Heritage Week, the redress ad and Nisei in the war

Vol. 88, No. 42, May 11, 1979. 12 pages. View this issue

Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was the lead story of this 12-page issue. Nearly 400 Asian American leaders and members of Congress met on May 3 in the Senate Caucus Room to honor the four legislators who sponsored the resolution creating the week. On the same front page, an open letter campaign raised $9,000 for a Washington Post ad answering Sen. S.I. Hayakawa’s opposition to redress. Columns came from Bill Hosokawa on a visit to his cousin in Hiroshima, Bill Marutani on Alaska, and Rep. Robert Matsui on leadership.

Other pages followed JACL chapters, with a Day of Remembrance announced in Marysville and scholarship winners named in San Jose. Excerpts from Joseph D. Harrington’s Yankee Samurai described Nisei linguists in the Pacific and China. Dr. Lester Suzuki’s book on ministry in the camps was reviewed, and a seaplane was returned to Japan.

What’s in this issue

Community

• JACL hosts congressional reception on Heritage Week, by Special to The Pacific Citizen, page 1. Nearly 400 Asian American leaders and members of Congress gathered May 3 at the Senate Caucus Room to honor the four legislators who sponsored the resolution designating Asian Pacific American Heritage Week. The reception drew Japanese Prime Minister Ohira and other dignitaries.
• Two Asians seek seat on Seattle city council, by Eira Nagaoka, page 2. Paul Horiuchi and Dolores Sibonga announced candidacies for Seattle City Council seats. Horiuchi is a political newcomer, while Sibonga previously served briefly on the council.
• Substance determining sex in embryo discovered by Ohno, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dr. Susumu Ohno of the City of Hope isolated the protein that determines sex in embryos and lectured at the Japan Medical Congress. His work on H-Y antigen and hormone response may extend to other organs.
• Placer County’s Asian heritage, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Placer County JACL organized a display for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week at the Visitors’ Information Center in Newcastle. The Board of Supervisors declared May 4-10 as the observance week.
• Annual potluck dinner slated, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Cincinnati JACL held its annual potluck dinner April 29 at Maple Ridge Lodge. The program was organized by Ginny Fisher, Ruth Takeuchi and Tae Toki.
• March-April busy months, but so’s May, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Contra Costa JACL reported successful March and April events including Ladies Night, Family Bowling Night, and Issei Appreciation Night. The chapter also announced upcoming May and June activities.
• 25th annual Emerald Ball slated May 27, by P.C. Staff, page 7. East Los Angeles JACL announced its annual scholarship benefit Emerald Ball, where it selects a candidate for the Nisei Week queen contest. Past chapter queens are invited to attend.
• Heritage Week fete at Fremont Hub, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Fremont city council proclaimed Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week May 2-10 with a display of cultural and historical items at Fremont Hub. JACL members joined the celebration.
• Board members named to committees, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Orange County JACL president Ken Hayashi assigned board members to head program, budget, youth, and historical committees. The chapter aims to become a more viable force in the community.
• Lyle Kurisaki speaker for May 18 meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Orange County JACL’s May 18 dinner will feature K. Lyle Kurisaki, executive director of Prisoner Preventers, who will speak about his life and rehabilitation work. Dinner reservations are $7.50.
• 40 people greet Debbie Nakatomi, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Reno JACL held a friendship meeting attended by about 55 adults and children where Debbie Nakatomi, administrative aide to Karl Nobuyuki, was the guest speaker. Attendees also purchased handcrafted umbrellas to raise funds.
• San Jose JACL scholarship winners announced, by Phil Matsumura, page 7. San Jose JACL announced eleven scholarship winners at its spring potluck dinner, where Helen Mineta received the JACL Silver Pin. Professor Harris Martin also spoke on the origins of the Japanese people.
• State Capitol interns help push Asian/Pacific issues, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Assemblyman Floyd Mori’s interns Norbert Kumagai and Gerald Okimoto are working on Asian American appointments, alien land legislation, and social services. Both are law or political science students.

Incarceration & Redress

• $9,000 raised for Washington Post ad addressed to Sen. Hayakawa, by P.C. Staff, page 1. An open letter campaign raised $9,000 to place a three-quarter-page ad in the Washington Post responding to Sen. S.I. Hayakawa’s opposition to redress. The letter argues the WWII camps were concentration camps and that Japanese Americans deserve redress.
• Local paper retells evacuation story, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Marysville JACL sponsored a Day of Remembrance on May 14 alongside a newspaper series by Bill Babcock recalling Japanese American evacuation experiences. The chapter also held a movie benefit and family potluck.

National

• Consulate reprimanded on accounting method, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Japanese Consulate in Honolulu admitted asking Nikkei organizations to sign blank receipts for small grants and was reprimanded by the Foreign Ministry. Recipients said they trusted the officials and signed without the amounts filled in.
• Silicon Valley industry split on copyright, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Industry figures disagreed at a House subcommittee hearing in San Jose on a bill to copyright integrated circuit chip designs. Supporters cited piracy by Soviet and Japanese firms while opponents warned the bill would favor foreign competitors.
• Feature film ‘Hito Hata’ about Issei railroad men, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Visual Communications is producing ‘Hito Hata: Raise the Banner,’ the first of a six-part series on Asian American labor history, featuring Mako and other actors. The segment recreates early 1900s Issei railroad work in Owens Valley.
• Hiroshima medical team back in U.S. to check on Hibakusha, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A six-member team from Hiroshima arrived to conduct medical checks on atomic bomb survivors in the U.S. The team expects to see about 500 patients in California and will visit Seattle later.
• Copyright, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Continuation of the Silicon Valley copyright hearing story describes opposition arguments and Business Week reporting on Japanese semiconductor quality gains. The article concludes with notes on Japanese firms winning toeholds in major U.S. companies.
• Japan’s naturalization law to be scrutinized, by P.C. Staff, page 12. Socialist Diet member Takako Doi proposed an amendment allowing children of Japanese mothers and non-Japanese fathers to gain Japanese nationality. The bill also seeks to end sexually discriminatory provisions in the nationality law.

Commentary

• Teaching at Yokohama university, by Patsy S. Saiki, page 3. A former Hawaii teacher recounts surprises from her year teaching at a Yokohama university, from formal student behavior to a seminar trip. She reflects on how students who argued for change ended up in conventional corporate jobs.
• The Issei Story, by Clifford Uyeda, page 4. JACL President Clifford Uyeda argues the Issei story has been sanitized and lacks balance, citing Japanese involvement in Reno gambling. He notes that the Issei were human, with both strengths and frailties.
• Involvement: Snake River Valley Style, by Karl Nobuyuki, page 4. JACL staff member Karl Nobuyuki describes a visit to the Snake River Valley chapter, where Sansei hold leadership roles and farming community issues differ from urban chapters. He suggests JACL consider how it can assist American farmers.
• Viva Nakajima, by Taro Kawakami, page 4. A letter writer praises N. Nakajima’s columns on higher education and world affairs while disagreeing with his views on the American occupation of Japan. He compares the Middle East peace costs to Japan’s postwar aid.
• National anthem, by Douglas Kendall, page 4. A letter provides a verbatim translation of the Japanese national anthem Kimi ga Yo for a reader. It gives the four lines with a literal rendering.
• East Wind, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Marutani recalls the wartime removal of Japanese Americans from Alaska and the resettlement of Aleuts into areas vacated by Japanese Americans. He describes his childhood photos from Alaskan canneries that were burned after December 7.
• Leadership: A Key Against Apathy, by Rep. Robert Matsui, page 5. Rep. Robert Matsui argues that the nation suffers a shortage of leadership and that cynical politicians follow polls rather than lead. He calls for leaders who expand the possible and vote their conscience.
• Roots in Hiroshima, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa describes visiting his cousin Michizume Fukeda in rural Hiroshima after ten years, noting changes to the farmhouse and family. He recounts singing at the gathering and visiting the family grave.
• JAYs/JACL of the ’80s, by Cathy Hironaka, page 6. Hironaka argues that the future of JACL depends on its whole membership, not only National Staff or youth leaders. She urges adult JACLers to take an active role in engaging with JAYs.
• Suzuki chronicles camp ministries, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Dr. Lester Suzuki’s book ‘Ministry in the Assembly Centers and Relocation Centers of World War II’ chronicles clergy work in the camps across faiths. It adds history of evacuation and Japanese ethnic churches.
• California Revisited, by Barry Saiki, page 12. Saiki describes a three-week visit to the U.S. where he heard concerns about redress, inflation, and soaring real estate prices. He recounts car rental difficulties and a breakdown on the Coast Highway.

Military & Veterans

• Sgt. Frank Hachiya, by Douglas Kendall, page 4. A letter writer recounts the 1945 memorial service in Hawaii for Sgt. Frank Hachiya and the Hood River American Legion’s refusal to allow his burial there. The writer describes how he later discussed the matter with Hachiya’s father and local figures.
• In China, Nisei with Dixie Mission meet Mao and other Communists, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Excerpts from the book Yankee Samurai describe Nisei intelligence personnel in China, including Koji Ariyoshi’s work at Yenan and George Nakamura’s translation for the Dixie Mission. The chapter also covers POW camp work and attempts to unite Chiang and Mao.
• Yankee Samurai, by Joseph D. Harrington, page 9. An excerpt from Harrington’s book describes Nisei linguists in the Pacific and China-Burma-India theaters, including roles in Negros, Burma, and the Dixie Mission. It details their interrogation work, translation duties, and encounters with Mao’s forces.
• Lone survivor returned: ‘Emily’ WW2 Japanese seaplane, by P.C. Staff, page 12. The Kawanishi H8K2 ‘Emily’ seaplane was presented to the Tokyo Museum of Maritime Science at Norfolk Naval Air Station on April 23. Sam Ishikawa helped negotiate its return after it had been stored for over 30 years.

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