My Grandmother Kono could not have possibly foreseen her future pain in solitude… But the anguish she endured seven decades ago brings our family together today along with a message to the world.
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Born on October 6, 1888 in a Hiroshima village called Furue, Grandmother Kono came into Seattle on February 4, 1909 via the Shinano Maru. She was a picture bride for my Grandfather Hisakichi.
She gave birth to seven children; all but one was born in Seattle. They were American citizens.
Uncle Suetaro (Soo-e-ta-rou) was #6 and born in Seattle sometime late in 1920 although I have been unable to locate his birth records on-line. His name (末太郎) implies “last boy (or child)” but as you can see in the damaged photo above, Grandmother and Grandfather appear to have had an “oops” moment. That’s Mieko, their youngest sister; she became truly the last child.
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While growing up, Uncle Suetaro was my father’s favorite sibling. Suetaro and dad were inseparable from what I am told. Dad’s nickname for him was (and still is) “Sue-boh”.
Suetaro was a happy child and always made people laugh and feel good – like Grandmother Kono. Suetaro and Dad played “oninga”, or tag, together frequently; there was no Nintendo or footballs to throw around in the 20’s. When Suetaro got old enough, they picked “matsutake” mushrooms together on Grandfather’s mountain property as told in “Masako and Spam Musubi“. When Grandmother made fish for dinner, Dad wouldn’t eat it – but Suetaro did. Suetaro ate everything.
This is my favorite photo of three of the youngest siblings; we uncovered it just this month in Hiroshima thanks to my cousin Toshiro:
Dad says they had one bicycle to share between them. On school days, they would walk to the train station together in the morning while one slowly rode the bike. They would leave it at a little shop which was still quite a ways away. However, whoever got to the bicycle first AFTER school got to ride it home – quickly. Leaving the other brother in the dust. And it was a long walk – especially in the summer heat and humidity. Perhaps it was the bicycle in the early portrait shown in “Souls of Wood“?
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Dad left Hiroshima soon after graduating from Nichuu High School at 18 years of age; he arrived back in Seattle on May 18, 1937.
Grandmother, Suetaro and Mieko were left behind in Hiroshima.
He would never see his favorite brother Suetaro or Mieko alive again… and Grandmother Kono will soon experience a demonic dread that will stay with her for the rest of her life.
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To Be Continued… A direct link to Part II is HERE.
Masako and Spam Musubi 
I love this new picture it is great to see them all smiling! Thanks for sharing my friend!
Thank you… and I am still way behind in catching up. I need some peace and quiet (i.e., no kids) so I can read your letters and take them all in!
Mustang.Koji I love your pictures. Though I know heartbreak is coming so I feel sadness when I see the young and smiling faces. I hope you can teach the world a lesson. What a beautiful family, look at their young faces. I can see why you love the smiling faces in your favorite picture.
Thank you so much, Chatter Master. In the meantime, I had found a second copy (more like an original) so I replaced the image… The original one was in Suetaro’s personally kept album. Apparently, when the older siblings went back to Seattle in turn, they sent him pictures which he pasted into his album.
You all found Suetaro’s personal album? That gives me shivers!!!! In my thoughts I imagine him receiving the pictures, holding them, thinking of the different worlds he and his siblings lived in. I would imagine him missing them. Imagine his feelings when he saw their faces. I would imagine that album sitting there all of these years, without him there to turn the pages….
Mustang.Koji-I truly respect the honor of your family. I am looking forward to reading their story. And “remembering” your family history with you.
Very emotional, heartbreaking, wonderful and beautiful. I can feel the imaginings…
My apologies for this tardy reply and thank you. Been busy trying to wrap up this story but its become fragmented due to having to do this and that…
What a great photo, but hauntingly sad to look at knowing they would be parted forever. I wonder at what you’re going to share next. Your family has experienced so much sadness. I’m so glad you are here to tell their story. It is a very important story!
Thank you, Three Well Beings. Every family has a story… You just have to find it. I am beginning to understand my dad’s silence on many a topic after delving into his family’s past. More to come… for history’s sake and the overall message for peace.
Such beauty and heartache.
Indeed. And pets are family, too. They bring so much joy and sadness, just like their human counterparts…
Wonderful photos that touch both the heart and soul. Beauty, strength and heartache from first to last word …
You are so kind, Jeanne Rene. I think of your family frequently…