Vol. 95, No. 26, December 24, 1982. 128 pages. View this issue
The Pacific Citizen’s 1982 holiday issue carried a year-end photo review on its cover, “The Year in Pictures.” In an essay on page 3, Peter Imamura explained the choice to run the retrospective and the limits of the photos available. Inside are the history of Japanese language schools in Hawaii by Allan Beekman, Donald H. Estes on Abe Tokunosuke’s fight against anti-Japanese fishing laws in California, and Marshall Sumida on the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s breakthrough of the Gothic Line in Italy.
Also in this issue: Nancy Araki on the photographic archives of Visual Communications, Henry Mori’s profile of Sam Furuta of the East Los Angeles JACL, and the George J. Inagaki chapter awards from the national convention. Ferris Takahashi’s short story “Come Soon, Hero Twins” is on page 89. About 96 of the issue’s 128 pages carry holiday greetings.
What’s in this issue
In-Depth
- A Good Idea, But Not Quite, by Peter Imamura, page 3. The New Wave Editor explains the decision to run a year-end photo retrospective for this Holiday Issue, modeled on magazines like Time and Newsweek. He acknowledges the selection of photos is imperfect due to availability but aims to capture major news events and issues affecting Nikkei and Asian Americans in 1982.
- Japanese Language Education in Hawaii, by Allan Beekman, page 11. The article traces the history of Japanese language schools in Hawaii from their founding in the 1890s through their near-destruction during WWII internment and legal battles over discriminatory laws. It also examines the modern decline in enrollment and ongoing efforts, including state funding, to sustain Japanese language instruction given its growing economic importance for Hawaii’s tourism industry.
- Offensive Stupidity: The Struggle of Abe Tokunosuke, by Donald H. Estes, page 31. The article chronicles the decades-long legal and legislative battle against anti-Japanese fishing laws in California, centered on Abe Tokunosuke, a pioneering Japanese fisherman and businessman in San Diego’s tuna industry. Working with JACL president Walter Tsukamoto, Abe successfully fought discriminatory legislation driven by racist groups and wartime espionage fears, though he died in January 1941 before seeing the industry’s eventual wartime destruction.
JACL
- Chapters of the Biennium: George J. Inagaki Awards, by Peter Imamura, page 3. The San Mateo JACL Chapter won the George J. Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award at the 27th Biennial National Convention, with Chicago and Seattle chapters receiving honorable mentions, for their outstanding community and civic programming. The article profiles each chapter’s activities including redress efforts, historical publications, scholarships, and civil rights advocacy over the 1980-81 biennium.
Incarceration & Redress
- Preserving Our Japanese American History: Visual Communications’ Photographic Archives, by Nancy Araki, page 14. Visual Communications, founded in 1970, maintains the largest collection of Japanese American and Asian Pacific American historical photographs in the nation, totaling over 300,000 images. The archive serves researchers, educators, and the community, and welcomes donations of historic photographs to continue documenting the Japanese American experience.
Arts & Entertainment
- Come Soon, Hero Twins, by Ferris Takahashi, page 89. This fictional story follows a Navajo family as Narciso returns to the reservation with his new wife Elaine, a Japanese American woman, attempting to build a traditional home and life together. The story explores cultural adjustment, the hardships of reservation life, and Narciso’s struggle with alcoholism that ultimately drives Elaine away.
Military & Veterans
- ‘Gothic Line’ Breakthrough by 100/442 Spells End to Military Combat in Italy, by Marshall Sumida, page 103. The article recounts the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team’s pivotal 1945 breakthrough of the German Gothic Line defense in Italy, detailing the heroic actions of soldiers including Sadao Munemori (posthumous Medal of Honor recipient) and Daniel Inouye. The surprise mountain assault, planned to take a week, was completed in 32 minutes and helped hasten the end of WWII fighting in Europe.
Community
- Let’s Call Him Mr. East L.A. JACL, by Henry Mori, page 107. The article profiles Sam Furuta, a longtime JACL member and East Los Angeles community pillar, tracing his life from childhood discrimination experiences through wartime internment and relocation to Chicago, to his decades of volunteer service with JACL. Furuta, now retired, continues to support JACL programs including scholarships and senior citizen activities while reflecting on his family’s history and the organization’s future leadership.
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