Interview with Takeo Yamato

Abstract

Takeo Yamato, third of four children, was born in 1932 in Kohala, Hawaiʻi Island. His father, Shinji Yamato, a machinist/arc welder for Kohala Sugar Company, continued his skilled trade on Lānaʻi when he found employment with Hawaiian Pineapple Company in 1934. His mother, Miyono Yamato, did the laundry of bachelor laborers and worked in the pineapple fields. As a youth, Takeo Yamato also worked in the pineapple fields—cutting grass, picking and carrying out fruit. He attended Lānaʻi High and Elementary School. Graduating in 1950, he was employed by contractors, Western Builders. He worked on the Dole Administration Building in Lānaʻi City. Later, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force that stationed him in various places, including Guam and Japan. Discharged in 1960, he worked for Ralph’s Grocery Co. Bakery in California for thirty years. In 1991, he returned to Lānaʻi to look after his elderly parents. He also worked in maintenance and housekeeping at the Mānele Bay Hotel. Since 1997, Takeo Yamato devotes his time to crafting wood canes and other objects.