Voting rights and civil rights law, plus a bookshelf of reviews

Vol. 115, No. 7, September 11, 1992. 12 pages. View this issue

Voting rights and civil rights law led the news in this 12-page issue. President Bush signed the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992, which extends bilingual voting materials to about 200,000 more Asian Americans. In California, the legislature passed the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1992, leaving its fate to Gov. Pete Wilson. JACL National President Lillian C. Kimura described her first hundred days in office, and Gwen Muranaka reported on Asian American SAT results.

Harry K. Honda filled page 7 with book reviews, among them Yoshiko Uchida’s memoir The Invisible Thread, which recalls her time at Topaz. He also wrote about a Yellowstone hot spring and two Issei who ran a laundry nearby. Bill Hosokawa wrote about the Balch Institute’s collections, and Bill Marutani about the Nikkei engineers called the Chowhounds. Planning for the 1994 JACL convention in Salt Lake City and a call for holiday issue stories also appeared.

What’s in this issue

National

• Asian American groups approve signing of new Voting Rights Act, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Bush signed the Voting Rights Improvement Act of 1992, which expands Section 203 coverage requiring bilingual voting materials for Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. The new coverage will extend bilingual voting materials to about 200,000 Asian Americans in nine counties across California, New York, and Hawaii who previously lacked such assistance.
• California legislature passes ’92 Civil Rights Restoration Act, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The California State Legislature passed the California Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1992 on its final day of session, targeting employment and housing discrimination and prohibiting English-only workplace rules. The bill’s fate now rests with Gov. Pete Wilson, who vetoed a similar anti-discrimination bill the previous year.
• 90% of Asian Americans take college test in 1992, by Gwen Muranaka, page 1. According to the College Board’s annual SAT report, 90% of Asian American high school graduates took the test in 1992, up from 67% in 1987, far outpacing other ethnic groups. Asian Americans scored well above average in math but below average in verbal, and many respondents were recent immigrants with non-citizen status.
• Justice Department awards grants to non-profit agencies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Department of Justice awarded $3 million in grants to 22 non-profit organizations, including the Asian Pacific Legal Center of Los Angeles and the Organization of Chinese Americans, to conduct public education on employment discrimination. The grants aim to educate both employers and employees about rights and responsibilities under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
• Fair housing enforcement being hindered, says Civil Rights commission, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report warns that fair housing enforcement is in jeopardy after Sept. 13, when up to 100 state and local agencies processing federal fair housing complaints may be unable to continue due to HUD certification requirements. Only 14 agencies have met the required standards, prompting criticism from commission vice chairperson Charles Pei Wang about inadequate government leadership on housing discrimination.
• Matsui bill on child welfare aid passes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Rep. Robert Matsui’s Family Preservation and Mickey Leland Hunger Act, which reforms child welfare and foster care services and provides childhood hunger relief, passed the House Ways and Means committee. Matsui criticized the Bush administration for not investing adequately in children and families despite rhetoric about family values.
• Language rights bill under Senate focus, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Assemblyman Xavier Becerra’s bill AB 2440, targeting employers who deny workers the right to speak languages other than English in the workplace, was approved by the state Senate. The Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California supports the bill, with Becerra arguing that denying language rights strips workers of freedom to communicate.
• Redistricting boosts Hawaii elections, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Redistricting has spurred a surge of Republican candidates filing for Hawaii’s state primary election, with 43 Republicans seeking to break the Democrats’ legislative dominance. Notable races include Matt Matsunaga, son of the late Sen. Spark Matsunaga, running for state senate, and a competitive Big Island mayoral race.
• Golf investments hit bitter tee, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Japanese investment in Hawaii golf course memberships has slumped as Japan’s economy weakened, with membership values dropping 30 to 40% according to industry experts. Japanese companies currently own 36 of Hawaii’s 68 golf courses and half of the 23 proposed for Oahu.
• Right-to-vote suit rejected, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A British subject who married a Japanese woman and gained permanent residency had his lawsuit claiming mental anguish over being denied voting rights rejected by the Osaka high court. Japan’s election law limits voting qualification to those with Japanese citizenship.
• Right-to-vote suit rejected / immigration items, by P.C. Staff, page 9. Additional brief items report on immigration and legal cases in Japan, including a man arrested for overstaying his visa after marrying a Japanese woman, sentenced to a suspended term. The Justice Ministry estimates 216,000 foreigners were staying illegally in Japan as of Nov. 1, 1991.

JACL

• Plans underway for ’94 convention, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Following the 32nd Biennial National JACL Convention in Denver, planning is underway for the 1994 convention at the Marriott Hotel in Salt Lake City, assisted by the Salt Lake and Wasatch Front North chapters with Floyd Mori as general chairman. Chapters and members are invited to submit workshop topic suggestions to the convention committee.
• PC seeks stories for Holiday Issue, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pacific Citizen is soliciting articles and photos from JACL chapters for its annual Holiday Issue, aiming to provide as much editorial space as possible for chapter news. Staff will be calling chapters, and readers can submit material directly to the editorial department.
• The first hundred days, by Lillian C. Kimura, page 9. JACL National President Lillian Kimura outlines her activities and plans for her first 100 days in office, including a Board orientation, implementing the Program for Action goals, and visits to Washington D.C. and various chapters. She also discusses plans for a joint chapter president training program and evaluating past conventions to improve future planning.

Community

• For the record, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A correction notes that the number of chapter visits made by outgoing JACL president Cressey Nakagawa was misreported in the Aug. 28 edition. He actually made a total of 140 trips throughout his tenure.
• Massachusetts forms Asian panel, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Massachusetts Gov. William Weld appointed a 15-member Asian American Commission chaired by his wife Susan Weld, including Atsuko Toko Fish of the Japan Society of Boston. The commission will advise on trade with Asian countries, educational policies, and economic issues, though commissioner Shaw G. Huang raised concerns about universities informally restricting Asian student admissions.
• Micheners donate 3,000 prints, by P.C. Staff, page 4. James and Mari Michener donated 3,000 ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock prints to the Honolulu Academy of Arts, bringing their total gifts to about 5,400 exhibit-quality prints. The donation came after Michener reportedly had a poor experience trying to place the collection with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York due to a dispute over parking with a policeman.
• Bank donates to L.A. relief, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Sumitomo Bank of California donated $10,000 each to two local Neighborhood Housing Services organizations in Inglewood and Crenshaw as part of disaster relief efforts following the April 29 riots. The bank has set aside $100,000 total for local redevelopment efforts.
• Hawaii’s Okinawa Center 2 years old, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The $10-million Okinawa Center in Waipio Gentry marked its second anniversary, having buried a time capsule beneath its ishidoro stone lantern. The center operates on contributions and volunteers under executive director Bonnie Miyashiro with a full-time staff of three.
• NAJC makes Winnipeg home, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The National Association of Japanese Canadians completed a 40-year lease for new headquarters at 404 Webb Place in downtown Winnipeg. The new building will include administrative offices, a large meeting area, and a planned library and resource center.
• Steveston Cultural Centre being built, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Construction of the Steveston Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Richmond, B.C. was expected to start in early 1992, funded partly by public donations and the City of Richmond. The centre will house Japanese language classes, a wing with kitchen for senior and community programs, and offices.
• Cincinnati Chapter provides educational materials and honors scholars, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Cincinnati JACL chapter has for 12 years supplied teachers with books, tapes, videos and Japanese cultural artifacts for educational kits, and conducted a ‘Focus on Japan’ workshop for the 13th consecutive year with Northern Kentucky University. The chapter also congratulated nine college graduates and four high school scholarship winners, and highlighted its newsletter and community activities including a picnic geta race and a Los Angeles Times job workshop for Ninth Street School students.
• Businessman Hiram Hachiya honored by Japanese government, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Portland businessman Hiram H. Hachiya was honored with the Order of the Rising Sun with Silver Rays by the Japanese government for activities enhancing understanding between the U.S. and Japan. He served as president of the Japanese Ancestral Society of Portland and held several other community leadership roles.
• Judge Mikio Uchiyama honored with Order of Japan/US Relations award, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Judge Mikio Uchiyama was honored with the 3rd Class of Order of Japan/United States Relations in ceremonies held in Fresno, California. A graduate of UC Berkeley, University of Texas, Harvard, and Stanford, Uchiyama served in the Counter Intelligence Corps and the Far East Command and held various civic positions including judge and attorney for Fowler.
• Hawaii Rep. Barbara Marumoto named legislator of the year, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Hawaii Rep. Barbara Marumoto was named legislator of the year by the National Republican Legislators Association for her grasp of issues and responsiveness to constituents. She has represented the Maunalani Heights/Wainiae area for seven terms and served as House Minority Leader.
• Cynthia Kawa appointed executive director, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Cynthia Kawa was recently appointed the new executive director overseeing community care residential facilities in the Los Angeles area. She has been involved in the field of developmental disabilities since 1979, having directed a prevocational center and designed several behavioral group homes and community care programs.
• San Mateo woman recognized for community service, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Tsuya Ikari of San Mateo was named the 1992 Kay Okamoto Volunteer Award recipient for her 20 years of community service volunteering at the San Mateo JACL Community Center. Ikari, who turns 90 in October, began volunteering at age 69 preparing meals at the center’s kitchen.

Incarceration & Redress

• HomeComing ’92 marks ‘dispersal’, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Oct. 9-11 HomeComing ’92 conference in Vancouver will highlight the history of the 1942 ‘dispersal’ of Japanese Canadians at least 100 miles inland from the British Columbia coast during WWII. Members of the Nisei Mass Evacuation Group and teachers exiled to Japan in 1946 will share firsthand accounts.

Arts & Entertainment

• Filmmaker Wayne Wang, community activist Evelyn Yoshimura honored with Tatsukawa award, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Filmmaker Wayne Wang and community activist Evelyn Yoshimura of the Little Tokyo Service Center of Los Angeles were named recipients of the 1992 Steve Tatsukawa Memorial Awards, honoring commitment to community service and achievement in media arts. Wang gained prominence with films like ‘Chan is Missing’ and ‘Dim Sum,’ while Yoshimura organized the Little Tokyo People’s Rights Organization and helped found the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations.
• The Invisible Thread reviewed, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Yoshiko Uchida’s memoir The Invisible Thread recounts her prewar family life in Berkeley, a trip to Japan, her father’s arrest by the FBI after Pearl Harbor, and her time at Tanforan and Topaz camps before finishing her education at Smith College. The book concludes with Uchida’s stated mission to give Sansei readers the kind of books she never had as a child.
• Cebu reviewed, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Peter Bacho’s novel Cebu tells the story of a young Filipino American priest, Ben Lucero, returning to the Philippines after World War II to bury his mother’s remains. The book weaves themes of Japanese soldiers in the Philippines, family wealth, and poverty against the backdrop of Filipino life and present-day Seattle.
• The Triumph of Japanese Style reviewed, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Michael R. Cunningham’s catalogue The Triumph of Japanese Style documents 16th century Japanese art exhibited at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s 75th anniversary show, including a National Treasure painting and 21 Important Cultural Properties. The exhibition was shown only in Cleveland, making the catalogue especially valuable for classical Japanese art enthusiasts.
• In passing: new books and projects announced, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Coffee House Press announced Karen Tei Yamashita’s novel Brazil-Maru about the Nikkei community in Brazil and Lawson Fusao Inada’s long-awaited poetry collection Legends from Camp. Art historian Dore Ashton’s book Noguchi: East and West explores the life of sculptor Isamu Noguchi.

In-Depth

• Balch Institute publishes guide to ethnic collections, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies in Philadelphia published a guide covering 56 ethnic groups including Japanese Americans, housing microfilms of Pacific Citizen, Kashu Mainichi, Chicago Shimpo, and WWII assembly/relocation center publications. The manuscript collection also includes materials from the American Friends Service Committee and an extensive Sumiko Kobayashi collection of files and memorabilia.
• Almanac covers American politics, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. The Almanac of American Politics 1992 by Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa provides a state-by-state profile of the country using 1990 Census data ahead of the presidential and congressional campaigns. The review highlights illuminating state assessments, including comparisons of California to Japan and observations about Arizona, Oregon, and Washington state politics.
• Book tells of Nikkei families during WWII, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Our House Divided: Seven Japanese American Families in World War II by Tomi Kaizawa Knaefler tells the untold stories of seven Hawaii families divided by having relatives stranded in Japan during the war. The book, originating from a Honolulu Star-Bulletin series, includes 1990 updates on each family including one woman’s experience receiving redress payments.
• Chikuma River Sketches reviewed, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Chikuma River Sketches by Shimazaki Toson, translated by William E. Naff, offers stories grounded in the Meiji era reflecting the life of the Issei generation in their youth. The sketches date from the 1890s to 1912 and are set in the Chikuma River Valley in Nagano prefecture, with detailed translator’s notes on old Japanese weights and measures.
• Parker Ranch Paniolo: Yutaka Kimura reviewed, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Dr. Jiro Nakano’s book profiles Yutaka Kimura, a rare Japanese American Hawaiian cowboy (‘paniolo’) who worked at Parker Ranch on the Big Island starting at age 14 in 1919. Kimura continued community and church work after retiring in 1967 and appeared in TV commercials for Japanese products.
• Here’s a hardly known historic hot springs at Yellowstone, by Harry K. Honda, page 10. Harry Honda visits Yellowstone National Park to follow up on a 1972 Pacific Citizen story about ‘Chinaman Spring,’ investigating the history of two Issei immigrants, M.A. Sunada and H. Kurose, who operated a hand laundry near Old Faithful starting in 1914. The article notes that Park records show no trace of these Issei men, and by the 1960s the offensive ‘Chinaman’ name was removed from park signage with no replacement mention of the historic pools.

Commentary

• Rich resources of Balch Institute, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Columnist Bill Hosokawa reflects on destroying his late father’s Japanese-language diaries decades ago on a friend’s advice, and wonders if this caused harm to historians. He describes the Balch Institute’s substantial Japanese American collection, including papers from Sumiko Kobayashi and Rev. Mamoru Eto, urging readers not to discard historical materials before experts can examine them.
• National Guard’s role and LAPD clarified, page 8. A letter responds to questions raised about the California National Guard’s role in defending Koreatown during the Los Angeles riots, explaining that the Guard had no advance alert and had to mobilize citizen soldiers from their homes and jobs. The writer defends the Guard’s response time and clarifies that mission assignments came from the LAPD as the lead law enforcement agency.
• Research sought on Shitara sisters, page 8. A letter writer is conducting research on the 1944 treason trial of the Shitara sisters and seeks information about Tsuruko Wallace, Florence Otani, and Billie Shitara Tanigoshi. Contact information is provided for anyone with relevant information.
• War record cited in dispute over memorial, by Young O. Kimm, page 9. A letter from the 100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation clarifies that it did not authorize a mailing critical of Dr. Harold S. Harada regarding a dispute over the First Street North memorial monument. Despite the dispute, the Foundation salutes Dr. Harada’s honorable combat medic service record, including his Bronze Star and other commendations.
• Come to Alaska, by Sumita Kobayashi, page 9. A letter writer expresses hope to begin an Alaska chapter of JACL, noting support from Dr. Anthony Nakazawa of the Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs. The writer invites Japanese Americans to visit and support the new chapter’s formation.

Military & Veterans

• The ‘Chowhounds’: Nikkei WWII construction engineers, by Bill Marutani, page 8. Columnist Bill Marutani recounts the history of the all-AJA 1299th Engineer Construction Battalion, nicknamed the ‘Chowhounds,’ which completed 54 major construction projects in Oahu during WWII including bunkers, roads, and a still-operational million-gallon water tank. The column includes an anecdote about soldier Shiro Matsui, who later became a successful restaurateur after his wartime kitchen duty experience.

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