Vol. 75, No. 5, August 4, 1972. 6 pages. View this issue
The use of a racial slur in public life ran through this six-page issue. Chapter leaders objected to an abbreviated slur used as a plant name, and Butterick Fashion Marketing dropped the term from its Kenzo Takada pattern envelopes after a JACL protest. An editorial argued that pressure from Japanese Americans must continue. Inside JACL, NC-WNDC chairman Wendy Sakai announced the youth council’s intent to secede after the debate over hiring David Ushio, and Masao W. Satow reported on his coming resignation as National Director.
Other pages carry a report on a Visual Communications project seeking matching funds, and a piece on Mike M. Yego, sworn in as a Placer County constable. Don Estes traced a sailor’s grave in San Diego, and Rex Takahashi reviewed a booklet on Manzanar compiled by Sue Kunitomi Embrey. Frank Fukazawa wrote about a Tokyo shoe shiner reading Kant.
What’s in this issue
Community
- Nikkei groups debate ethnic terminology after plant name controversy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chapter leaders and nursery operators in California objected to abbreviated use of the term Jap, including the popular plant name Juniperus procumbens. Debate continued over whether such labeling is racist or simply accepted horticultural usage.
- Butterick drops ‘Jap’ label from Kenzo designs after JACL protest, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Butterick Fashion Marketing removed the term Jap from its catalog and pattern envelopes for Kenzo Takada’s designs following JACL protest. Congressmen Patsy Mink and Glenn Anderson also objected to the commercial use of the racist term.
- Nation’s first Nisei constable sworn in Placer County, by Roy Yoshida, page 3. Mike M. Yego of Penryn was sworn in as constable of the Loomis Judicial District after winning a June primary with 52 percent of the vote. His victory was attributed to a vigorous campaign and strong organization.
- West L.A. JACL co-sponsored program seeks Board of Education funding, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The experimental Nora Sterry Community Lighted School in West Los Angeles offered after-school classes to more than 510 adults, youth, and children with volunteer teachers. Organizers are seeking Board of Education funding to continue the program.
National
- Hoover’s last article recalled opposition to Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. In a final article for Family Weekly, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover argued for fair play and against vigilantism. He noted that the 1942 mass evacuation of Japanese Americans rested on political pressure rather than factual data.
- Two-day summit in Hawaii set, by P.C. Staff, page 3. President Nixon and Premier Tanaka are to meet in Hawaii on August 31 and September 1 to discuss trade and diplomatic issues. The talks come as Japan prepares to realign its relations with China and the Soviet Union.
JACL
- N.C. Juniors move for secession from JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. NC-WNDC chairman Wendy Sakai announced the youth council’s intent to secede after the National Council’s debate over hiring David Ushio as executive director. New national VP Frank Iwama expressed disappointment and said decisions were driven by emotionalism rather than reason.
- Visual Communications project receives $5,183 from supporters, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National JACL Visual Communications Committee secured matching funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities to collect photographs and documents of the Japanese American experience. Contributions were sought to meet the dollar-for-dollar match.
- Will JACL be there?, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The piece reviews JACL’s recent achievements in serving Asian American communities, including Student Aid, Manzanar monument efforts, and youth engagement. It warns that the national leadership’s choice not to pursue community-focused direction risks alienating the membership.
- Dinedor’s Report: Back in harness, by Masao W. Satow, page 2. Satow reports returning to work after the National Biennial and thanks colleagues who organized his testimonial. He announces that his resignation as National Director takes effect February 15 of the following year, while he will continue coordinating the National JACL Bowling Tournament.
Commentary
- Editorial: the misuse of the word Jap, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The editorial argues that the derogatory term Jap persists in public life despite efforts to end it, and that continued pressure from Japanese Americans is necessary. It calls on publishers, politicians, and others to avoid racial slurs entirely.
- A Tokyo shoe shiner, by Frank Fukazawa, page 2. The author describes a Tokyo shoe shiner he observed reading Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason during lunch breaks. He uses the encounter to stress the value of education and of learning the Japanese language.
- Letter: Morale builder, by Gen Ogata, page 2. Gen Ogata, co-chairman of the Sendai Festival, thanks the paper for its front-page coverage of the event. He notes that publicity in the Pacific Citizen boosts community morale.
- Ethnic quotas and Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The column examines proposals for political and professional ethnic quotas and how they would affect Japanese Americans, who make up about 0.2 percent of the population. It notes that Nisei have historically been excluded by quota-based practices despite their qualifications.
- Priorities, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The column urges members to return to a spirit of dedication and firm commitment to JACL’s principles if the organization is to remain meaningful. It invites reader comments as the leadership and membership communicate about direction.
- Book review: The Lost Years 1942-46, by Rex Takahashi, page 5. Takahashi reviews a booklet compiled by Sue Kunitomi Embrey for the Manzanar Project Committee, covering evacuation and relocation through archival writings, photographs, and poems. He notes its condensed historical and personal account of the camp years.
- Book review: One Sunday Morning, a poetic memoir of Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The review examines Ed Sheehan’s memoir of Pearl Harbor and Honolulu before the December 7, 1941 attack, illustrated by Robert McCall. The reviewer notes the author’s compassion while observing that the book uncritically adopts official views on Hawaii’s residents of Oriental origin.
In-Depth
- Research methods recounted to determine background of sailor, by Don Estes, page 3. Estes describes his research into the grave of Tsunejiro Toya, the first registered Japanese burial in San Diego County. Newspaper and cemetery records reveal he was a seaman aboard the Japanese warship Tsukuba that visited the city in 1887.
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