Nisei female. Born April 15, 1936, in Tokyo, Japan. Brought to the United States with parents at the age of one, and grew up in San Diego, California, where father was a minister. During World War II, removed to the Santa Anita Assembly Center, California, and the Poston concentration camp, Arizona. After the war, forged connections …
Considering allegiance to Japan versus the United States as a child
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department …
Family background: parents' immigration to the United States in the early 1900s
Although Mr. Matsumoto does not identify himself as a Kibei (American-born person of Japanese ancestry sent to Japan for formal education and socialization when young and later returned to the U.S.), some of his life experiences are similar to those who do identify themselves …
Father's thoughts on impending war between Japan and the United States
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department …
Nisei female. Born March 30, 1928, in San Jose, California. Prior to World War II, sent by father to live in Japan with relatives. Remained in Japan during the war, attending school and working in an airplane parts factory to support the Japanese war effort. Eventually returned to the United States and San Jose.
Nisei male. Born June 7, 1929, in Merced, California. Grew up in Mount Eden, California, and was removed to the Tanforan Assembly Center, California, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Incarcerated at the Topaz concentration camp in Utah, then moved to Tule Lake concentration camp after family volunteered to move to Japan. While at Tule Lake, …
Photocopy of a declassified file on Keizaburo Koyama by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The report notes that cannot verify if the FBI actually had the Japanese Association under surveillance, but the secretive activities of the group warranted greater scrutiny. The FBI does not find Koyama to be a Japanese leader, but his continued financial support …
Selected article titles: "Northern California ACLU Says Government Still Holding 631 Persons at Texas Camp" (p. 1), "Protest Restrictive Covenants At West Los Angeles Meeting. Civil Rights Groups Support Right of Japanese American Family to Occupy New Home" (p. 1), "500 Japanese Canadians Deported to Japan Aboard United States Army Vessel" (p. 2), "Federal Judge Raps …
An alien tax receipt issued by Nihon Yuisen Kabushiki Kaisha. It certifies that Tomosuke Masukawa, who boarded on Tatuta [Tatsuta] Maru from Yokohama, Japan, on November 1, 1938, and arrived at Los Angeles Harbor, paid 8 dollars of alien tax required by the United States. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization …
Original WRA caption: Sakamoto family picture on golden wedding anniversary of Joseph Gerald Osamu Sakamoto and Mary Ann Tsuchi Sakamoto, both 80, at the Minidoka Relocation Center on December 11, 1943. Married in Japan, they came to the United States in 1894. Mr. Sakamoto was an early Seattle hotel proprietor. His son, James Y. Sakamoto, 40, …
White male of German descent. Born December 5, 1921, in Oketo, Kansas. Worked for a shipyard on Terminal Island, California, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Served in the United States Air Force during World War II, and presently lives in Hammett, Idaho.
Japanese female. Born November 29, 1930, in Shizuoka, Japan. Attended school during World War II. After the war, entered the nursing profession and became involved in a number of social and political causes. In the 1960s, married a Kibei Nisei and moved to the United States.
Nisei male. Born February 14, 1920, in Kent, Washington. Grew up in the nearby town of Auburn, where parents ran a farm. Family was involved Auburn Buddhist Church. Graduated from the University of Washington in 1942 and removed to the Pinedale Assembly Center and Tule Lake concentration camp, California. Recruited out of Tule Lake to teach …
Having to stay in Japan because of the impending war with the United States; attending school
This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect …
Sansei male. Born April 16, 1942, in Manzanar, California. In 1943, parents signed "no-no" on the so-called "loyalty questionnaire" and were transferred to the Tule Lake segregation center, California. Moved with family to Japan, and returned to the United States in the 1950s to attend high school.
Nisei male. Born June 9, 1924, in Brawley, California. Grew up in Brawley until the age of eleven, when family decided to send him to Japan to be adopted by an uncle and aunt. Attended school in Japan and was conscripted into the Japanese military. After Japan surrendered, was captured as a prisoner of war and …
Nisei male. Born February 23, 1924, in Brawley, California. Grew up in El Centro, California, where parents ran a farm. During World War II, was removed to the Poston concentration camp, Arizona. Family signed "no-no" on the so-called "loyalty questionnaire" and transferred to the Crystal City internment camp, Texas, then to Japan. Lived and worked in …
Issei female. Born 1907 in Shimonoseki, Japan. Attended school in Japan, and was encouraged by father to study English. Married a Buddhist minister and immigrated to the United States. Lived in Fresno, California, then returned to Japan for two years. Moved to Seattle, Washington, where husband was a minister at the Seattle Buddhist Temple. During World …
Issei female. Born 1907 in Shimonoseki, Japan. Attended school in Japan, and was encouraged by father to study English. Married a Buddhist minister and immigrated to the United States. Lived in Fresno, California, then returned to Japan for two years. Moved to Seattle, Washington, where husband was a minister at the Seattle Buddhist Temple. During World …
Nisei female. Born March 30, 1928, in San Jose, California. Prior to World War II, sent by father to live in Japan with relatives. Remained in Japan during the war, attending school and working in an airplane parts factory to support the Japanese war effort. Eventually returned to the United States and San Jose.
Kibei male. Born August 1, 1915, in Portland, Oregon. Sent with siblings to be educated in Japan when ten years old. Returned to the United States in 1935. During World War II, was incarcerated at the Portland Assembly Center, Oregon, and Minidoka concentration camp, Idaho. Active in Seattle's postwar Japanese American community as a member and …
Family background: born in Japan; father's unorthodox arrival in the United States
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 …
Kibei male. Born February 25, 1929, in Hilo, Hawaii. At the age of four, moved to Japan, where family operated a farm. Attended school in Japan during World War II. Was in school in Hiroshima when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945. Survived the bombing along with mother and brother. In 1949, returned …
Kibei male. Born January 20, 1917, in Hood River, Oregon. Lived in Seattle, Washington, before being taken to Japan by mother at the age of three. Completed elementary through high school in Japan. Returned to Seattle at seventeen years of age. Continued education in United States. Drafted in 1942 and was an instructor for the Military …