A teenage shooting in Little Tokyo and JACL’s Southland visits

Vol. 46, No. 17, April 25, 1958. 8 pages. View this issue

The death of Richard Sumii, a 16-year-old Dorsey High honor student shot while watching a teenage gang fight at a Little Tokyo youth center, ran through this eight-page issue. Harry Honda reported the story on the front page, and Fred Takata and Henry Mori returned to it in their columns, asking what was happening to Sansei youth and how parents and JACL should respond. JACL business filled the front page too: national director Mas Satow’s visits to Pacific Southwest chapters, and the call for nominations to seven national offices before the August national council meeting in Salt Lake City.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote about children fathered by American troops in Japan and Korea, and Mike Masaoka compared Japanese Canadians with Japanese Americans. Larry S. Tojiri’s entertainment column, a profile of Issei chemist Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura, a Hi-Co Conference report and news of Nisei across the country complete the paper.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• National Director’s Visit of Southland, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL director Mas Satow is visiting Pacific Southwest District Council chapters, with the May 4 PSWDC meeting in Pismo Beach as his final stop. The editorial urges local chapters to take advantage of his visits to exchange information and share problems.
• Open for National JACL Offices, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nominations for seven national JACL offices must be submitted by June 21, ahead of the Salt Lake City national council meeting in August. The 1000 Club chairman will now be elected with the other officers under a proposed constitutional revision.

Community

• $1,500 Japanese Sword Collection Stolen, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seven ceremonial Japanese swords valued at $1,500 were stolen from the bedroom of Issei community leader Dr. K. K. Miyamoto in Denver. The theft was reported to police last week.
• Appoint New Episcopal Missionary for L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Rev. Joseph K. Tsukamoto of Christ Episcopal Church in San Francisco has been appointed general missionary in Los Angeles. He will work at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and in the wider Los Angeles area.
• Sansei Slain, Innocent Victim of Teenage Gang Skirmish, by Harry Honda, page 1. Richard Sumii, a 16-year-old Dorsey High honor student, was fatally shot while watching a teenage gang fight at a Little Tokyo youth center. A 17-year-old was identified as the shooter and a juvenile court petition was filed to try him for murder.
• Teenager, Nearly Blind, Keeps Occupied by Tending Own Hydroponic Garden, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Alfred P. Maneki, a 15-year-old McKinley High sophomore in Honolulu with severely defective eyesight, built a hydroponic exhibit for his school science fair. His method uses a chemical solution poured into black sand to grow string beans and cucumbers.
• Simple Rules of Proper Behavior for Lady Told, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sachiko Nishiyama, a 22-year-old arts student in Montreal who emigrated from Japan, offers her views on how a lady should behave. Her rules emphasize calmness, modesty, and attending to her husband after his workday.
• Los Angeles Nisei Earns Army Incentive Award, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Kiyoshi Takano, a Los Angeles Nisei and civilian worker at Zama U.S. Army Headquarters in Japan, received a $50 award for a suggestion that improved efficiency in the comptroller’s office. He is a graduate of Otis Art Institute and the Chicago Art Institute.
• Southland Nisei Democrats to Attend Luncheon, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Eleven Nisei Democratic leaders will hear Attorney General Pat Brown, the party’s gubernatorial candidate, at a Los Angeles luncheon. The attendees were named by Kango Kunitsugu, president of the Japanese American Democratic Club.
• Mrs. Marie de Carli Loses Fight to Gain Postmaster Appointment at Stockton, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Stockton JACL member Mrs. Marie de Carli lost her year-long bid to become Stockton’s postmaster when the Civil Service Commission named three other eligible candidates. She had been the original choice of California senators Knowland and Kuchel.
• Active ‘Y’ Worker and Probation Officer Elected to National YWCA Board Position, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. George T. Tada of East Los Angeles JACL was named to the National YWCA Board at the organization’s triennial convention in St. Louis. A deputy probation officer, she has worked extensively with juveniles and teen groups in Los Angeles County.
• Nisei Appointed Teacher at School in Turkey, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dan M. Horiuchi of Honolulu was appointed a physical education teacher at the American School in Tarsus, Turkey, by the American Board of Commissioners. He is completing a master’s degree at Kansas State Teachers College.
• Nisei Author Explains Reason for Writing Books for Children, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Berkeley author Yoshiko Uchida spoke on a juvenile literature panel at the California Writers Conference in Oakland. She said her goal is to help children understand and respect cultures different from their own.
• Architect Graduate Heads for U.S. Navy School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Gene T. Tzuno, a San Francisco architecture graduate of the University of Illinois, volunteered for 40 months of Navy service. He is attending Naval Officers Training School at Newport, R.I., to study civil engineering.
• Nisei Appointed to Mental Health Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Berkeley Mayor Claude Hutchinson appointed Dr. Henry Takahashi to a 54-member committee studying local mental health needs. The group will consider participation in a state-financed program for those unable to pay for private care.
• Imperial Valley Picnic and Installation, by Fred Takata, page 4. Over 100 people attended the Imperial Valley Chapter’s picnic and installation at Salton Sea, the first large valley gathering since prewar days. The columnist describes boating and water skiing at the event.
• Youth, by Fred Takata, page 4. Fred Takata reflects on the fatal Sansei shooting and asks what is happening to Sansei youth. He reports that Dr. Roy Nishikawa plans to meet with Hi-Co leaders to analyze youth needs and JACL’s role.
• PSWDC Agenda, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The PSWDC May 4 meeting agenda at Pismo Beach includes a discussion on integrating Hawaiian Nisei into JACL and a report on Pacific Citizen membership costs. Constitutional changes, housing, and a report on government contracts are also on the agenda.
• Hi-Co Conference Proves Success, by Harry Honda, page 5. Evaluation sheets from the Hi-Co Conference at Pacific Palisades show most participants were influenced toward college and career choices. Students praised a speech by Jean Shinoda on racial barriers in campus fraternities and found the format adequate.
• Whittier College Appoints Nisei as Alumni Director, by P.C. Staff, page 5. William Marumoto returned to Whittier College as full-time alumni director after studying personnel management at the University of Oregon. He previously served as interim alumni director and was an organizer of the Orange County JAYs.
• Asia Scene Offer to JACL Chapters, by Saburo Kido, page 5. Saburo Kido offers JACL chapters a fundraising arrangement to sell subscriptions to the Asia Scene monthly publication on Japanese culture and industry. Credit goes to chapters for orders they handle before May 31, 1958.
• What Price Community Improvement?, by Elmer Ogawa, page 6. Seattle city officials toured blighted conditions in the Jackson Street area alongside Jackson Street Community Council members, including JACLers. The tour led to commitments from departments on drainage, playground planning, and housing issues.
• ADC Booster in Hawaii Helps 1,200 Issei Achieve U.S. Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 8. James M. Hirano of Hilo has assisted more than 1,200 aliens in becoming American citizens since 1952, volunteering his time and encouraging attendance at citizenship classes. Court officials praised his efforts and the McCarran Act provisions he helped pass.

Commentary

• Unwanted Americans, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Hosokawa discusses children fathered by American troops in Japan and Korea, many of them part Negro, who are abandoned and often unwanted. He highlights Pearl Buck’s Welcome House adoption agency and argues that assisting these children serves both humanitarian and political interests.
• Letter to the Editor on Japanese vs. American Identity, by Allan Beekman, page 2. Allan Beekman of Honolulu responds to Abe Hagiwara’s rebuttal of columnist Paul Molloy, arguing that Nisei are not Japanese and that no Japanese is a loyal American. He contends that Americans of Japanese ancestry do a disservice by misusing these terms.
• Los Angeles Newsletter, by Henry Mori, page 7. Henry Mori examines the Sansei gang shooting death of Richard Sumii and the role of teenage weapons in juvenile violence. He argues that Nisei parents must confront juvenile delinquency rather than assume it is minimal.
• The Nisei of Canada, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Mike Masaoka compares the history of Japanese Canadians with Japanese Americans, noting similar prewar settlement and wartime uprooting. He describes the Japanese Canadian Citizens Association and argues that Canadian Nisei face the same identity challenges.

National

• Teaching of Ethics to Be Revived, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Japan’s Ministry of Education has published a manual for teaching ethics and patriotism in schools, despite opposition from the Socialists and teachers’ unions. The article notes that classroom discipline has deteriorated since the American Occupation banned prewar moral education.
• Public Hearings Held to Improve Race Relations, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Washington State Board against Discrimination held public meetings in Pasco and Kennewick to address racial tension in the area. Board chairman Sidney Gerber noted that Negroes working in Kennewick must return to Pasco at night.
• No Evidence Found to Substantiate Claim of 100,000 Jews in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A rabbi from the National Jewish Welfare Board found no evidence supporting a report that 100,000 Japanese Jews would migrate to Israel. The Israeli legation also reported no visa applications from Japanese for Israel visits.
• Gwen Terasaki Invited to Revisit Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Friends of Mrs. Gwen Terasaki, author of Bridge to the Sun, have invited her to visit Japan in May, her first trip in nine years. Her late husband had served as first secretary of the Japanese Embassy in Washington before World War II.

In-Depth

• Quiet Labors of Issei Chemist Fighting Cancer in New York Laboratory Disclosed, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura, an Issei chemist at Sloan-Kettering Institute, has spent four decades testing chemicals for cancer-restraining effects. He has authored or co-authored 175 papers and reports curing some transplanted animal cancers completely.

Arts & Entertainment

• Along the Entertainment Front, by Larry S. Tojiri, page 3. This column covers Nisei performers in film and television, including Henry Nakamura’s career after Go for Broke!, Teru Shimada’s recent roles, and Yuki Shimoda’s Hollywood work in Auntie Mame. It also notes Isamu Noguchi’s stage settings for Martha Graham and singer Pat Suzuki’s rising national profile.

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