ddr-phljacl-1 — JACL Philadelphia Oral History Collection

JACL Philadelphia Oral History Collection

ddr-phljacl-1

JACL Philadelphia Chapter was established in 1947 by survivors of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans who resettled in the Greater Philadelphia region during the postwar era. Since then, our chapter has been involved in civil rights advocacy in solidarity with other people of color and historically marginalized communities. JACL Philadelphia played a strong leadership role in JACL's National Redress Movement, which is discussed in many of the interviews. As one of the nation's largest cities, with one of the smallest Japanese American populations, interviewees reflect on the challenges and opportunities presented by community organizing in such an environment. This collection features interviews with nearly two dozen now deceased Nisei members of the chapter conducted in 1994 by Herbert J. Horikawa. An additional ten interviews were conducted with Sansei members during the Summer of 2023 as part of the JACS grant funded JACL Oral History Project. The latter interviews were recorded by videographer Brett Kodama and conducted by staff of the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, in collaboration with JACL Philadelphia leadership.

1994-2023

JACL Philadelphia

Courtesy of JACL Philadelphia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

28 Objects

vh Mary Ishimoto Watanabe Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-1)

Nisei female. Born September 29, 1920, in San Jose, California. Grew up in Cupertino, California. Attending San Jose State College when World War II broke out. Sent to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and the Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. Left camp with the help of the National Student Relocation Council to attend graduate school. …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-1/

vh Warren H. Watanabe Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-2)

Nisei male. Born August 12, 1921, in San Francisco, California. Grew up in San Francisco, where father worked as the executive secretary of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce. During World War II, removed to the Tanforan Assembly Center, California, and the Topaz concentration camp, Utah. Left camp to attend college and the University of Chicago. Earned …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-2/

vh Noboru Richard Horikawa Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-3)

Nisei male. Born August 18, 1926, in San Francisco, California. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, moved with family to stay with relatives in Watsonville, California. During World War II, removed to the Salinas Assembly Center, California, then to the Poston concentration camp, Arizona. Left camp early to attend school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drafted into the …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-3/

vh George Kazuo Ikeda Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-4)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-4/

vh Ben Ohama Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-5)

Nisei male. Born December 10, 1917, and grew up in Sanger, California. During World War II, incarcerated in the Poston concentration camp, Arizona. Served in the Military Intelligence Service as an interpreter in Japan. After military service, moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became involved with the Japanese American Citizens League.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-5/

vh Alan Hisayoshi Okamoto Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-6)

Nisei male. Born 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Grew up in the Philadelphia area. During World War II, volunteered for the military and served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe. After service, returned to Philadelphia, married and raised a family.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-6/

vh Yoneko Watanabe Okamoto Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-7)

Nisei female. Born 1918 in Tokyo, Japan. Immigrated to the U.S. with parents at age five, and grew up in Hollywood, California. During World War II, incarcerated at the Pomona assembly center, California, and the Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. Left camp to resettle in Philadelphia, California.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-7/

vh Hitoshi Thomas Tamaki Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-8)

Nisei male. Born 1917 in Eatonville, Washington, and grew up in nearby Tacoma, Washington. Was in Boston attending medical school when World War II started, so was not incarcerated in concentration camps with other family members. Practiced medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after the war.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-8/

vh Minoru Endo Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-9)

Nisei male. Born February 14, 1917, in San Francisco, California. Grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California at Berkeley. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, removed to the Tanforan Assembly Center, California, and the Topaz concentration camp, Utah. Served in the Military Intelligence Service. After the war, resettled in New York.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-9/

vh Chiyo Koiwai Interview (ddr-phljacl-1-10)

Nisei female. Born June 11, 1919, in Tacoma, Washington. Grew up in Tacoma where family ran a hotel. Was studying to be a nurse when World War II broke out, so lobbied to be sent to the Puyallup Assembly Center, separate from parents, in order to stay in Washington state to finish training. After Puyallup, sent …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-phljacl-1-10/

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28 Objects