many mango trees on both sides of a river. Picking and eating mangoes was a great pleasure for us.

Maruyama Camp was located on a hill. I worked in the sugar cane field there for 18 months and earned almost 300 dollars. I think I sent some money to my parents at that time.

Lahaina Plantation was unique. When it rained and the reservoir filled up I was assigned to hanawai, field irrigation. I went to work carrying a lantern and my bento. I also always secretly kept my Baldwin textbook in my pocket. I had to fill the ditches by myself. It took a long time and had to be done skillfully, otherwise there would be no time for me to catch some sleep. First I opened up the water gate for the upper two or three ridges, then waited until the water reached the lower ridges.

One day, while reading my textbook and waiting for the water, I heard a sound like human footsteps walking through the cane field. I looked up wondering who it could be. To my surprise it was my grandmother in her everyday clothes. I called "Grandma!" then she disappeared. Three months after this incident, I received a letter informing me of her death. She must have been worried and wanted to see for herself how I was doing in Hawaii. She came to see me that night in the cane field and probably was relieved because I was well and doing fine. I cried, thinking of her deep and beautiful love. Whenever I remembered this, I cried in gratitude.

Move to Honolulu

I made up my mind to study as much as possible so I would not have to be insulted and discriminated against by the Japanese any more. With that resolution I came to Honolulu at the end of 1910. For a country boy, it was not easy to find a job in Honolulu. But as a professional laundry man, I soon answered a want ad from a laundry specializing in western clothes. When I started to work, I found it was not an ordinary laundry shop. They washed nothing but army clothes such as uniform khaki pants and leggings. The clothes were boiled in a huge iron pot with washing soap and petroleum. I had to wash these steaming hot clothes with a scrubbing brush. It was a painful job, and my nails split and started to bleed. I quit after one week. I again looked for a laundry that specialized in regular western clothes. Fortunately I found one owned by Mr. Nakamura from Okinawa.

One day Mr. Nakamura asked me if I was a believer of Christianity or a believer of Buddhism. I told him I was a Christian. Then he told me to visit the Salvation Army, which he was a member of. The Army building was next to the laundry shop and there was a gathering of Sunday school children. As soon as I sat down, he introduced me as Oshiro sensei (teacher) and told the children I would speak to the morning class. This was the first time in my life I had been called sensei. I stood up, but my legs were shaky and I don't even remember what I talked about.

Learning English and Waiting

I worked as a waiter and orderly at Queen's Hospital in 1911. About four o'clock in the morning I started my first job, unloading ice from a truck and storing the ice in refrigerators. Then, after breakfast, I worked as a waiter and orderly.

In those days there were many wounded outpatients at the hospital. My job was to move them from a stretcher to a bed. As an orderly, I had to hurry to the bed of a patient whenever he rang the bell. I sometimes mistook my bell with a nurse's call or otherwise goofed, but it became my charm and pleased the people around me.

There was an old patient at the hospital who came from the mainland. I helped him take a bath and gave him a massage for 15 minutes. In return he gave me a dollar. On the way to my evening English class, I dropped by the Blaisdell Hotel where he later stayed and got one dollar, which was a lot of money. This became my daily routine. When he returned to the mainland he gave some money to each of the people working at the hospital, as was the custom when a rich patient was released. I worked at the hospital for several years.

About that time, I heard a visitor staying at the Moana Hotel was looking for a waiter. They were a newlywed couple from New York and they drank a lot. When I got there at nine o'clock they were still sleeping. I went to work for them the next day. They were out and the room was a mess with dirty shoes and clothes. Fortunately I worked for laundry shops, so I knew how to handle the mess. I brushed out mud from the clothes and cleaned stains and dirt, using benzine. Then I pressed the clothes and hung them in the closet. I also cleaned and polished their shoes. They were very satisfied with my work. That became my daily assignment. One day the couple asked me if I would like to go to New York with them. They told me there would be no money problems because they would pay for everything. I was very grateful. However, Dr. Seisei Gibo, my doctor in Okinawa, came to Hawaii to open a clinic in Waipahu. Consequently I had to decline the invitation and stayed to help the doctor as his interpreter and pharmacist. This was in 1913. The doctor stayed for three years and returned to Okinawa. While he was in Hawaii, I drove a Ford as his chauffeur. I often went to Dr. Yamamoto's office in Waialua on various errands. I was the first Okinawan in Waipahu to drive a car. When he returned to Okinawa, he sold the Ford to Mr. Serikaku on monthly installments. Serikaku paid only at the beginning and went bankrupt when his business failed. Since I was involved in the deal between them, I completely lost face, and was very troubled .

After the incident, I became an insurance salesman in 1916 for Crown Life of Canada, mainly on Oahu and the Big Island. In those days, insurance salesmen were considered bullies so I felt it was not my kind of job. Yet I could not quit because there were no other good jobs for me.

I was renting a house at that time. My landlord always carried a hammer when he collected the rent. It scared me, especially when I wanted to ask to put off my rental payment.

One day at the post office I met a middle-aged man from Okinawa who could not cash a registered money order from Okinawa for lack of a cosigner. Coming from the same prefecture, I felt sorry for him and co-signed for him. He was very grateful and thanked me repeatedly. After that incident, the manager of a bank offered me work at $65 a month to start and gradual salary raises to follow. Finally, I solved my rent problems. This was in 1924.

Second Marriage

I married Uto Oshiro in 1918 and our son Albert Chosei was born in 1919. Uto died in 1920. Three years after her death, Seisuke Kaneshiro asked if I wanted to marry a very nice girl who lived on a plantation. I went to see her. She had just graduated from school and did not look like the type to work on the plantation. I thought I would take her as my wife if her parents and she would agree. My friends were very happy for me and offered to help as "go-betweens"

I went to see her parents with Mr. Omine and other friends of mine. By chance her father, Mr. Takayesu, was the man I had helped at the post office and things went smoothly. He accepted my proposal, saying, "I will be very happy if it is you who takes my daughter Kiku as a wife." I consulted with the minister of our church concerning the procedure. Mr. and Mrs. Omuro of the Methodist Church kindly agreed to be our "go-between." Everything went favorably and we got married on May 9, 1924. My household worries disappeared. We had six children between 1925 and 1943: Nancy Keiko, Thomas Yukio, Ruth Taeko, Paul Yutaka, Alice Fujiko, and Timothy.

Working in the Bank of Hawaii accounting department from 1924-1941, I prepared semi-annual reports to submit to our main office twice a year, in June and December since I was the only one among the four staff members who could calculate the percentage of interest charged or earned on loans and deposits. As the only Japanese employee I handled Japanese customers' accounts.

I learned accounting and bookkeeping from Mr. Fukuhara, also from Okinawa, who worked at Asano Choya Ginko (Asano Day and Night Bank) in Honolulu. We met and became close friends while studying at the Y.M.C.A. Various people visited the Y.M.C.A., and I enjoyed listening to informal discussions with people like Mr. Soga, president of Nippu Jijisha (the present Hawaii Times), and Mr. Kawakami, who had come back from the U.S. mainland. Since I had previously read the Accounting Correspondence Course from Waseda University, I had some knowledge about it, but meeting with these people and listening to their talks really benefitted me.

There was a series of seminars on bookkeeping sponsored by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce. There were quite a few people studying bookkeeping, from the simple system to double entry. However, many of the people quit after one semester. Although I was not smart and quick, I never gave up and mastered the theories and practices of bookkeeping after the third semester.

When World War II came, I lost my job as bookkeeper because I was an alien. However, during the war many small Japanese merchants ran into problems because there was no accounting office which could help them. The office of a district court practitioner did some accounting and preparation, but the office secretary could not adequately explain in Japanese to the Japanese merchants so they began to ask my help in filing income tax returns. This got me started in my part-time accounting practice .

In 1942-1943 I worked as a laborer in the Kiawe Corps. We cleared a lot of kiawe trees on Oahu so the military could use the land.

In 1944 I started as a laborer for the Army Corps of Engineers and later qualified as a crane operator. I stayed there until 1947.

I opened an accounting office on Depot Street in Waipahu in 1948. My wife Kiku started a vegetable and flower shop at the same location. My accounting practice became successful over a period of time as more and more small merchants came to me. In 1956 I qualified as a Public Accountant under the Territorial Board of Accountancy. I officially retired in 1968 and finally retired in 1975, about seven years later than I had planned since my clients either could not or would not engage another accountant - I felt obligated to meet their needs.

Okinawan Issei Friends

Tetsuo Toyama joined the world of journalism from among a group of immigrant laborers. Competing with two large Japanese language newspapers in Hawaii, he never yielded his position to others. To me he was a model for the first immigrants in Hawaii. Throughout his lifetime, he competed with Japanese immigrants from other prefectures. He published Jitsugyo no Hawaii and after World War II, he also published a monthly magazine Shimin [Citizenj. He faced others with pride and great dignity; he was acknowledged by everyone as a great hero. I was his long-time friend. I cannot forget his wife's strong moral support behind his success. She did all the miscellaneous jobs collecting advertisements and subscription fees. She was kind and helpful to the subscribers, and treated them as if she were their sister. She was a good wife.

Sanra Onaha was also from Okinawa, from Shuri I believe. I knew him since the time I worked at Wailuku on Maui. He was working at Hawaii Hoc hi newspaper and whenever he saw me, he asked me, "Are you reading any newspaper?" When I told him that I was not, he delivered a copy of the newspaper to me the following day. He was an efficient and helpful person, and I learned a lot from him. I had many good friends from Shuri.

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