The 1984 holiday issue: the Kibei, plus the Hawaii convention

Vol. 99, No. 25, December 21, 1984. 128 pages. View this issue

The Pacific Citizen’s annual holiday issue for 1984 centered on the Kibei, the Nisei who were sent to Japan for schooling and later returned to America. Harry K. Honda and Karen Seriguchi explain the choice of theme, and the feature pages draw on Yamato Ichihashi, Morton Grodzins and Roger Daniels, with Bill Hosokawa, Bill Marutani and John F. Aiso writing on Kibei life, wartime loyalties and their work as Military Intelligence Service linguists. Related pieces cover the Mitsuye Endo case and General DeWitt’s Final Report.

The front page also carried Allan Beekman’s account of the 1889 lynching of Katsu Goto in Hawaii, Miki Himeno’s recap of the 1984 JACL National Convention in Waikiki, and Ferris Takahashi’s short story “Drops of Water.” Inside are more short stories, among them “Matsutake” by Tama Tokuda, and holiday greetings that fill about 98 of the 128 pages. Two pullout sections came enclosed.

What’s in this issue

National

• Katsu Goto: The Strange Case of a Japanese Immigrant Lynched in Hawaii, by Allan Beekman, page 1. This in-depth historical account recounts the 1889 lynching of Katsu Goto, a Japanese immigrant who rose from plantation laborer to successful Honoka’a storekeeper on the Island of Hawaii. Goto was murdered by plantation overseers and associates who suspected him of inciting Japanese laborers against planter Robert Overend, leading to a sensational trial that resulted in manslaughter convictions.
• Report from the Pacific Southwest District, by Harry Kajihara, page 1. PSWDC Governor Harry Kajihara reports on the district’s major activities and accomplishments during his term, including meeting redress fundraising pledges, launching a membership drive contest, and establishing new committees for women’s concerns, ethnic concerns, and Sansei leadership development. He calls for JACL to prepare Japanese American women and Sansei for leadership positions in government and industry as the organization looks beyond redress.
• Operation Magic: How Code-Breaking Intelligence Complicates the Pearl Harbor and Internment Narrative, by Marshall Sumida, page 36. This detailed analytical piece examines the top-secret ‘Operation Magic’ code-breaking program, revealing how many Japanese American linguists, including Kibei, worked for U.S. intelligence rather than the enemy, contradicting the premise behind the internment order. It also traces how information about Magic was suppressed during the 1944 election and influenced Supreme Court Justice Owen Roberts’ later dissenting opinions in the Korematsu and Endo cases.

In-Depth

• From Aloha to Sayonara: Thanks for the Memories of the 1984 JACL National Convention, by Miki Himeno, page 1. A detailed recap of the 28th Biennial JACL National Convention held in Waikiki, Hawaii, the first JACL convention held outside the continental U.S., featuring appearances by Governor George Ariyoshi, Senators Inouye and Matsunaga, and numerous firsts including women’s concerns programming and a Punchbowl memorial ceremony for Nisei veterans. The piece credits convention chairman Edgar Hamasu and the Honolulu Chapter committee members for the event’s success.
• Drops of Water, by Ferris Takahashi, page 1. This short story follows Jiro, an elderly homeless Japanese man living on the streets near Venice Beach, California, whose life was shaped by immigration, internment, and post-war hardship. A social worker named Robert Hidemi attempts to help him, eventually placing him in a shelter, where Jiro finds a small moment of connection and peace while freeing a trapped bee from a window.
• About This Issue: Annual Holiday Edition Focuses on the Kibei, by Karen Seriguchi, page 3. The PC editorial staff explains the production of the annual holiday issue despite equipment failures, thanking contributing writers, artists and advertisers for making it the most successful issue in PC history for ad revenue. The piece also introduces the issue’s special theme on the Kibei, inspired by controversy over the NHK-TV series Sanga Moyu.
• Different Stories of the Kibei, by Bill Hosokawa, page 15. Veteran journalist Bill Hosokawa shares personal family history and broader analysis of the diverse reasons Nisei children were sent to Japan for upbringing or education, becoming Kibei upon their return to America. He explores the cultural adjustment struggles Kibei faced, their varied wartime loyalties, and their crucial contributions to the U.S. war effort as linguists and interpreters, closing with the story of his own cousin who died serving in military intelligence.
• Heroic Struggles: James Oda’s Account of Kibei Diversity and Liberal Activism at Manzanar, by James Oda, page 29. This piece excerpts James Oda’s 1980 book describing the diverse political backgrounds of Kibei detained at Manzanar, including progressive activists involved in labor organizing and Young Democrats groups. Oda, a Kibei himself who worked as a Japanese instructor at Camp Savage, recounts a speech he gave praising Kibei volunteers who denounced militarist Japan while serving in the U.S. military.

Incarceration & Redress

• A Theme Renewed: Why This Year’s Holiday Issue Focuses on the Kibei, by Harry K. Honda, page 3. PC Board Chair Harry Honda explains the rationale for centering the 1984 Holiday Issue on the Kibei, noting past themes covered in previous holiday issues and the lack of general awareness about this ‘minority of minorities’ within the Japanese American community. The piece frames the Kibei story as an important but often overlooked legacy within Nikkei history.
• Ichihashi: Second-Generation Japanese in America, Defining the Kibei, by Yamato Ichihashi, page 4. Excerpted from Stanford professor Yamato Ichihashi’s 1932 book Japanese in the United States, this piece defines and categorizes the various subgroups of second-generation Japanese Americans, including Nisei, Kibei, young Issei, and Yobiyose. It explores the complex legal and citizenship issues facing American-born Japanese due to dual nationality laws between the U.S. and Japan.
• Grodzins: Justice Department Considered Expatriation of Kibei Before Evacuation, by Morton Grodzins, page 5. Excerpted from Morton Grodzins’ 1949 book Americans Betrayed, this piece details how the Justice Department in early 1942 explored legal theories to target Kibei citizens for expatriation before the mass evacuation decision, based on their Japanese schooling and Shinto worship. It highlights internal government debates over how to handle American citizens of Japanese ancestry during the war hysteria.
• DeWitt: Kibei Movement and the Final Report on the Japanese Evacuation, page 14. This piece presents excerpts from General John DeWitt’s 1943 Final Report on the Japanese Evacuation, which cited the Kibei Shimin movement and Japanese language schools as justification for mass evacuation, claims that were later thoroughly discredited by scholars. The article also notes that the JACL brief filed in the Korematsu case directly rebutted DeWitt’s allegations.
• Daniels: Kibei Viewed as ‘Right-Wing’ Opposition to JACL at Manzanar, by Roger Daniels, page 14. Excerpted from Prof. Roger Daniels’ 1981 book Concentration Camps, this piece describes how some Kibei became associated with opposition to JACL’s wartime collaboration policy, including the 1942 Manzanar riot following the assault of JACL leader Fred Tayama. It also credits Kibei for their crucial wartime contributions as combat interrogators and translators.
• Dies Committee Report Spread Myths About Kibei and Japanese Language Schools, page 21. This piece covers the 1942 Dies Committee (House Un-American Activities Committee) report that falsely characterized Kibei as uniformly loyal to Japan, a claim later refuted by the WRA. It also includes 1943 testimony from a former U.S. customs official calling Kibei ‘most dangerous’ while dismissing other portions of the community as less threatening.
• A Salute to Mitsuye Endo, by Mei Nakano and Marshall Sumida, page 22. This article recounts the story of Mitsuye Endo, the American citizen whose habeas corpus case led to the Supreme Court’s 1944 ruling that the WRA detention of loyal citizens was illegal, ultimately ending the camp confinement. It highlights her personal sacrifice in remaining imprisoned for three years to see the case through to its conclusion for the benefit of all detainees.
• WRA Statistics on Kibei Education and Residence in Japan, page 22. This piece presents detailed statistical tables from the War Relocation Authority’s 1946 Final Report, breaking down evacuees’ education, age, and length of residence in Japan by nativity and sex. The data was used by scholars to study the demographics of the Kibei population within the broader internment camp population.
• DeWitt’s Final Report Labels 112,000 ‘Potential Enemies’ and Ties Japanese Ancestry to Disloyalty, page 23. This piece critiques General DeWitt’s reasoning in his Final Report that conflated American citizens of Japanese ancestry with enemy aliens, citing his racially-based claim that loyalty to the U.S. could never fully overcome Japanese ‘racial strains.’ It also details the little-known 1942-43 U.S. government program for voluntary repatriation and expatriation of Japanese Americans via the SS Gripsholm.
• The Mitsuye Endo Case: A Detailed Legal History, page 34. This companion piece provides an in-depth legal narrative of attorney James Purcell’s habeas corpus petition on behalf of Mitsuye Endo, tracing the case from its 1942 filing through the Supreme Court’s December 1944 decision ordering her unconditional release. It analyzes the differing opinions of Justices Douglas, Murphy, and Roberts, and argues the ruling should have more directly addressed the constitutionality of the detention under the Bill of Attainder and habeas corpus clauses.
• Selected Sources on the Kibei, by Allan Beekman, page 35. This bibliography lists the key historical sources consulted in compiling the Holiday Issue’s special feature on the Kibei, spanning works from 1932 to 1984 including Ichihashi, DeWitt’s Final Report, the JACL brief, Weglyn’s Years of Infamy, and Kitano’s Japanese Americans. The author also acknowledges debts to previous writers including John Reinecke and Karl Yoneda for their earlier coverage of the Katsu Goto lynching case.

Commentary

• East Wind: For My Heart Tells Me So, by Bill Marutani, page 5. In this personal column, Judge Bill Marutani reflects on his Buddhist upbringing, his introduction to Christian Christmas carols in grade school, and his subsequent religious studies in college at a Methodist university near Tule Lake camp. He concludes with an ecumenical view that all good people of different faiths will be united in the hereafter, rejecting religious chauvinism.
• The Kibei Psyche, by Bill Marutani, page 29. In this reflective column, Judge Bill Marutani theorizes that many Kibei possessed a stronger sense of independent self-confidence and lacked the ‘second-class mentality’ that burdened many Nisei, comparing this to other immigrant groups raised abroad. He uses this observation for self-introspection about the psychological effects of growing up as a minority in America.
• Editorials: Frank Hachiya and Kenny Yasui, MIS GIs Who Proved Their Americanism, page 34. This piece reprints two wartime newspaper editorials praising Japanese American MIS soldiers Frank Hachiya of Hood River, Oregon, and Kenny Yasui of Los Angeles for their heroism in the Pacific theater. The editorials criticize anti-Japanese sentiment, such as the Hood River American Legion’s attempt to strip Japanese American names from a war memorial, contrasting it with the soldiers’ demonstrated loyalty and sacrifice.

JACL

• President’s Corner: Holiday 1984-85 Greetings, by Frank Sato, page 5. National JACL President Frank Sato extends holiday greetings to JACL members and friends, reflecting on the organization’s 55-year history and the ongoing concern for Japanese Americans and all Americans. He thanks members for their support over the past year on behalf of the national board and staff.

Military & Veterans

• Other ‘Kibei’ Titles: Nikkei Terminology from Other Countries, by Chuck Kubokawa, page 21. This short piece clarifies Japanese vernacular terms used by journalists for Nikkei who returned to Japan for education from various countries of birth, including Canada, Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Argentina. Each term combines ‘Ki’ (returning) with a word representing the country of origin.
• Aiso: Moral Strength of the MIS Nisei – The Vital Role of Kibei Linguists, by John F. Aiso, page 28. Retired California appellate court Justice John F. Aiso, who served as academic director of the Military Intelligence Service language school, explains that Kibei were often the most qualified personnel for MIS language duties due to their fluency in Japanese and cultural knowledge. He describes the internal moral conflict many Kibei faced between duty to America and deeply ingrained Japanese values of filial piety and gratitude.

Arts & Entertainment

• Matsutake, by Tama Tokuda, page 28. This short story follows a Japanese American woman and her husband George on an annual matsutake (pine mushroom) hunting trip in the Washington Cascades with old friends, weaving in memories of her late father’s final day spent sharing mushrooms with friends before his death. The story, which won a Seattle writing contest, captures the ritual, nostalgia, and quiet joy the couple finds in the autumn forest tradition.
• Rest in Peace: A Hiroshima Survivor’s Journey to America, by Sharon M. Kusunoki, page 30. This award-winning short story follows Kenji, an 8-year-old boy who survives the atomic bombing of Hiroshima but loses his entire family, and is eventually adopted by an American missionary couple who help him overcome his hatred of America. The story culminates decades later with Kenji’s adult reflection on loss, forgiveness, and his own son’s death from leukemia caused by the bomb’s lingering radiation effects, winning the American Japanese Literary Award established by James Clavell.

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