Redress, Day of Remembrance and a new office in Little Tokyo

Vol. 90, No. 82, February 29, 1980. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress and remembrance ran through the front page of this eight-page issue. California Assemblyman Paul Bannai announced hearings on Assembly Joint Resolution 56, which backs JACL-sponsored redress legislation for a commission to study the World War II incarceration (often called internment). Gov. Brown signed the first Day of Remembrance proclamation for Executive Order 9066, and the 11th Manzanar pilgrimage was set for April 26. A Toronto seminar on Canadian Japanese identity and outmarriage, with sociologist Dr. Toyo Fuse, also led the news.

Inside are columns by Clifford Uyeda, who said he would not seek re-election, Harry Honda on the paper’s move into the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo, Bill Hosokawa and Sachi Seko. Joe Oyama traced the later life of the young interpreter Tommy, and Yuji Ichioka’s research on Issei gambling and community life is also included. Chapter installations fill the later pages.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Nikkei Identity Crisis Bigger Problem in Canada Than Alarming Rate of Outmarriage, Seminar Told, page 1. A seminar at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto examined the future of Canadian Japanese amid high outmarriage rates, with sociologist Dr. Toyo Fuse arguing the real crisis is psychological identity rather than intermarriage itself. Fuse called for a movement to raise consciousness among Japanese Canadians, drawing parallels to the Black Power movement and criticizing the community’s fear-driven silence during the 1970 War Measures Act crackdown on French Canadians.
• Gov. Brown Appoints Marina JACLer Judge, page 1. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Ernest M. Hiroshige, 34, to a newly-created South Bay Municipal Court judgeship, making him the 16th Japanese American jurist in California. Hiroshige, a deputy D.A. since 1971, is active in Marina JACL and other community organizations.
• Carter Names JACLer to New Council, page 1. President Carter appointed Aki Kurose, a Seattle kindergarten teacher and Seattle JACL board member, to the National Advisory Council on Education of Disadvantaged Children. Kurose was sworn in in Washington, D.C. and has a background in multi-ethnic education curriculum development.
• President Carter Names Mori to New U.S. Export Council, page 1. Los Angeles attorney Jun Mori, vice president of the LA Board of Harbor Commissioners, was named one of 27 private sector members of President Carter’s Export Council. Mori, who traveled to China to boost trade with Los Angeles, chairs a foreign trade oversight task force and is senior partner of the largest Asian law firm, Mori and Ota.
• Fremont Councilman’s Platform Points to Jarvis II Initiative, page 1. Fremont JACLer Yoshio Fujiwara filed for re-election to city council, emphasizing fiscal responsibility in light of the possible passage of the Jarvis II initiative that would cut state income tax in half. Fujiwara also favors a referendum on hillside development and has served on the council since 1976.
• Asian Americans Sought for On-the-Highway Job Training, page 2. Through efforts of John Yoshino of the Federal Highway Administration, Equivest Associates is providing supportive services to help Asian Americans access on-the-job apprenticeship training in highway construction trades. Programs cover bricklaying, carpentry, operating engineering and surveying with no prior experience required.
• Seattle Landmark Being Renovated, page 2. Seattle’s historic Japanese Hall (Nippon Kan), listed on state and federal historic registers, is undergoing a $1.2 million restoration project scheduled for completion in July 1980. Architect Ed Burke and S.S. & C. Co. are providing most of the funding beyond $150,000 in public funds, with Burke’s wife Betty managing the 450-seat theater.
• St. Louis JACL Installs Officers, page 3. St. Louis JACL installed its 1980 officers led by new president Paul Harano, with vice-governor George Sakaguchi administering the oath. The ceremony included presentations to founding members and a musical performance by St. Louis Symphony harpist Ayako Watanabe.
• Tateishi Addresses St. Louis, page 3. John Tateishi spoke on the redress issue at the St. Louis JACL inaugural dinner, informing many attendees unfamiliar with the topic. Outgoing president Lee Durham spoke about protecting Iranians in the U.S. from repeating the tragedy of Executive Order 9066.
• PC Office Settles in JACCC, Rm 506, page 3. The Pacific Citizen newspaper moved into new offices in the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Room 506, with the same phone number. The move occurred ahead of the JACCC’s dedication and open house scheduled for March 2.
• Selanoco’s 15th Anniversary, page 6. Selanoco JACL celebrated its 15th anniversary with an installation dinner attended by over 125 people, featuring 1980 officers led by chapter president Hiroshi Kamei. Municipal Judge Barbara Tam Thompson of Santa Ana served as guest speaker.
• Chapter Pulse, page 7. Brief chapter news roundup covers various JACL chapters including New England’s talk on Ryoichiro Arai’s silk trade history, San Mateo’s installation dinner honoring outgoing president Terrence Terauchi, and Tri-Valley JACL’s installation at Willow Tree Restaurant featuring Assemblyman Floyd Mori. It also notes San Mateo’s efforts to designate Tanforan as a historic landmark.
• Warren Furutani Elected President of Seinan, Inc., page 8. Warren Furutani, a youth counselor at Services for Asian American Youth Continuation High School, was elected president of Seinan, Inc., a Los Angeles organization originally formed a decade ago as an anti-crime organization aiding senior citizens in the Crenshaw area. The organization now runs a 24-hour bilingual hotline coordinated by Mike Murase.

Incarceration & Redress

• Bannai Initiates Evacuation Resolution, page 1. California Assemblyman Paul Bannai announced hearings for Assembly Joint Resolution 56, which supports JACL-sponsored redress legislation to create a commission investigating the WWII evacuation and internment of Japanese Americans. Bannai, who was interned at Manzanar and served in the MIS and 442nd RCT, said the resolution has over 60 co-sponsors in the legislature.
• Gov. Brown Signs EO 9066 Reminder, page 1. California observed Feb. 19 as a ‘Day of Remembrance’ as Gov. Brown signed the first annual proclamation reflecting on the WWII internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Assemblyman Floyd Mori authored AB 621, which directs the Governor to proclaim the date each year in memory of Executive Order 9066.
• Manzanar Pilgrimage Set, page 3. The 11th annual Manzanar Pilgrimage was scheduled for April 26, with the Manzanar Committee deciding to hold the event each year on the last Saturday of April. The pilgrimage has become a tradition in the Asian American community.

In-Depth

• ‘Tommy Polka’ Dedicated to Youth Who Sailed to U.S. in 1860, by Joe Oyama, page 2. Historians have traced the later life of Tommy, the young samurai interpreter who became a sensation in America in 1860 and for whom the ‘Tommy Polka’ was composed, through his grandson Narihiro Sakurai in Japan. Tommy, whose real name was Onojiro Tateishi (later Keijiro Nagano), charmed American crowds during the Japanese Embassy’s 1860 tour of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, though he was viewed with suspicion by his fellow samurai.
• ‘For 1 George Shima There Were 1,000 Issei Laborers’, page 2. A historical account by researcher Yuji Ichioka details the gambling culture among Issei laborers, including the Tokyo Club syndicate in prewar Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo that fed unemployed Issei during the Depression, and anti-gambling campaigns led by Salvation Army figure Kobayashi in Fresno. The piece also covers pioneer publisher Kyutaro Abiko’s efforts to settle Japanese farmers permanently in communities like Livingston, California.
• More Data Dug Up on Peking Man, page 8. Chinese scientists described details of Peking Man’s life to visiting U.S. science writers in Peking, describing a creature that hunted game, cooked over fire, and was gregarious, with age estimates now at about 460,000 years. The article notes that several intact skulls mysteriously disappeared during WWII, with another discovered in 1966.

Obituaries

• Joyce Enomoto Dies Suddenly, page 2. Joyce Enomoto, wife of past national JACL president Jerry Enomoto, died suddenly Feb. 19 of apparent heart failure in Sacramento after being hospitalized for flu days earlier. Final rites were held at the Buddhist Church.

Arts & Entertainment

• ‘Sansei’ Novelist, by H.H., page 2. A book review covers Dennis Keene’s translation of ‘Love and Other Stories’ by Japanese novelist Riichi Yokomitsu, published by the University of Tokyo Press as part of the Japan Foundation Translation Series. The review discusses Yokomitsu’s place in Japanese literary history and his largely forgotten legacy despite his prominence in the 1920s and 1930s.

National

• Two U.S. Groups Show Interest in Bills to Aid Hibakusha, page 2. Kanji Kuramoto, chairman of the Committee for Atomic Bomb Survivors in the U.S., reported contact with groups representing non-Japanese atomic bomb survivors, including U.S. veterans of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Nevada test downwinders represented by attorney Stewart Udall. Marine veteran Harry Coppola is cited as seeking VA compensation for radiation-related illness from his WWII service in Nagasaki.
• Controversy Lingers Over Use of Pesticides in Agriculture, page 3. Hood River Valley orchardist Ray Yasui relies on chemical herbicides and pesticides to maintain pear crop quality amid ongoing controversy over chemical use in Oregon agriculture. UC Riverside chemistry professor Roy Fukuto’s team found impurities in pesticides like malathion that may prevent the liver from detoxifying the chemical, prompting continued federal research funding.
• Organizations: Mary Lee Au Elected National President of OCA, page 8. Mary Lee Au of Washington, D.C., president of the L.A. Associates of Potomac, was elected national president of the Organization of Chinese Americans, succeeding Alex Mark. She is a graduate of West Chester State and holds an M.A. from USC, and serves on the Montgomery County Public Schools Minority Relations Advisory Board.
• Politics: George Bush for President Club Formed in the West, page 8. Nisei attorney Robert Iwasaki of Los Angeles serves as vice president of what is regarded as the first ‘George Bush for President’ Club in the West. His Little Tokyo office is coordinating with a Los Angeles chapter led by veteran attorney Caryl Warner, who had spoken out on the WWII Evacuation.

Commentary

• New Leadership, by Clifford Uyeda, page 4. National JACL President Clifford Uyeda reflects on the upcoming 1980 convention and biennium transition, announcing he will not seek re-election despite requests to do so. He describes the frequent change of leadership as JACL’s strength, not weakness, bringing fresh ideas and directions.
• From Our New Office, by Harry Honda, page 4. Editor Harry Honda traces the 30-year history of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center from its origins as a Nisei Week Festival trust fund in the 1950s to its completion as a $1.6 million, six-story building in Little Tokyo. The piece details the various tenants moving into the building, including the Pacific Citizen’s new offices, ahead of the March 2 dedication ceremony.
• Job Bias Case, by Yoshiaki Tashima, page 4. A letter from Salinas Valley JACLer Yoshiaki Tashima describes his experience of racial discrimination when applying for a management position with the Social Security Administration. He encourages other Asians to fight back against employment discrimination, including an excerpt from the agency’s official letter acknowledging the discrimination and ordering his retroactive promotion.
• President’s List, by Sunkie Oye, page 4. A letter provides corrections and additions to the Chapter President’s List published earlier, including names from Seabrook, Sequoia, Stockton, Hoosier, Las Vegas, Long Beach-Harbor, Mid-Columbia, Milwaukee, New Age, New York, and Orange County JACL chapters. The letter lists specific presidents and their years of service.
• Denver, Colo. (From the Frying Pan), by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa recounts how his family secretly arranged for his children to visit from out of town, culminating in a surprise birthday party orchestrated by his wife and daughters. He describes the elaborate deception and his eventual realization that the gathering was in his honor.
• A Milestone Forgotten & Remembered, by Sachi Seko, page 5. Columnist Sachi Seko reflects on destroying decades of family business records and discovering old uncollected bad checks and IOUs from Japanese American families during hard times. She recalls her mother’s wisdom in forgiving old debts, exemplified by burning a great-aunt’s ledger of unpaid loans to Nisei students, believing that ‘someone has to forgive past debts.’
• Perils of Karl, by John J. Saito, page 6. PSW regional director John Saito recounts a harrowing drive to a Santa Barbara JACL chapter installation dinner during severe flooding, with roads washing out and cars stranded in mud. He and JACL leader Karl Nobuyuki were forced to stay overnight at a motel before returning to Los Angeles the next day, missing both the installation and a district council meeting.

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