Ishigaki found his first job in Taipei, and began to work as a delivery person for a wholesaler of marine products. Later, he got a job in a printing factory, and began to attend evening school.

Ishigaki: I was wondering what to do in Taiwan. In the beginning, I spent five years in Taipei by doing various casual jobs.

Author: What was your first job in Taiwan?

Ishigaki: I worked at a printing factory. I managed to find this job. I joined the factory at the age of fourteen, and worked as an apprentice. I worked there for five years, and thought I shouldn’t continue any longer. Then, I tried to find another job.

Author: What did you do next, then?

Ishigaki: I found a job at a wholesale store of marine products.

Author: Did you work as a store assistant?

Ishigaki: No. I was a delivery person. My responsibility was to deliver products to retail shops. After work, I went to evening school. In short, I worked during the day, and studied at night school.

Author: What did you study at evening school?

Ishigaki: Evening school was similar to common schools. I learned English and other subjects for nearly three years, from the age of fifteen to eighteen, or perhaps nineteen. I lived in Taiwan in that way. Japan had ruled Taiwan for nearly twenty-five years when I first migrated to Taiwan. Taiwan was already like Japan. Taiwanese also spoke Japanese. I did not find any inconvenience over there. […]

I worked in the printing factory, and then the wholesaler of marine products. In total, I worked on such casual jobs for five years. Then, I thought I should find a serious job which I could continue for a long time. I moved to Kaohsiung to do something different. Well, but there were also not many jobs in Kaohsiung either. But, I eventually found an advertisement for a photo studio, and thought of living on photography. Then, I took the plunge and went to the photo studio.