The 1989 holiday issue: JACL after redress

Vol. 109, No. 20, December 22, 1989. 112 pages. View this issue

The Pacific Citizen’s 1989 holiday issue looked at what comes after redress. Following the entitlement legislation, the editorial “A Logical Question: Now What?” asked whether JACL should seek to overturn the Supreme Court’s wartime decisions in the Yasui, Hirabayashi and Korematsu cases. Jerry Enomoto of the Legislative Education Committee and Cherry Kinoshita recalled the lobbying behind the Civil Liberties Act, while Hank Tanaka and Priscilla Ouchida wrote about JACL’s own future. Bill Hosokawa spoke at the Heart Mountain reunion and wrote about the Nisei veterans, and Arthur T. Morimitsu recalled daily life at Tule Lake.

Also inside: a set of letters tracing the path to redress, first-person reports from the 1989 JACL Washington Leadership Conference, and a short history of the Japan Chapter by Barry Saiki. Karl Ichida’s prize-winning short story “Yukan” appears on page 73. About 82 of the issue’s 112 pages carry holiday greetings, including ads from the Contra Costa, San Fernando Valley and Orange County areas.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• A Logical Question: Now What?, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Following JACL’s successful decade-long fight for redress, culminating in entitlement legislation, the editorial asks what the organization should pursue next. It argues JACL should seek to overturn the Supreme Court’s wartime decisions in the Yasui, Hirabayashi and Korematsu cases, which remain dangerous legal precedents despite the government’s later vacating of the charges.
• Library Could Teach Younger Nikkei Their Heritage, by Mas Odoi, Ken Sato, Ed Suguro, page 50. The authors propose that local JACL chapters establish small community libraries and activities centers to educate Sansei youth about Japanese American history and heritage, citing existing examples in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Gardena and Seattle. They request JACL and community support, including book and fund donations, for Seattle’s Japanese American Heritage Library Committee project.
• After Redress: Fighting Prejudice, by Christine Ann Nishihira, page 50. The Fremont JACL chapter’s redress coordinator expresses dismay at a rise in anti-Asian racism, citing incidents including an anti-Asian letter at College of San Mateo, the Stockton schoolyard shooting, and a California assemblyman’s use of a racial slur. She calls for education of youth and accountability for adults who make prejudiced remarks.
• Roar of Silence, by Tom Arima (Manzen), page 76. The narrator, an elderly man named Old Arai, reflects on his silent, stoic father’s transformation during and after wartime incarceration, and on the importance of organizations like JACL continuing to build for the future despite anti-Asian sentiment resurfacing. He vows to donate part of his eventual redress check to National JACL in gratitude for its past and future role.
• Microwave Tea (An Ode to the 1990s), by Philip Tajitsu Nash, page 78. This poem contrasts the narrator’s modern, convenience-driven preparation of green tea using a microwave with an imagined scene of people brewing tea over a fire amid urban hardship. It reflects on generational and cultural disconnection from tradition in the context of 1980s lifestyles.
• A Nikkei Problem: Improper Identification, by Allan Beekman, page 97. The author argues that the historical mistreatment of Japanese Americans stemmed not from racial prejudice but from nationalism and the persistent misidentification of Nikkei as being of Japanese rather than American nationality. He traces this identification problem through Hawaiian history from the Gannen Mono immigrants through World War II internment, warning that Nikkei prominence in business and politics today could again trigger American nationalist backlash.
• Reflections on the JACL Lobbying Experience, by Cherry Kinoshita, page 101. A JACL vice-president recounts her years of grassroots lobbying for redress legislation among Washington state’s congressional delegation, describing detailed, persistent, face-to-face meetings with representatives like Don Bonker and Al Swift who eventually became supporters. She credits the national network of JACL volunteers across many states for educating legislators and securing votes for H.R. 442.

Obituaries

• A Tribute to Dyke Miyagawa, by Taxie Kusunoki, page 25. Journalist Daisho Dyke Miyagawa, known for his unpretentious writing style and column ‘Big Town Brew,’ died of cancer at age 74 in Playa del Rey, California. The tribute recounts his career from pre-war labor organizing among Japanese cannery workers in Seattle, through his work on camp newspapers and the Pacific Citizen, to his later career counseling prisoners for the California Department of Corrections.

Incarceration & Redress

• A Set of Historic Letters, page 30. A collection of letters documents the path to redress legislation, including correspondence between New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, writer Grant Ujifusa, and June Masuda Goto regarding President Reagan’s personal connection to Japanese American redress. The letters recount a 1945 ceremony where Captain Ronald Reagan and General Stilwell honored a fallen Nisei soldier, and include Reagan’s 1988 letter marking the signing of H.R. 442.
• Redress Recognition, by George Ogawa, page 49. The article credits the many individuals and organizations responsible for achieving redress, including the original test-case plaintiffs Korematsu, Hirabayashi, Yasui and Endo, researcher Aiko Herzig, legislators, and civil rights organizations. It warns against complacency, citing the historical risk of unconstitutional detention of immigrant groups such as Iranians and Palestinians.
• Educating the Public, by Kango Kunitsugu, page 78. The author criticizes ongoing public ignorance about the Japanese American wartime evacuation and internment, particularly comments suggesting internees were ‘coddled’ while others fought the war, citing the deaths of two Nisei soldier brothers whose parents remained in the Rohwer camp. He calls for continued public education efforts, including through the upcoming Rohwer Reunion.
• Fleeting Impressions, by Arthur T. Morimitsu, page 78. The author recalls daily life at the Tule Lake Relocation Center, describing the harsh desert conditions, the disruption of family structures, and the controversy surrounding the loyalty oath that divided internees. He connects this history to the recent signing of the redress entitlement bill by President Bush and calls for healing within Japanese American communities.

JACL

• A Short History of the Japan Chapter, by Barry Saiki, page 32. The article traces the formation of JACL’s Japan Chapter in 1980, growing out of earlier Nisei social organizations in Tokyo including the Nisei Kyokai, MISLSA, and the Nisei-Sansei Club. It describes the chapter’s early leadership, its evolving membership from mostly MIS veterans to increasingly Sansei members, and its participation in national JACL conventions over the following decade.
• JACL-LEC and Redress, by Jerry Enomoto, page 49. The chair of JACL’s Legislative Education Committee recounts the decade-long campaign for redress, crediting numerous individuals including Min Yasui, Grayce Uyehara, Grant Ujifusa, and congressional allies like Senators Matsunaga and Inouye. He notes that with President Bush’s signing of the entitlement provision, the LEC Board must now consider its future role.
• An Investment in the Future, by Paul Igasaki, page 50. The JACL Washington representative describes the success of the 1989 JACL Washington Leadership Conference, which brought a dozen young JACL leaders to the capital for briefings on government processes and civil rights issues. He argues JACL must exercise national leadership on issues beyond its own community, including anti-Asian violence and immigration, building on momentum from the redress victory.
• Motivated towards Contributing, by Lucy Kishiue, page 51. A participant in the 1989 JACL Washington D.C. Leadership Conference describes the renewed energy and motivation she gained from meeting Nikkei members of Congress and fellow JACL participants. She highlights the need for JACL to build coalitions with other organizations and sustain the momentum created by dedicated leadership.
• Conference Leads to New Insights, by Joe Soong, page 51. A Pacific Southwest District Council representative to the 1989 JACL Washington Leadership Conference describes visiting the Smithsonian’s exhibit on Japanese American relocation, meeting fellow JACLers from across the country, and observing Congress in action, including a House vote on elder health care. He reflects on the importance of coalition-building and recounts meetings with Representatives Mineta, Matsui and Saiki, and Senators Inouye and Matsunaga.
• The 1990s: JACL after Redress, by Hank Tanaka, page 102. The chair of JACL’s Long Range Planning Committee describes a series of nine workshops conducted across JACL districts in 1989 to gather member input on the organization’s mission, strengths, weaknesses and future goals following redress. Common themes included the need to recruit younger members, develop leadership, secure stable funding, and build coalitions with other organizations ahead of a strategic plan to be presented at the 1990 San Diego convention.
• Rebuilding and Revitalizing, by Priscilla Ouchida, page 102. The National JACL vice-president for General Operations argues that after redress, JACL’s top priority should be organizational survival through leadership development and membership recruitment. She highlights successful leadership programs in the Pacific Southwest District and Washington D.C., and suggests chapters respond to the community’s Americanization by offering culturally relevant social and educational programs.

Military & Veterans

• From Evacuation to Redress: A Speech Delivered at the Third Heart Mountain Reunion, by Bill Hosokawa, page 64. In a speech given at the 1989 Heart Mountain Reunion, Hosokawa recounts the mass arrival of Japanese American evacuees at the Wyoming camp in 1942 and reflects on the bond of shared survival among former internees. He quotes President Reagan’s 1988 signing statement on the Civil Liberties Act and urges attendees to never forget the injustice while forgiving it.
• The Horrors of War, the Nisei Vet and Redress, by Bill Hosokawa, page 65. Hosokawa argues that Americans owe an enormous debt to Nisei veterans whose combat sacrifices are not fully understood, citing a Paul Fussell article on the psychological toll of World War II combat. He traces how the Nisei military record enabled legislative victories for Japanese Americans, from the Evacuation Claims Act to redress, quoting Senator Inouye and Congressman Don Edwards.

Arts & Entertainment

• Yukan, by Karl Ichida, page 73. This award-winning short story follows a Boston-based doctor returning to Honolulu for his mother’s funeral, where he confronts long-suppressed family tensions with his sisters and uncovers a secret about his birth mother, Jennie, a woman he had befriended as a child. The story, winner of the 11th annual James Clavell American Japanese National Literary Award, explores themes of giri, family obligation, and reconciliation with one’s heritage.

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