<Begin Segment 19>

FM: Now, I got in to the University of Washington and got a faculty position in the pre-World War II era. And you could say, well, there were opportunities perhaps. Two things, I was lucky. Well, let me back off a minute. There were University people of Japanese background teaching at the University, but they were in far Eastern languages. For example, Japanese Language, or Asian culture, which is an area where, which the University of Washington was fairly strong in. But Japanese Americans in any other position in the University, no. There were none. However, at the University I took my undergraduate degree in Sociology mainly because -- well I shouldn't say mainly because -- but one of the reasons I did so was because there was a man named Jesse Steiner who was Chairman of the Department who took a fair amount of interest in Japanese Americans. He was a "white angel" if you like, and in the larger sense also because he was a member of the Japan Society and a few things like that. Now why did he have an interest in Japan? He was, his sociology degree was secondary, following initially a missionary background. He went to Japan as a Christian missionary, became interested in sociology and went to Chicago and got a Chicago, a degree in sociology. Incidentally a fair number of sociologists of that period, back in the early 1900s, were of missionary background or Christian background, theological background got into social activities, sociological activities. So he was one of those who got in from a background as a missionary in Japan into sociology. Then he comes to the University of Washington, chairs the department. And as Chairman of the Department, he took an interest in Japanese Americans. And I was, here I was a student in the department. And he fostered my advancement. If you don't mind, I'm going to tell you a little about my career then, because it bears on what I'm talking about.

[Interruption]

FM: Jesse Steiner, was a great -- he wrote a book for his degree, the title of which was Japanese Invasion and then at the time of the, the Pearl Harbor incident, that era, I think in response to the rising Japanese nationalism, he wrote another book called The Japanese Mask, I think it was. The term "Japanese invasion" and "the Japanese mask" suggests the idea that this is, these are people -- Japan -- who, because of their unwillingness to show their true self are dangerous. They will aggressively impose themselves on American society. I mean there is that kind of hint of attitude lying behind Steiner's analysis. And I've never understood just exactly why he took that kind of an attitude, because in his personal relations with me and with people in the Japanese community he was extremely kindly, thoughtful person, helpful, sympathetic. And in fact, at the time of the evacuation, at the time of the Tolan committee hearings, he was perhaps the one person I can think of -- maybe there were two or three others -- who stood up at the Tolan Congressional Committee Hearings and said, "You know, you people are making a mistake in assuming that these are people who have to be, who are dangerous and therefore have to be evacuated. You've got to rethink the basis of your thinking." And so he defended the Japanese Americans, yet he also wrote of the Japanese military. I, I think he was reacting against Japanese, Japanese nationalism and wrote of that as something that was deceptive and dangerous. So there was, there was that kind of... but, to me personally, and to the Japanese students -- my wife Michiko, who got to know him independently of me, before we got married, or before I knew her -- also spoke very warmly of her relations with the Steiner family. He took an interest in Japanese students on campus and when it came to me, he took personally an interest in advancing my career. I would not have gone to Chicago probably for my Ph.D., except for the fact that he intervened and helped. Since he was a Chicago graduate, he knew people there, got me scholarships and so on, and helped me get there. So after I went to Chicago, got my, essentially, all but my dissertation finished, he then got me a position at the University of Washington. This was in the fall of, summer of 1941, before the war. He got me a position back on the University of Washington faculty. So I get a faculty appointment at the University of Washington at a time when there were very few Japanese Americans who were getting University appointments anywhere in the country. And I think he was instrumental in helping me to get that position.

SF: Were you the first Japanese American or Asian American in a mainstream department, other than oriental languages or art.

FM: To my knowledge, I think I was. Now, one other person who got an appointment about that time. No, I think this is, no. I was, at that time, yeah. After the war, George Tsutakawa got a position at the University on the faculty. You know, Tsutakawa, the artist. And, but that was after the war and after I had also gone back to the University on the faculty.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.