♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Akiko!

Akiko!

Akiko!

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La la-la la ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la la, la la ♪ [ Laughs ] ♪♪ [ Laughs ] [ Children shouting playfully ] -Mom, look at me!

-♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La la la la, la la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la, la la ♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La, la, la la ♪ ♪ La, la, la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la, la la ♪ -Careful.

Lift your arm up for me, please.

-This is for the neck?

-Yeah, it goes around your...

There you go.

Like that.

-Like this?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

When you finish, Mama, sit here.

-It's okay.

We'll take it later.

-I don't know.

Maybe she didn't take her pill then, huh?

-Yeah, because it's too hard.

-I think she spit them out.

-Hm.

Yeah.

-Because these are the exact same ones that I gave her.

At first I wasn't sure, but the red one -- the white one has a red thing on it, so I wasn't sure.

-Oh.

-I thought it was from last night, but now, because it's the same three ones, I'm thinking she just spit them.

-Oh.

Okay.

-Hey, listen.

Mama.

Take these.

-I don't want.

I don't want.

-...these vitamins.

-I don't want.

I don't want.

-Here.

-I don't want.

-We're gonna go -- You need two of these little vitamins in your mouth, please.

-No, I don't want to take medicine!

No, no, no!

-It's vitamins.

-It's vitamins.

You need them.

That's why you always want to take a nap.

Because you're always tired.

-Oh, I take a nap, it's okay.

-Yeah.

Take them.

It's gonna help you take a nap.

-I don't want to take too many medicine.

-No, no, it's not, Mama.

It's not.

It's a vitamin.

-Dr. Stern.

Dr. Stern said.

-It's okay.

-Tastes like orange juice.

-Is it good?

-Tastes like orange juice.

-Okay.

Take some more if it's good.

♪♪ -You gonna hurt me?!

-No.

I'm gonna take care of you.

-Look at me in eyes.

[ Laughter ] That means she's okay.

♪♪ -Get rid of that boy.

-Stern?

Okay.

-Can you meet me at the office?

-Leave him to the police.

-Okay.

-Put him in jail.

-Where are you meeting me?

Because I'm going to leave... -I mean that, now.

Put him in jail.

-I'll put him in jail.

-No, I'm gonna -- The appointment's at 1:00.

Okay?

Okay, okay.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Throughout our lives, I always had questions about Rose's past that she would never answer.

♪♪ ♪♪ Then her language and way of communicating changed.

♪♪ A window opened up.

♪♪ I slowed down to embrace the dream logic.

Listening... ♪♪ ...She began to answer.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Now laughing friends deride ♪ ♪ Tears I cannot hide ♪ ♪ So I laugh and say ♪ ♪ When a lovely flame dies ♪ ♪ Smoke gets in your eyes ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪♪ -So, wait.

Tell me again.

What -- What did they say?

-He said -- Don't take a picture, Rea.

-I'm not taking a picture.

-Who is this little old lady?

-Yeah.

-No one's gonna believe me, so I'll tell Jack everything.

-Oh, yeah?

[ Indistinct conversation ] I'm looking at this footage from 2003.

I recall I was coming home from a road trip in the desert, and Mom opened the door and immediately started recounting a dream.

She was still in the dream logic, and it was as though I was inside of that dream with her in that moment.

[ Ticking ] We moved to this house around 1974, and Rose started doing yoga, and she got up each morning at 5:30 a.m. and then finished with an hour of headstand.

So when my brother and I came downstairs to get our breakfast, we had to walk around her -- all of this in the middle of the kitchen.

[ Utensils clinking ] Rose told me that her guru had written that yogis could travel through time when they tuned in to their heart radio and that they could communicate with their dearly departed ancestors.

[ Kitchen timer ringing ] [ Lid clattering ] [ Liquid pouring ] -Akiko!

Akiko!

-Around the time this photo was taken, Rose and her sisters had just started school.

Their teachers took their Japanese names and gave them American ones.

They said the Japanese names were too hard to pronounce.

Rose is Akiko's American name.

♪♪ [ Dog barking ] ♪♪ [ Dog barks ] -What happened to the vegetable garden?

-Well, I couldn't plant it due to the water shortage.

I've really missed it, you know.

-Is that the outdoor broom?

-What?

-Is that the outdoor broom?

-No, this is my inside room.

That's why I'm washing it.

Otherwise I wouldn't wash it.

You know?

When I'm in a hurry, I use this.

Otherwise I use a vacuum.

Like, today I'm gonna use the vacuum in the kitchen.

Don't want all that guck in there.

You know what I mean?

-Mm-hmm.

-And you're saving some of that water so that you can put it in the plants?

-Huh?

-Are you saving some of that water?

-Yeah, to wash that out when everybody gets through.

That's what I do when there's a water shortage.

You know, when I wash the vegetables, I save it to wash the sidewalk in -- I can't wash up here.

There's too much water.

But I'll do it by the house, you know, to save the water and then wash the -- wash the, um -- Uh, the cement around the kitchen there.

-Uh-huh.

-And I use that vegetable-washing water to water all the plants in back -- All the plants back there.

There's enough water for all of the plants after I wash the vegetables.

You'll have it dry right here.

It'll dry in no time, you know?

...washing out here pretty soon.

Well, now, where should I hang this?

...I want to hang it right here like this.

You remember the time we first moved here?

You and Rea -- You and Brion painted this?

-Mm-hmm.

-You know it hasn't been touched since?

[ Mutters ] It's okay.

Rea, don't take my picture!

-You want to take my picture?

-What?

-You can take -- No.

Look through here.

You can take my picture.

-[ Gasps ] Is that right?

Oh, how interesting.

-Do you see -- It should say "REC" in the corner.

-Yeah.

-See?

Now you're shooting.

-Oh, I'm shooting now?

-Yeah.

-But I haven't pressed it.

I haven't pressed a thing yet.

-Did you press it?

Does it say "REC"?

Do you see the little numbers going?

-Is it going now?

Yeah, it's going now.

Now, how do I stop it?

-You press the red button again.

-Oh, I see your picture.

You're -- You're behind the -- I want to turn it off.

I'm gonna turn it off.

Now.

-Okay.

Now you have to ask me a question.

-Uh, how does it feel being home and looking at your old pictures and your bedroom and all that?

-Well, it's kind of interesting.

It's kind of sad in a way.

-Yeah?

-But it's kind of interesting, you know.

It just kind of, like, sums everything up in your life.

You know, you look at everything and kind of remember and you try to put your life in perspective.

-Uh-huh.

-Maybe I'll put them in a box and put them somewhere.

-And you've been going through all your old books and school books and so forth.

-Yeah.

-What does that do for you?

Do to you?

-Well, I guess it makes me remember all those things that I was studying and things I was interested in.

-Uh-huh.

-And the things I didn't have time for.

-That's Rea's third helping of cake.

-Yeah?

Holy smokes.

That meditating must make her hungry.

[ Laughter ] -She said that's supposed to give her energy or something.

-"Ribbit" three times, like the people did!

-Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit.

-Not you!

You!

-What?

-You gotta say "ribbit" three times.

-Ribbit.

-Three times.

-Ribbit.

Ribbit.

Then what happens?

-Weld.

Solder.

[ Child shouting ] -[ Speaking indistinctly ] -1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

-Hi, Sarah.

Hi, Sarah.

She has that magic power.

-What happened?

-I knew she was saying... [ Indistinct conversation ] [ Child babbling ] -You should see her table.

It's so messy.

Then she gets her elbow and drips it down.

-Right.

-Did she eat dinner?

-Rea, this is beautiful.

You made that.

Holy smokes.

-Let me see that.

-You see that?

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Where'd you buy that?

-No, she -- it was a kit.

-A kit.

Mm-hmm.

[ Child laughing ] [ Thud ] -Oh, yeah, I was starting to read the directions.

-This has very deep spiritual meaning.

-Mm-hmm... -Yeah.

-Brings out the real, true meaning.

-"God itself is one with the spirit of the universe..." -Exactly.

-Rea!

-What do we mean by that when you say... -Rea, your garbage in front of you.

Will you pick that up?

-I would say -- -It's her sixth helping.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Oh, there's another frog!

-Oh, there's another frog around here.

Like a third one.

-Six yards.

-Let me hear it again.

-Ribbit.

-Six yards.

-Oh, there's another frog!

-Some people don't even have yards.

People have... ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Water running ] ♪♪ -I'm getting ahead of my story.

I went to San Francisco.

-Right.

-I went to school there.

Then Vince -- Dad was there.

-In San Francisco?

-Which school?

-Huh?

-Which school?

-San Francisco School of Beauty Culture in San Francisco.

-What did you learn there?

-Do makeup.

-What else?

Hair?

Permanent wave?

-Paint the toes.

-Permanent wave?

-Yeah.

-Did you like it?

-Oh, I really enjoyed it.

-Why did you do it?

-Why did I do it?

Just do things.

That's the only thing I liked to do.

Permanent wave.

Facial.

Pedicure.

Manicure.

Other than that, I don't know.

I don't want to.

-You used to do -- You used to do permanent waves.

You used to do your own hair.

-Really?

-Yes.

When I was growing up.

Do you remember?

-Oh.

I don't remember.

-You did.

-I really enjoyed giving permanent waves, facial, pedicure, manicure.

-What about me?

-Oh, you need makeup.

You n-- Yeah, you do.

-What kind?

-Pink.

-Pink lipstick?

I have lipstick.

Will you put it on?

-Yeah.

-Here.

-Whose is it?

-Rea's.

-Huh?

-Rea.

-Oh... -Put it on me.

-Never, never take other people's lipstick.

-Put it on me.

-No, no, no.

-You show me.

-No, no, no, no.

-That's my lipstick.

Put it on my lips.

-[ Chuckles ] You're funny, funny, funny.

Went to San Francisco and become a beautician.

See, first you put the lipstick on.

-Okay.

Put it on me.

-Okay.

Didn't your mother show you how to put lipstick on?

-You're my mother.

-[ Laughs ] Went to San Francisco to become a beautician.

You know what?

Your mother could do it yourself to make it look nice.

Yeah, your mother.

-But you're my mother.

-Don't move around so much.

-Okay.

[ Laughter ] -You know some of these women, all they do is put lipstick on and go to school.

-I want to be that woman.

-[ Chuckles ] -I'll put the lipstick on.

You have nice lips.

Beautiful lips.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Shuffling ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversation ] [ Man coughs ] -Hairspray... -...morning.

First one out.

-The plane that goes to San Francisco goes over the ocean... -Well, this one here... -Yeah.

Ohh!

-All the -- What you call it.

-Oh.

I didn't know that.

-That one takes off... -Well,, I thought it was just the one that went up north.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -I think I'll sit right here.

-She's taking your picture.

-Oh.

[ Lighter clicks ] -What about Tajiri?

-No, there never was Tajiri.

-Remember Vincent?

-Noda, Noda, Noda.

-What about Vince Tajiri?

-Noda, Noda, Noda.

-But what about Vince Tajiri?

-There is no Tajiri.

Noda, Noda, Noda.

-But I thought my father was named Vince Tajiri.

-Noda.

-He worked for Playboy magazine.

He had a Mercedes-Benz.

-Noda, Noda, Noda.

-Mom, you're not -- -You're not listening.

-We have a father named Vince Tajiri -- Brion and I.

-It was always Noda.

-No, I know, but -- -But that was your grand -- That was your father's name.

That's Grandpa's name.

-Noda was my father's name.

-What about Brion Tajiri?

-Here, Mom.

Look.

Look.

Mom, read what it says.

-You look like a burglar.

-[ Laughs ] -Read what it says.

Who's a burglar?

Read what it says.

-Oh, it says here "a burglar if there ever was one."

-I'm your son.

-That's your son back there.

-Huh?

-That's your son.

-No.

Okay.

We're all Nodas.

-It says "Rea Midori Tajiri."

-Oh, yeah?

Is that what it says?

-Yeah.

And it says "Brion Vincent."

-Aaah!

-Vincent!

What was our father's name?

-Noda.

-No.

It's Vince Tajiri.

-My father's name is Noda.

-But your father's different than mine.

-No, no, no.

I have one father.

-No, but -- But that means I'm your sister.

...Noda.

-That means I'm your sister.

-No, no, no, no.

-I'm your baby.

I'm your baby.

-Noda, Noda, Noda.

-But I'm your child.

-You're Rea Noda.

-[ Laughs ] ♪♪ -Sueki Noda, Rose's father, took the name Hayashi when he married his wife, Hatsume, because her family had no male heirs.

Akiko was born Akiko Hayashi.

She then became Rose Hayashi after she went to school.

When she married my father, Vince, she became Rose Tajiri.

After my father died, she developed dementia.

The woman I knew as Rose Tajiri began to call herself Rose Noda.

♪♪ I was coming to visit every few months.

Rose's house was falling apart.

Bees built a hive in the ceiling.

She started storing sushi in the oven.

Then she accidentally started a fire in the kitchen.

We made a painful decision to move her to assisted living against her will.

She told me the FBI was coming to arrest me.

My mother had been incarcerated during World War II in a U.S. concentration camp.

Now I was forcibly moving her again.

♪♪ [ Liquid pouring ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Lid slides ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Lid slides ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Ma.

♪♪ ♪♪ Mom.

Come on.

-No.

-Dinner.

♪♪ -♪ Home, home on the range ♪ -Rose!

Come to dinner now.

-♪ Rose, Rose on the range ♪ -Rose.

Rose, come to dinner!

-♪ Rose and the antelope play ♪ -Ma!

Come to dinner.

-♪ Where seldom is heard a discouraging word ♪ -Mom?

-♪ Of Rose, and the antelope play ♪ ♪ Where seldom is heard ♪ ♪ Rose Noda word... ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Water running ] -I'm gonna give you a shower because you're gonna go to the doctor after your shower.

-No, no, no.

I'm not going to the doctor.

Oh, no, no, no.

I'm not going to the doctor.

-Okay.

-We don't like doctors.

-We don't like doctors?

-No, we don't like -- No, no, no, no!

No, no, no, no, no!

-Okay.

Come on, come on.

-I don't have to see the doctor because I never had the mumps or the measles.

-...club may be growing... [ Knock on door ] -Alright.

-[ Chuckles ] Look who's here!

-You don't look so scary.

The doctors look kind of scary.

-I tell you what.

I'm gonna go out and come back in again.

And I'll do something different with my hair, and I'll take off the stethoscope.

-You don't look so scary.

-But I don't want to look scary for you.

-Doctors look scary.

But you don't look so scary.

-Oh.

I don't look scary.

Okay.

Then I'll stay.

-I don't have the measles.

I didn't have the mumps.

-You didn't have the measles or the mumps?

-No.

-I did.

-How come you did?

-[ Chuckles ] -Well, you should have.

You're older than I am.

-But I never had the mumps yet.

-Well, maybe you just forgot.

Where were you born?

Where were you born?

-In California.

-In California?

-Like you.

-No, I was born in New York City.

-Maybe in California -- -Oh, that's why you look sick.

-Because the weather is so good, you didn't have the mumps or the measles.

-In New York, it got cold.

People -- Kids got sick.

-How come you didn't die?

-Ha ha!

I got lucky.

[ Laughter ] -He's kind of funny, isn't he?

-Yeah, he is kind of funny.

-He's never been to the farm, see.

He doesn't know what we're talking about.

-No, I've grown tomatoes in my backyard here in California.

-No, no, no, no.

They don't know how to farm.

-No, I don't know how to farm, no.

-Well, my mama and my papa grew strawberries.

-Strawberries?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

So you had a strawberry farm.

-Strawberry farm.

-Yeah, that was probably taken away.

Okay.

Anything else?

-The New Yorkers don't know nothing about strawberries.

-I believe that.

-Because they eat the strawberries and get sick.

-Now, did your father come from Japan?

Was he born in Japan or was he born in the -- in California?

-No, he was born in Japan.

He's what you call a Jap.

-He was a Jap, huh?

-Yeah.

-How about your mother?

Where was she born?

-She was born in Japan.

-Uh-huh.

-So both of them -- both Japs.

-Did she have small feet?

-Yeah, small feet.

I have small feet.

-Lean forward just a bit.

Heart sounds fine.

-Oh, good.

-Lungs are clear.

Abdomen's soft and untender.

-Those words don't mean anything.

-Oh, they do.

They do.

-What do they mean?

-In terms of -- I'll review things with you in just a minute.

-He's alright.

He's a good doctor.

If he had the mumps and measles, he's a good doctor.

[ Laughter ] [ Lid slides ] [ Liquid pouring ] -I remember one doctor visit, he said, "Does your mother still recognize you?"

I said, "Well, yes, but sometimes she mistakes me for her sister, Betty."

He said, "Well, then, she does not recognize you."

I told him that even if she thought I was her sister, I still believed deep down she knew it was me.

I liked that I could be both myself and Betty to Rose.

I felt that I contained some of Betty's qualities -- her love of art and making things.

Rose was layering people from the past with the present.

It was one of her ways of time traveling and making it possible for all of us to meet.

Third, second, third, first, second, second, first.

Up.

Up.

Fourth.

First.

Third ♪♪ ♪♪ -Hey, that's a nice book.

-Yeah, that's my favorite.

-Matisse?

-Uh-huh.

-Show me the book.

-Matisse is my favorite.

Is that -- Is that the famous one?

-Yeah, I think I see this one a lot.

-I really like that one, yeah.

-And you used to have a card of this one.

-See?

She's thinking about something.

-She's staring into the fishbowl.

-See, that's not, uh -- Very peaceful, too, when you see water.

You know, little fish, tiny fish is gonna move.

-Tell me what she's thinking.

-Well, this is what you see.

Everybody sees different.

Now, you see something different than I do.

That's the way art is.

You ought to go to Europe by yourself, like I did.

-Okay.

-I really mean that.

-Alright.

I know.

-By yourself.

-By myself.

-It's the best way.

-By myself.

-I was 15 years old when I went to Europe.

I was 15 years old.

I ran away from home... -Mm-hmm.

-...and saved enough money to go to Europe.

You ought to take a trip to Europe by yourself like I did.

Hmm!

Yeah.

-Rose never hitchhiked through Europe... but I had asked to go when I was 15.

It was strange to hear her collage my life into hers, especially when the answer had been "no."

♪♪ Her story went on to describe that she became an art historian and a university professor, a life that did not include myself, my brother, Brion, my sister, Caryn, or my father, Vince.

Everyone in her senior community believed in the story of Professor Rose.

♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] Here we go.

-Oh!

Oh, oh, oh!

Look at this one!

Where's Mommy?

Where's Mommy?

-Mommy's right there.

-She's right here.

She's right there taking pictures.

-Hi!

-Hi!

-Hi!

-Hi!

-Hi.

-Hi.

-Hello.

[ Laughs ] Look at them!

[ Laughing ] Oh, ho, ho, ho!

Isn't that something?

Oh, ho, ho, ho!

Ah ha ha ha!

♪♪ -Mommy.

Where Mommy?

♪♪ [ Laughs ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La la-la la ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la la, la la ♪ ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La la la la, la la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la, la la ♪ Hey, Rea!

-Yes.

-[ Laughs ] -Hey, what?

-♪ La la la la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ ♪♪ What am I -- Rea, what am I doing here?

-We're gonna go home.

We're looking at art.

-You're looking at what?

-Art.

-I don't want to go see art.

-Okay.

Well, then, let's go home.

-Am I supposed to see that?

-What?

-Am I supposed to see that?

-We saw it already.

Let's go home.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -They run away as fast as you can go, because they know -- they know that we eat them.

The blackbirds.

We used to eat the blackbirds.

You -- Oh, I'm telling you.

Gonna think back now... Why did we eat those blackbirds for?

We used to go to the Buddhist church when we were growing small.

And on Sundays, we used to -- Dad would take us, all the families.

Anybody who lived in San Jose would plant strawberries in the ground.

And those blackbirds would eat up all the strawberries.

And we were selling them.

So we had to kill the blackbirds.

Boy, when I think back now, it's terrible.

I know Grandpa used to hit them in the head, hit them in the head with a rock.

And, uh, we used to cook them on the ground.

Cooked the birds.

-♪ 4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie ♪ -Yeah, we used to cook the birds and eat the birds.

-♪ When the pie was open, the birds began to sing ♪ -Yeah!

That's what we used to sing!

Remember that?

-♪ Wasn't that a crazy thing to put before the king?

♪ ♪ The king was in the kitchen ♪ -♪ Dah-dah-dah ♪ Hey, Rea, how do you know those things?

-You used to sing those to me.

You used to sing them to me when I was a little girl.

-Oh.

-So how do I know?

-Well, you used to sing those.

We used to sing those songs.

♪ Once upon, once upon ♪ ♪ Once a time, there was a bird ♪ ♪ And la-la-la-la-la ♪ -♪ Once upon a time ♪ -Come on, birdie, birdie, birdie!

-You used to sing that song to me.

That's how I learned that song.

-Yeah, well -- Boy, you know what?

Helen, do you remember we used to kill the birds and eat them?

-Go upstairs, too.

-What about lizards?

What about lizards?

-[ Laughs ] -I went -- I went to turn that, you know, thing on for the pool.

-Pool.

-So I see this -- Ooh...lizard.

I screamed!

You know?

-[ Laughs ] And that scared... -It ran to the... and looked at me... -And I got even more afraid because... -I thought, "How come?

He should be afraid of me!"

And, you know, he's not even afraid of me!

So I got even more scared.

Well, why didn't he run away if he's scared?

But he stood there like this.

I ran in the house and told Dad or something.

By that time, he left.

-He left?

-Oh, that was scary, though.

If you had never seen a lizard.

-How big was it?

-Well, I don't know.

Probably like that.

-You mean nose to tail?

It was that big, nose to tail?

-Well, all I know is it had to be this much anyway, the tail.

Why didn't he run away?

I told Dad.

He says, "What does he do?"

Runs against the cement wall and looks at me like this.

That would really scare me.

It would scare you, too, Caryn.

Wouldn't you?

-What did it look like?

-What did it look like?

How do I know?

It's long.

-Black?

-Skinny with -- Real skinny...

Dark glasses.

Machine gun.

-Dark glasses.

Machine gun.

-All I know was -- -Briefcase.

-Long.

-Briefcase!

-Tie and black suit, right?

-Red tie.

-Red tie.

Yeah.

-Polka dot, at that.

-Polka-dot tie.

-W-Where are the birds?

-Right here!

-They won't run away, will they?

-No.

Who are they?

-Look at that.

Look at that.

Look at that.

Oh, yeah, she's the boss.

She's the boss of the birds.

-[ Chuckles ] -This one's only a baby.

-Hmm.

-He could run.

He's gonna run away.

-Really?

Maybe he'll stay.

-Well...

When I'm asleep, these birds are gonna run away.

-They're not gonna run away.

They love you.

-Okay, okay.

-They love you, so they're staying here.

-Ohh!

-[ Laughs ] ♪ Why do birds suddenly appear ♪ ♪ Every time you are near?

♪ -Now, Rea, where did you learn how to sing?

I like the way you sing.

-Thank you.

I learned from you.

[ Birds chirping ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Chimes ringing ] -How are you gonna put 100 pounds of brown rice?

-What?

-How are you gonna put 100 pounds of brown rice?

-In this?

-Yeah.

-Do I have to?

-Didn't Daddy tell you to buy 100 pounds of brown rice?

-Okay.

-They don't have tsukemono here.

-I know.

-Do they?

-No, they don't have tsukemono.

-Rea, did you hear what I said?

-No, they don't have it.

-Do they have tsukemono here?

-Tsukemono, no.

-That's too much, huh?

-That's okay.

Put them in the cart.

-What else -- What else do we buy?

-Mmm.

I want to get ice cream.

-No, you have to get something for the children.

They have to go to school.

Apples or oranges.

-Well, we got oranges already.

-Okay.

100 pounds of brown rice.

Remember?

-Okay.

Got it.

[ Horn honks ] -I can start the car, you know.

-Alright.

You don't have to.

-Is this San Jose?

-No, we're in Hollywood.

-I thought we were born in San Jose.

-You were born there, but we live in Hollywood.

-How come?

-That's just -- That's the way it is.

-I hang on to this?

-Yeah.

-Is this California, huh?

-Yeah.

-What is this?

-Well, we're on Santa Monica Boulevard.

-What?

-Santa Monica Boulevard.

I remember Rose was always obsessed with food.

During the Depression, her family sometimes ate wild birds.

Then when she was imprisoned in camp, she ate potatoes and hot dogs.

When we were in high school, Rose discovered the book "Diet for a Small Planet," and she switched our diet from okazu and hamburger to health food and brown rice.

But when family came to visit, she still made sushi with white rice.

-How much were they paying?

-3,000.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Caryn, Rea, don't do that.

[ Indistinct conversations ] Yeah.

Look at that Rea.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Recycling clothes, right?

-Yeah, yeah, but they buy these used clothes, but they only buy certain kinds.

-Oh, okay.

So they don't repair or do anything with it?

-No, no.

They sell it, yeah.

-Is that yours, Rea?

-Mm-hmm.

-When did you buy it?

-Last fall.

-Oh, really?

-I guess young people like those old styles.

Yeah.

Because... '40s, '50s.

They were well-made, huh?

-Right.

-Yeah.

They really are.

I shouldn't have given away... -That Melrose?

-On Melrose.

Melrose.

-Yeah.

Melrose and Vista.

-Okay... -Yeah.

Okay.

-You want to walk around?

Here.

-Okay.

-You walk around while you're shooting.

I'll hold -- I'll guide you.

Okay.

Step down.

-Well, what am I gonna shoot in this dirty backyard?

I don't want to shoot the dirty backyard.

Maybe I'll shoot some of this.

-The sun?

-Something like that.

Um... ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] -Gee.

Nothing to do here.

♪♪ I'd like to see how they cook.

♪♪ [ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Ooh, it's kind of cold out there, huh?

♪♪ -Nighty night!

-Good night.

-See you later, alligator.

-Okay.

After a while, crocodile.

-Okay.

Bye-bye.

♪♪ [ Door closes ] [ Bell ringing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -We're on the freeway.

I'm driving Rose to doctor's appointments.

She's turning to me and asking, "Do you ever have that thing happen when someone calls you and they're not using the telephone?

You can hear them, but they're not with you?"

Then she says, "I talk to Helen like that or Caryn in Chicago... or even my father."

One time Rose was talking on her "heart radio" to Aunt Betsy.

Betsy was saying she was spending time with her grandchildren.

Just then, the phone rang.

My cousin was calling.

Betsy was, in fact, with her grandchildren and they wanted to speak with Rose.

♪♪ -I felt his presence and said, "Oh, no, I'm dreaming."

And then again, I felt his presence.

I didn't see his face, but I felt it, see.

And for no reason.

I mean, I don't know why he was there.

And I told Brion, "Oh, you know, I saw Grandpa.

My father."

-But where did you see him?

-Well, I was going out the entrance, you know, off my bedroom door.

I looked in the bedroom.

There he was.

So I said, "Oh, Brion, I saw Grandpa, my father."

There was nothing scary.

-And then I saw Helen when I was meditating.

-Uh-huh.

-Yeah?

[ Dog barking ] -Helen, are you there?

Helen, can't you somehow get brown rice?

Not white potatoes.

Brown rice.

Brown rice.

My father, an issei, they have to have brown rice.

Helen, are you there?!

You mean like tofu?

Oh, more than tofu.

These hakujin -- they want brown rice.

See?

I knew that.

I knew that.

-Hmm.

-Now, who could bringing the brown rice -- from Japan?

Helen.

Helen's going to do that.

Helen, please try to get shoyu and brown rice.

Those two, we need.

[ Lid slides ] [ Dog barking ] [ Liquid pouring ] -I always liked the sound of Auntie Helen's voice.

It had a lilting cadence.

She told me that Grandpa built their house with his own hands and that he put it on wheels because they had to move every three years.

They were growing strawberries in Salinas in the '30s, and because of the alien land laws in California, they couldn't own property.

-Akiko!

Akiko!

Akiko!

♪♪ ♪♪ -How fast was she going?

-Sure.

-I don't know.

She was going too fast.

-Were you scared?

-Yeah.

-Did you have your seatbelt on?

-She jumped -- She jumped to the sidewalk.

-I -- No, she didn't!

-We parked in a dark parking lot, though.

-Are you filming?

-Yeah.

We parked in a dark parking lot.

-There has to be a woman policeman.

Are you a woman policeman?

-What if I was?

What should I do?

-Then put her in jail.

She goes too fast.

-Come on.

I'm gonna put you in jail.

-Okay -Come on.

Jail is this way.

-Six and a half.

-She drives too fast!

-We have the same size shoe.

Six and a half.

-How come she drives too fast?

-I went to the school -- -She goes 10 miles an hour.

-She wanted to be on time.

She didn't want you to be late.

-She goes 10 miles an hour!

I don't like it!

-You're gonna get excited and make your blood pressure go up.

-She goes 10 miles an hour!

I don't like that!

-Okay.

-It's okay.

It's okay.

-What's that?

-She doesn't have a driver's license, and she's driving 10 miles an hour.

-10 miles.

You'll get a speeding ticket.

-Yeah.

Put her in jail.

-Put her in jail?

-Yeah.

-I can tell you're a doctor because you have beard.

-Oh, doctors have beard, do they?

-Put her in jail.

-Who's the "her"?

-Her the her.

Put her in jail.

She driving too fast.

-10 miles an hour is too fast?

-Yeah.

Yeah.

How fast should she be going?

-One.

-One mile an hour?

-Yeah.

-On a bicycle?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-Put her in jail.

-Alright.

If you say so.

-Driving too fast.

-If you say so.

-Two policemen caught her.

-Two policemen?

-Red -- Red suit on.

-Red suits on.

-Yeah, that's a policeman.

-Oh, yeah?

-Okay.

[ Laughter ] -Don't laugh!

-I don't think the blood pressure will be valid.

No, I'm not laughing.

I don't think the blood pressure's valid.

-She's a little excited.

-She drives a red car.

-A red car?

-Yeah, because it goes faster.

-Don't hurt the doctor.

You're gonna hurt the doctor.

Look how strong you are.

-Put her in jail.

-We're gonna put her in jail right now.

-Talk to the lady you want to go to jail.

Who should go to jail?

Which lady?

-Because she's going too fast.

-Which lady?

-Me?

-Which lady?

-This one here!

[ Laughter ] Don't laugh.

-Don't laugh.

-Okay.

-She's very serious.

She was scared.

-If you say so.

-Papa said she's going too fast.

-Okay.

-Papa said that.

-Yeah.

-Alright.

Well, we have to watch that.

-She's not gonna do it anymore.

-She won't do it anymore.

-Yeah.

-She promised.

-No, no, you only do that to your s-- I thought you only did that to Brion.

-Well, Brion's okay.

-Brion's okay?

-Boy is okay.

-Boy is okay.

Okay.

Okay.

-Yeah.

I mean that.

-No!

-I mean that!

-No, no, no, no, no.

You don't want to do that.

-No hitting Dr. Stern.

-You don't want to do that.

-No.

-You don't want to do that.

-No.

That's not nice.

[ Siren wails ] -You ready?

Let's go in the room.

Come on.

-Where you gonna take me?

-We're gonna go -- room one?

-Wow.

-Room one.

-Room one.

Right in here.

-Okay.

We'll talk about it.

-Throw a rock at you!

Don't you have a rock here?

-No, I don't.

-Go home!

-Okay.

-Go home and stay with Daddy.

-Okay.

You want me to go?

-Yeah, go on home.

-Alright.

-He is -- He is okay.

You know why?

-Why?

-He's got a wedding ring -- wedding band.

-Oh.

-He's okay.

-Is that the difference?

-Go home!

Go home!

-Okay, okay.

♪♪ Mom.

It's Rea Pia.

-What about Rea Pia?

-I'm right here.

Will you open your eyes and look at me?

-No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

-No, no, no?

-No.

-Why?

-It doesn't make any difference.

You have to learn... about yourself.

Why I'm this way and why I'm that way.

And this is the beginning of how to learn about myself.

How to learn about myself.

But it is a -- but it is a very slow thing to be learning about yourself.

-And what are you learning about yourself?

-Oh, you'll be surprised.

You'll be so surprised.

♪♪ You learn about yourself... and what you're trying to become.

I can't tell you until I finish about myself.

♪♪ Oh, boy!

I mean... how would you like to be up there?

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Oh!

Look at that!

-Hello.

♪♪ -[ Chuckles ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] [ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Now -- Oh.

Oh.

Look at the -- Oh, I know what.

Too bad I didn't -- -Oh, you know, you can do a zoom on this, too, if you want.

Go down this way.

Yeah.

-Oh, my goodness.

I don't want to -- [ Gasps ] Oh, my goodness.

-Is it in focus?

-Yeah.

I want to stop right there.

Oh, my goodness.

-If you want to focus it, you take this hand, right?

And you can go like this.

-And what?

-And then focus the image.

-[ Gasps ] Oh, my gosh.

Really?

I want to focus on that little shrub there.

What happened to my plant?

Oh.

Oh, I see.

Ohh!

I see what you mean.

-Mm-hmm.

-Isn't that neat?

I hope you're gonna shoot over this because it is just the dirty backyard.

That's all it is.

[ Dog barks ] -Oh, yeah!

Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

Look at that!

Oh, look at that!

Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!

Look at that!

Look at that!

[ Chuckles ] -It's Rea Pia!

-Yeah.

Rea Pia!

-I was a baby then.

Are you okay?

-Yeah.

-Oh, okay.

♪♪ -Look at Rea Pia!

Pia Pia!

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ La la la la la ♪ ♪ La la-la la la ♪ ♪ La la la-la-la ♪ ♪ La la la la, la-la ♪ ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la, la-la ♪ ♪ Laughing friends deride ♪ ♪ Tears I cannot hide ♪ ♪ So I laugh and say ♪ ♪ When a lovely flame dies ♪ ♪ Smoke gets in your eyes ♪ ♪ La la la la la la ♪ Yeah.

♪ Smoke gets in your eye ♪ Ohh!

We're so happy, happy, happy.

-Yay!

-Yeah.

[ Laughs ] Everybody was happy, happy, happy.

[ Speaking indistinctly ] -Yeah?

-From the Pacific Coast until New York City, people cry and they cry and they cry.

-But what happened on that day?

-U.S. won.

We won the war.

-I know.

-We won the war.

Kurochan...

They came on our side.

They came on our side.

That was a big thing.

-Hmm.

Hm.

Where were you?

-I, uh -- I was the U.S. side.

-You were on the U.S. side?

-Yeah.

-Uh-huh.

-Oh, boy.

We were angry, angry, angry.

Nihonjin...Hakujin... -Hmm.

-That's the way it was.

That's the way it was.

-Mm-hmm.

-And what happened is... Kurochan came.

-Mm-hmm.

-Kurochan came... Kurochan came... -They did?

-That's the way it was.

-Oh, they did, huh?

Ohh.

-We went crazy.

We went crazy.

We went crazy.

We wanted our children to know that.

Now you know what how we felt.

♪♪ [ Indistinct conversations ] -And then you come back and you tell Brion the same old thing.

If the teacher only knew!

-But you played the piano when you were little?

-No.

At school.

At Valley College.

-Oh, at Valley College.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -That was the last time.

Because you know why?

[ Speaking indistinctly ] -You know what, Mom?

When you were little, you took piano lessons, I think.

-I used to play, but by ear.

-No, because one time I remember I was home alone...

In July 1943, Rose requests permission to leave Poston concentration camp, where she's been imprisoned for one year.

She boards a train to travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

She's going there to marry Vince.

She crosses four states.

She's traveling alone, spending one night in Texas.

She arrives at Camp Shelby the very moment Vince finishes his field maneuvers.

He's covered in mud, so he sends his friends to meet her.

Camp Shelby houses the segregated Japanese-American combat unit of the U.S. Army.

♪♪ Rose grew up in the Japanese-American farm community of Salinas, California.

In Hattiesburg, Rose witnesses Jim Crow segregation of the South for the first time.

Even though she just arrived from a concentration camp, she is surprised to see a Black woman getting on her bus who is told to sit in the back.

♪♪ Akiko is Rose's Japanese name.

-Where do you want me to sit?

-Oh, by the pool, by the bench, like, over there.

-By the bench?

-Sit on this porch here.

There you are.

-I think your fingers are in the way.

Any other questions?

-Well, let's see, now.

Oh, yeah.

What are you working on right now?

-Um, well, I'm working on trying to finish that tape that I started.

-Which one?

-About the internment camp, about our family.

-Oh.

-And, um -- So I was having a hard time finishing it.

-Well... -Because I didn't have any time.

And then, you know, it takes a lot of concentration.

-Oh, sure.

-Having to set aside the time.

-Mm-hmm.

-And I was trying to -- I was so stuck about what I wanted to do with it.

-Uh-huh.

Well, you know, what you do is, work on other things, because even if you're not working on it, your mind is still, you know -- Without realizing, it's thinking about it, you know?

Sometimes you go off to something else and come back and, you know -- Have you noticed that?

-Yeah.

Sometimes I wake up in the night and I think -- or I dream about it.

-Oh.

Really?

Oh, so you really -- Yeah, It's still really on your mind, in the back, you know?

♪ La, la la la ♪ ♪ La la-la la ♪ ♪ La la la, la-la ♪ ♪ La la la la ♪ -Looking for his mother.

Half these kids can't find their mother.

-They can't find their mother?

That's okay.

-[ Laughs ] -They're having fun without their mothers.

They're having fun without their mothers.

-Oh, boy!

♪♪ Hey.

Half of them are looking for their mother.

-They're not.

-[ Laughs ] -They're not looking for their mothers.

They're having fun.

[ Laughter ] -♪ Why stop to think of whether ♪ ♪ This little dream might fade?

♪ ♪ We'll put our hearts together ♪ ♪ Now we are one ♪ ♪ I'm not afraid ♪ ♪ If there's a cloud above ♪ ♪ If it should rain ♪ ♪ We'll let it ♪ -♪ La la la la la la ♪ -♪ But for tonight forget it ♪ ♪ I'm in the mood for love ♪ -I want you to be my mama.

-You're my mama.

-I'm your mama.

-Okay.

I'll be your mama.

-Okay, you -- -Will you be my mama?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-Will you be my mama?

-Okay.

Mwah.

I love you.

Can I be your mama?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-I wanna be your mama.

I wanna be your mama.

-Okay.

-I wanna be your mama.

-You're my mama.

You're my mama.

Can I be your baby?

-I'm the mama.

I'm the mama!

-Can I be the baby?

-Yeah.

No, no, no, no.

-No, no?

-No, no, no, no.

-Are you the baby?

-Yeah... Ahh... -[ Chuckles ] -You'll be the mama.

-Okay.

I'm the mama.

-Yeah, you're the mama.

-You're the mama.

-Yeah.

I'm the mama.

-Are you the mama, too?

-Yeah, I want to be the mama.

-We're both mamas.

♪♪ [ Water running ] ♪♪ [ Scissors snipping ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -♪ Now, laughing friends deride ♪ ♪ Tears I cannot hide ♪ ♪ So I laugh and say ♪ ♪ When a lovely flame dies ♪ ♪ Smoke gets in your eyes ♪ ♪ Now, laughing friends deride ♪ ♪ Tears I cannot hide ♪ ♪ So I laugh and say ♪ ♪ When a lovely flame dies ♪ ♪ Smoke gets in your eyes ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪