Frank Emi Interview Segment 1

Growing up in Los Angeles and getting married before World War II; reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor (ddr-densho-1002-9-1) - 00:06:17
Memories of mass removal: "it was kind of a frustrating and disappointing time" (ddr-densho-1002-9-2) - 00:06:00
First impressions of Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming: a "miserable sight" (ddr-densho-1002-9-3) - 00:06:03
Working in camp (ddr-densho-1002-9-4) - 00:03:12
Frustration with the "ambiguous" and "senseless" questions on the so-called "loyalty questionnaire"; posting suggested answers (ddr-densho-1002-9-5) - 00:07:03
Deciding to qualify answers to the so-called "loyalty questions" (ddr-densho-1002-9-6) - 00:02:20
Attending hearings regarding qualified answers to the so-called "loyalty questions" (ddr-densho-1002-9-7) - 00:03:40
Discussion of the establishment of the draft for Japanese Americans in camp (ddr-densho-1002-9-8) - 00:06:06
Description of the Fair Play Committee: popularity of meetings (ddr-densho-1002-9-9) - 00:04:12
Sending press releases and news bulletins to newspapers outside of camp (ddr-densho-1002-9-10) - 00:04:54
Fair Play Committee's cause discouraged by the ACLU (ddr-densho-1002-9-11) - 00:02:12
The resisters' story: experiences in jail, the trial of sixty-three (ddr-densho-1002-9-12) - 00:04:58
Reasons for joining the resisters' cause: "I felt so strongly about the injustice of it that I just had to do something" (ddr-densho-1002-9-13) - 00:04:08
An act of defiance: threatening to walk out of camp (ddr-densho-1002-9-14) - 00:03:12
Description of trial: found guilty and sent to jail (ddr-densho-1002-9-15) - 00:12:17
Not feeling too affected by resister status later in life (ddr-densho-1002-9-16) - 00:03:43
Raising a family (ddr-densho-1002-9-17) - 00:02:04
Talking about resister status postwar; discussion of principles involved in becoming a resister (ddr-densho-1002-9-18) - 00:04:51
Meeting some "interesting characters" while spending time in jail (ddr-densho-1002-9-19) - 00:03:44
Reflections: pardoned in 1947; thoughts on the American justice system (ddr-densho-1002-9-20) - 00:05:58
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PARTNER

Densho
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SEGMENT ID

ddr-densho-1002-9-1 (Legacy UID: denshovh-efrank-01-0001)

SEGMENT DESCRIPTION

Growing up in Los Angeles and getting married before World War II; reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor

This interview was conducted by sisters Emiko and Chizuko Omori for their 1999 documentary, Rabbit in the Moon, about the Japanese American resisters of conscience in the World War II incarceration camps. As a result, the interviews in this collection are typically not life histories, instead primarily focusing on issues surrounding the resistance movement itself.

00:06:17 — Segment 1 of 20

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DATE

March 20, 1994

LOCATION

PARENT COLLECTION

Emiko and Chizuko Omori Collection

TOPICS

FACILITY

PERSONS/ORGANIZATIONS

CONTRIBUTOR

Emiko and Chizuko Omori Collection

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of Emiko and Chizuko Omori

RIGHTS

PARTNER

Densho
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INTERVIEW ID

ddr-densho-1002-9

NARRATOR

Frank Emi

INTERVIEW TITLE

Frank Emi Interview

01:36:54 — 20 segments

DATE

March 20, 1994

LOCATION

San Francisco, California

DESCRIPTION

Nisei male. Born September 23, 1916, in Los Angeles, California. Attended Los Angeles City College for one year before leaving to run the family produce business. Married and had a daughter before being removed to Pomona Assembly Center, California, and Heart Mountain concentration camp, Wyoming. The leader of Heart Mountain's Fair Play Committee, was convicted of resisting the draft, and was imprisoned for eighteen months at Leavenworth, Kansas. After leaving prison, worked for the U.S. post office and the California state unemployment office. Mr. Emi practiced judo as a young person before the war, and postwar, taught at the Hollywood Judo Dojo.

(This interview was conducted by sisters Emiko and Chizuko Omori for their 1999 documentary, Rabbit in the Moon, about the Japanese American resisters of conscience in the World War II incarceration camps. As a result, the interviews in this collection are typically not life histories, instead primarily focusing on issues surrounding the resistance movement itself.)

PRODUCTION

Emiko Omori, interviewer; Chizu Omori, interviewer

TOPICS

FACILITY

PERSONS/ORGANIZATIONS

CONTRIBUTOR

Emiko and Chizuko Omori Collection

PREFERRED CITATION

Courtesy of Emiko and Chizuko Omori

RIGHTS

API