A district chairman’s year in review, and Idaho ahead

Vol. 45, No. 22, November 29, 1957. 8 pages. View this issue

Akiji Yoshimura opened the issue with an open letter to the NC-WN district, looking back on 1957 and on the chapters that hosted the quarterlies, from the Placer County Goodwill Dinner to the district convention in Sacramento. Elsewhere on the front page, the San Francisco Issei body endorsed a plan for a new National JACL building, a federal judge ruled that blood tests applied only to Chinese immigration applicants were discriminatory, and a story recalled the University of Hawaii students who formed the Varsity Victory Volunteers after Pearl Harbor.

The columns include Bill Hosokawa on Nisei reporters at International News Service, Mike Masaoka on civil rights, Elmer Ogawa on the anti-Chinese expulsions of 1885, and Harry Honda on the coming Holiday Issue, which was to feature Idaho. Chapter news covers the 1000 Club anniversary in Idaho Falls and a 1,116-member total in Southwest Los Angeles.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Open Letter to the NC-WN District, by By Akiji Yoshimura, page 1. Akiji Yoshimura reviews the NC-WN district’s events and chapter activities over 1957, from the Placer County Goodwill Dinner through the district convention in Sacramento. He recounts memorable quarterlies in Sacramento, Alameda, and Monterey with humor and appreciation for the hosts.
• S.F. Issei Body Endorses National JACL Building Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Francisco JACL is studying construction of a new building to house National JACL headquarters and serve the growing local chapter. The Nichi Bei Kai directors endorsed the project after a special building committee led by Hatsuro Aizawa began its study.
• Delano Scholar Wins District D.A.R. Title in Citizenship Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Deanna Honbo, a Delano High School senior, won the local Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship award and is competing for the district title. She is active in student affairs and holds the highest grade point average in her class.
• Foresee Problem in Government Census of 1960 on Religious Differences of Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Bernard L. Hormann of the University of Hawaii said Japanese islanders’ shifting religious identities could complicate 1960 census statistics. Young people increasingly identify as Christians while their parents remain Buddhist.
• Issei Division Meets, Seek Special Name, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chicago JACL’s Issei members, though now naturalized and eligible for regular membership, prefer to remain a separate unit called the Issei Division. The group is still searching for a proper name.
• Soldier Bride from Japan Studies for Second Bachelor’s Degree at Tempe, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mizue Maruno, a Japan-born bride, met Navy man John Knieling when a bus accident brought them together near Tokyo. The couple settled in Tempe, Arizona, where she is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree at Arizona State.
• Wel-Pac Vagaries: Nisei Wins Recognition and Chapter News, by Larry S. Tojiri, page 3. Larry Tojiri offers a column of chapter gossip and notes, including a Nisei Cincinnati co-ed welcoming Miiko Taka and Nisei employment in Social Security offices. The column reports a range of small community items across the West.
• Canadian Nisei Leaders Challenged by Japanese Ambassador to Cooperate in Bettering Relations, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Japanese Ambassador Toru Hagiwara told Canadian Nisei leaders they had failed to seize their role as interpreters between Canada and Japan. He urged them to study Japanese matters and revoke dual citizenship registrations.
• Promote Nisei on Harvard Faculty, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hideo Sasaki, a Reedley native, was named associate professor of landscape architecture at Harvard’s School of Design. He has taught at Illinois and Harvard and has worked on city plans in several Midwestern communities.
• PC with Membership Plan to Be Studied by PSWDC, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Pacific Southwest District Council will study a Long Beach-Harbor proposal to distribute the Pacific Citizen to all JACL members. The plan would raise dues or chapter fees to cover the added publication cost.
• Auxiliary Helps Send TB Seals in Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Seven Salt Lake JACL Auxiliary members stuffed some 6,000 envelopes to help mail Tuberculosis Association seals. The volunteers were recognized for giving their free time to the effort.
• Pointing Southwestward, by Fred Takata, page 4. Fred Takata reports on a documentary film about the Nisei being shot with support from East and Southwest Los Angeles JACL, and on a citizenship student’s Christmas Cheer donation. He also covers the FEPC hearing before the City Council.
• Idaho Falls JACLers Host 10th Anniversary of 1000 Club, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Idaho Falls JACL hosted the 10th anniversary celebration of the 1000 Club during the Intermountain District Council convention. The event featured a commemorative $1000 bill designed by Fred Ochi.
• Mile-Hi JACL Annual Meeting Features Six Events, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Mile-Hi JACL annual meeting will present JACL Distinguished Service Scrolls to two wartime national sponsors and honor newly naturalized Issei. Other agenda items include an income tax debate and the 1958 scholarship award.
• Southwest Los Angeles Chapter ICBG Again with 1,116 Members, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Southwest Los Angeles JACL reached a 1,116-member total in 1957, crediting membership VP George Fujita and a dedicated canvassing crew. The chapter’s success was built on the efforts of many volunteers and 1000 Club members.
• Twin Cities Elect 15 Board Members, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Twin Cities JACL held its first election under a new board-of-governors system, choosing 15 members. Eight will serve two-year terms and seven will serve one year.
• Sacramento Nurseryman Installed as Vice President, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Tak R. Kato of Sacramento was installed as vice-president of the Superior Chapter of the California Association of Nurserymen. Richard Oki of Perkins was named secretary.
• Omaha Hosts Mountain-Plains District Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Mountain-Plains JACL convention in Omaha will feature a Boys Town tour and presentation of National JACL Appreciation Scrolls. Convention chairman Pat Okura announced the theme ‘Better Americans in a Greater America.’
• Pocatello: Japan-Born Housewife and Blackfoot Farmer Cited as October Personalities, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Pocatello JACL Newsletter profiles Kimi Tominaga, a Fukuoka-born housewife, and Seiji Endow, a Blackfoot farmer who overcame a tragic automobile accident. Both are described as valuable contributors to their community.
• Contra Costa County JACL Plans Dec. 8 Issei Appreciation Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Contra Costa JACL is holding an appreciation dinner and meeting for Issei parents on December 8. The event honors the older generation of the community.
• Sanger JACL Votes General Fund for Community Hall, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Members of the Doshi Kai and Sanger JACL voted to establish a general fund to operate the Sanger community hall. The yearly operating costs are estimated at $400 plus $200 for painting, to be raised through donations.
• Northwest Picture: Anti-Chinese Riots, by Elmer Ogawa, page 6. Elmer Ogawa examines the anti-Chinese expulsions of 1885 in Washington and surrounding areas, tracing their economic roots after railroad construction ended. He describes how Seattle officials and federal troops responded to growing mob violence.
• Los Angeles Newsletter: Mukaeda Honored, by Henry Mori, page 7. Henry Mori describes his planned profile of Charles Kamayatsu, a Hollywood JACL veteran and 1930 Seattle national convention delegate, who lives atop Coronado Terrace. He also notes Mrs. Su Igauye’s election as auxiliary president of the Associated Plumbing Contractors of Los Angeles.
• “Safer Driving” Theme of High School Essay Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Dr. Akira Tajiri is serving as the local representative for a Vision Conservation Institute essay contest on the theme of safer driving through better vision. Winners will receive scholarships ranging from $50 to $200.

National

• Sacrifice of Nisei During Bombing of Pearl Harbor Told, by P.C. Staff, page 1. University of Hawaii ROTC members of Japanese ancestry were deactivated after Pearl Harbor but reaffirmed their loyalty and formed the Varsity Victory Volunteers. The group later served as an Army engineering labor battalion until enlisting in the 100th Infantry.
• Immigration Authorities Guilty of Discrimination in Blood Test Rule, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A federal judge ruled that immigration blood tests applied only to Chinese applicants were racially discriminatory, a ruling upheld on appeal. The case involved three Chinese siblings whose claimed American parentage was challenged.
• Attorney Wirin Gets Passport to Red China, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Civil liberties attorney A. L. Wirin received a State Department passport allowing travel to Communist China and North Korea. He is counsel for John and Sylvia Powell, who face sedition charges in San Francisco federal court.
• Washington Newsletter: Civil Rights Progress, by Mike Masaoka, page 6. Mike Masaoka reviews recent civil rights developments, including the Civil Rights Commission’s organization and the President’s Equal Opportunity Day proclamation. He also describes the new Civil Rights Division headed by W. Wilson White.
• White House Assistant Rabb Sees Japan as Pacesetter in Far East, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Maxwell Rabb, secretary to President Eisenhower’s cabinet, said in Denver that Japan is the economic leader of the Far East following his nine-day visit. He had an hour-long audience with Emperor Hirohito and addressed the International Nisei Businessmen’s conference.
• Supreme Court Rules on Union Discrimination During Pact Negotiation, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that an all-white union cannot discriminate against Negro workers in bargaining or protecting job rights. The case involved an all-Negro local of the Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks in Houston.
• Japanese Claims Section Awards Over $562,000 Last Month, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Justice Department’s Japanese Claims Section awarded over $562,000 in evacuation claims last month. The two largest awards went to Los Angeles claimants, and several non-profit organizations also received payments.

Obituaries

• George Inagaki’s Father Dies at 73, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Frank Kuniji Inagaki, father of former national JACL president George Inagaki, died November 22 at Culver City Hospital after a long illness with cancer. He was known in the Japanese community as a senryu poet under the name Bokuto.
• Prominent Nisei Dentist of Bay Area Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Hideki Hayashi, a prominent Bay Area Nisei dentist, died November 8 after a brief illness at age 57. He had practiced with his brother Dr. Terry T. Hayashi since 1923 and later opened an office in Berkeley.

Commentary

• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Bill Hosokawa profiles Tom Uyemura, a Nisei reporter rising at International News Service, and Kay Matsuura, hired by the Denver bureau. He notes INS’s Hearst history of anti-Nisei coverage during evacuation as a striking change.
• Editorial: Satellitem and Other Thoughts, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The editorial muses on American nicknames for Sputnik’s canine passenger and whether the Japanese word pochi relates to the English pooch. It also offers lighthearted observations on parenting, cowboys, and early-morning shaving.
• PC Holiday Issue to Praise Idahoans, by Harry K. Honda, page 5. Editor Harry Honda introduces the Holiday Issue series on Japanese American communities, this year featuring Idaho. He reflects on how Idaho’s Issei pioneers converted barren land into farms, much as their California counterparts did.

In-Depth

• On Mainland Racial Bloc Voting in Hawaii, by Honolulu Star-Bulletin, page 2. Dr. Andrew W. Lind of the University of Hawaii argues that racial bloc voting, as seen on the Mainland, does not occur in Hawaii. He explains that voters tend to choose familiar-sounding names and that candidates appealing to race would be politically damaging.

Arts & Entertainment

• Platter Chatter, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The column profiles Nisei singers Teal Joy and Miyoshi Umeki, noting Teal Joy’s Bethlehem album and Umeki’s film debut in Sayonara. It also covers pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi’s rise in American jazz.

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