The 1988 holiday issue: Redress and the Civil Liberties Act

Vol. 107, No. 20, December 23, 1988. 128 pages. View this issue

The Pacific Citizen’s 1988 holiday issue looked at redress after the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Wayne D. Kimura wrote about traveling to Washington, D.C. to see President Reagan sign H.R. 442. Richard Tanaka and Cherry Kinoshita considered what the Evacuation and the redress movement meant for later generations, and June K. Tsutsui told of losing her first-born son at birth while held at a camp in Colorado. Mike Masaoka, with Bill Hosokawa, recalled JACL’s decision to cooperate in 1942, and Shigeya Kihara wrote about the 100th/442nd and MIS soldiers and redress.

Other pieces include Mike Hoshiko’s visit to the Rohwer camp site in Arkansas, Florence Date Smith’s memoir of Tanforan and Topaz, and a short story by Jimmy Tokeshi in which an Issei grandfather wants to take his granddaughter to see Manzanar. Commentary pages carried poems marking the signing of the bill. About 86 of the issue’s 128 pages are holiday greetings from JACL chapters and others, including San Diego, Ventura County, Berkeley, Contra Costa and Tulare County.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• The President Signs the Redress Bill, by Wayne D. Kimura, page 13. Kimura recounts his trip with a JACL group from Seattle to Washington, D.C. to witness President Reagan sign H.R. 442, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, on August 10, 1988. He describes the hurried travel arrangements, meeting prominent JACL figures like Pat Okura, Jerry Enomoto, and Harry Honda, and the emotional signing ceremony where Reagan recounted his own role as a young actor presenting a posthumous award to Sgt. Kaz Masuda’s family.
• The Future After Redress, by Richard Tanaka, page 14. Tanaka examines how the Evacuation changed the social structure of Japanese Americans across generations, from Issei who lost patriarchal roles to Nisei who became more publicly visible and Sansei/Yonsei who inherited psychological effects despite not experiencing camp directly. He argues that the unspoken trauma and enryo (reserve) behavior passed down through generations continues to affect younger Japanese Americans’ confidence and assertiveness.
• Perspectives of a Social Movement, by Cherry Kinoshita, page 15. Kinoshita analyzes the redress campaign through the sociological framework of “social movements,” examining its value, power, and participation orientations as described by theorist Ralph Turner. She traces the movement’s evolution from initial incipient unrest through the commission study phase to final legislative victory, highlighting internal divisions between “commission” and “direct redress” factions.
• A History Reborn\u2014A Time to Mourn, by June K. Tsutsui, page 15. Tsutsui shares her personal story of losing her first-born son at birth while interned at a camp in Colorado due to inadequate medical care. She reflects on how the redress movement forced her to finally confront and grieve this buried trauma decades later, expressing gratitude to those who worked for redress while noting no amount of money could compensate for her loss.
• Decision to Cooperate, by Mike Masaoka with Bill Hosokawa, page 25. Masaoka recounts JACL’s role before the Tolan Committee hearings in 1942, describing how he testified believing democracy was working, only to learn later that mass evacuation had already been decided before the hearings even began. He explains the agonizing decision facing JACL leadership to cooperate with Army evacuation orders rather than risk violence, believing cooperation would demonstrate loyalty and potentially speed their return home.
• Putting Rohwer, Ark. on the Map, by Mike Hoshiko, page 29. Hoshiko describes his visit to the former Rohwer Relocation Camp site in Arkansas, guided by Sam Yada who had raised funds for a memorial monument listing 31 Japanese American soldiers who died in combat. He successfully petitioned Rand McNally to add Rohwer to their road atlas for the 1989 edition, ensuring the site’s historical significance would be preserved on maps.
• Congressional Record Looks at \u2018Moses Masaoka\u2019, page 39. This piece reproduces Rep. Don Edwards’ 1987 Congressional Record remarks praising Mike Masaoka’s autobiography \”They Call Me Moses Masaoka,\” detailing Masaoka’s decades of civil rights advocacy and his controversial wartime cooperation with evacuation orders. Edwards argues Masaoka’s work, including influencing postwar U.S.-Japan relations and immigration law, cannot be separated from the ultimate achievement of redress legislation.
• Behind the Scenes Dynamics of Redress, by Bruce Stokes, page 53. This National Journal article reprint details the political strategy behind redress legislation, including New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean’s personal lobbying of President Reagan using the WWII story of Reagan presenting a posthumous award to a Japanese American soldier’s family. It also covers the successful campaign against Rep. Dan Lungren’s confirmation as California state treasurer, led by Japanese American activists who opposed his vote against redress.
• Comparatively Few Internees Came From Hawaii, by Allan Beekman, page 54. Beekman details how despite Hawaii’s large Japanese population (one-third of residents), only a small percentage were actually interned compared to West Coast internment rates, due to economic and logistical constraints as well as recognition of Nikkei importance to Hawaii’s economy. He describes the martial law declared after Pearl Harbor, the internment of specific suspected individuals, and contrasts this with the espionage case of German spy Otto Kuehn.
• A Comparison of U.S. Treatment of German and Italian POWs with Interned Japanese Americans During WW2, by Ronald Nelson, page 66. Nelson provides a detailed academic comparison showing German and Italian POWs received significantly better treatment than interned Japanese Americans in areas including initial treatment, transportation, housing, food, pay, and education. He argues this disparity reflects underlying government policies of racial prejudice toward Japanese Americans dating back decades before the war, including California’s discriminatory Alien Land Laws.
• A Touch of It in Greenwood, B.C., by Harry K. Honda, page 90. Honda describes visiting Greenwood, British Columbia, a former mining ghost town where Japanese Canadians were relocated during WWII and many chose to remain afterward due to the community’s welcoming treatment. He explores the local museum’s exhibits on Japanese Canadian internment history and notes Canada’s redress compensation process was proceeding faster than the U.S. due to the smaller affected population.

In-Depth

• A Quest for Justice, by James Kumpel, page 25. Kumpel, a mixed-race Japanese American college student, describes how learning about his grandfather’s WWII internment sparked his activism for redress education and legislation. He details writing papers, giving lectures, organizing conferences, and interning in Congress to support the passage of H.R. 442.
• The Broken Lines of Age, by Jimmy Tokeshi, page 41. This short story follows Doshu Todoki, an elderly Issei man, as he reflects on his life and the changes since 1942 while sitting on a rock overlooking a city at dusk. His granddaughter Dorothy finds him and he insists on taking her to see Manzanar at Christmas, wanting her to understand and remember the camp experience that shaped his generation.
• A Letter to a Daughter, by Patsy Saiki, page 43. This award-winning fictional piece presents a mother’s unsent letter to her daughter Namie, reflecting on decades of hardship as a Japanese immigrant wife and mother in Hawaii, including her husband’s four-year separation before she could join him and raising children in poverty. The story reveals the mother was dying of cancer when she wrote it, and the daughter discovers the letter only after her mother’s death.
• The Japanese American Experience or As I Remember It, by Florence Date Smith, page 59. Smith recounts her personal experience of the WWII evacuation and internment, from hearing about Pearl Harbor while at UC Berkeley to living in Tanforan Assembly Center and Topaz internment camp where she taught school for $19 a month. She reflects on the psychological conflict between American democratic values and Japanese cultural concepts of authority and conformity that shaped her generation’s response to injustice.
• Keetley Reunion Brings Together Friends and Neighbors, by Grace Miyamoto, page 69. Miyamoto describes a reunion of families who voluntarily relocated from California to a farm settlement in Keetley, Utah during WWII, organized by her father Fred Wada, avoiding the incarceration camps entirely. The reunion honored local townspeople like the O’Toole family and Dr. Whermitt who supported the settlers despite early hostility including a dynamite incident meant to scare them away.
• A Session at Tak’s Place, by Manzen (Tom Arima), page 78. This fictional piece follows retired JACLer Tak Arai and his friends Nobe, Joe, and Mits as they discuss the aftermath of redress passage, JACL’s purpose and identity, membership struggles, and the need for JACL to embrace being a catalyst organization that spawns and supports other community groups. The characters ultimately conclude JACL should focus on its constitutional purpose of protecting civil rights while serving as an umbrella supporting single-issue organizations.
• Lost Possessions Mean Lost History, by Jane B. Kaihatsu, page 89. Kaihatsu reflects on how the forced evacuation caused Japanese American families to lose or destroy personal possessions like photographs, dolls, and heirlooms that would have provided insight into their ancestors’ lives and Japanese heritage. She argues this represents a lasting \”absence of legacy\” for Sansei and Yonsei generations beyond the more commonly discussed losses of property and civil rights.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Loyalty and the Success of Redress, by Shigeya Kihara, page 25. Kihara argues that the extraordinary loyalty and combat record of the 100th/442nd and MIS soldiers was the crucial factor enabling redress legislation to succeed, despite the fact that in 1942 the government viewed Japanese Americans with suspicion rather than recognizing their loyalty. He details the formation of these units from Hawaii’s National Guard and mainland volunteers despite discriminatory treatment.
• John Aiso and the MIS, by James Oda, page 55. Oda explores the internal tensions at the Military Intelligence Service Language School, including conflicts between Japanese American instructor John Aiso and commandant Rasmussen, and addresses controversial claims about loyalty questions among Nisei MIS soldiers during WWII. He details Aiso’s refusal to write his own autobiography before his death and speculates on the political reasons behind this reluctance.

Commentary

• Some Good in Everybody?, by Jack Herzig, page 40. Herzig delivers a scathing critique of redress opponents including John McCloy, Karl Bendetsen, Rep. Sam Stratton, Lillian Baker, and others, exposing contradictions and falsehoods in their testimony against Japanese American redress claims. He contrasts their misinformation with his own research debunking myths about MAGIC cables and wartime \”military necessity\” justifications for internment.
• The Plain of Jars, by Mary Shimasaki, page 60. This poem uses the ancient stone jars of Laos as witnesses to centuries of war and suffering, from ancient conflicts to the Vietnam War bombing campaigns, questioning humanity’s capacity for destruction despite its creative achievements. The poem calls for transforming \”walls into dialogues\” and \”swords into plowshares.\”
• Streetwise, by Marshall Sumida, page 60. Sumida offers a philosophical reflection on developing mental resilience and problem-solving skills, describing \”street wise\” as the capacity to anticipate hidden obstacles and learn from setbacks rather than seeking scapegoats. He encourages readers to view failures as learning experiences and persist with the \”Go For Broke\” spirit.
• A Nisei’s Continuing Faith, by May Iwahashi, page 60. This poem written upon the signing of the Civil Liberties Act expresses the pain of wartime internment’s deprivations and humiliations, followed by relief and vindication upon redress. The poet transforms her personal liberation into a call for continued work toward justice and dignity for all oppressed peoples.
• A Time, by Fred Yamashita, page 60. This poem questions the contradiction between American ideals of freedom and justice and the reality of Japanese American internment, expressing anger and confusion at being denied rights while family members served in the military. The poem ends with a pledge to fight for recognition as \”true Americans\” despite unjust treatment.
• The Reality of Life in the South, by Herbert M. Sasaki, page 87. Sasaki, a longtime Mississippi resident, critiques a previous Pacific Citizen article’s inaccurate portrayal of Southern \”redneck\” racism and KKK activity, arguing the article conflated Japanese and Japanese American issues incorrectly and ignored the significant Japanese economic presence and mixed Japanese American population in Southern states. He advocates for JACL to recognize and organize the large population of mixed-race Japanese Americans living throughout the Southeast.

Community

• Monterey Peninsula JACL: Building on Old Roots, by Yoneo John Gota, page 46. Gota chronicles the history of the Monterey Japanese Association Hall, built in 1925 partly through a donation from a visiting Japanese prince, which served as a community center for decades before being used as a WWII armory and later restored by the JACL. The building hosted Japanese language school, cultural events, and organizational activities for the local Nikkei community.

JACL

• Service is the Dividend with the JACL Credit Union, by Shigeki Ushio, page 87. Ushio explains the advantages of credit unions as non-profit cooperative financial institutions, highlighting the National JACL Credit Union’s 45 years of operation, tax benefits, and common-bond membership structure. He encourages members to use the credit union for redress compensation deposits and describes planned expanded services including VISA cards and ATM access.
• Golden Gate Chapter’s JACL Voice is Mighty, by Clifford Uyeda, page 88. Uyeda details the extensive advocacy activities of the small Golden Gate JACL Chapter since its 1980 founding, including campaigns against racism, support for civil and human rights causes like the Navajo Big Mountain relocation, and various JACL internal reform efforts. The chapter, despite its size, won recognition awards and successfully nominated several JACL National Convention award winners.

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