Fresno convention, Hirabayashi’s challenge and a changing Nihonmachi

Vol. 73, No. 23, December 3, 1971. 6 pages. View this issue

The Central California District Council convention in Fresno anchored this six-page issue. National JACL President Raymond S. Uno described the trip in his column and the farm labor controversy discussed there. Gene Kuhn reported on keynote speaker Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi, who urged members to fight inequities facing every group and recalled his wartime challenge to curfew and evacuation orders. Harry K. Honda covered the National JACL Executive Committee’s year-end look at budget, program and staff in Salt Lake City, and the Intermountain District Council named Shig Ushio its governor.

Other pages carried news from San Francisco’s Nihonmachi, where construction began on the fifth new building, along with Dr. Clifford Uyeda’s report on strained U.S.-Japan ties. Bill Hosokawa wrote about New Denver, British Columbia, and Bill Marutani about Hiroshima dialect. A review of Roots: An Asian American Reader and a Seattle report on Asian student demands also appear.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• U-NO Bar, by Raymond S. Uno, page 1. JACL National President Raymond Uno recounts his trip to the Central California District Council convention in Fresno and the farm labor controversy discussed there. He argues JACL must weigh whether issues involve racism or economic disputes between groups before taking a stand.
• Fertility study of women in U.S. and Japan part of cancer survey, by Honolulu Advertiser, page 2. A University of Hawaii study of about 4,000 Japanese women in Hawaii, California, Hiroshima and Miyagi found that U.S. women bear fewer children despite longer childbearing periods. Early marriage emerged as a key factor in higher birth rates.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Bill Hosokawa examines a Canadian Magazine story on New Denver, British Columbia, where Japanese Canadians were evacuated during World War II and some chose to remain. He compares their wartime and postwar experiences with those of Japanese Americans.
• Roots: The Asian American Reader, by Harry K. Honda, page 5. Harry Honda reviews Roots: An Asian American Reader, an anthology of stories, poems, and scholarly pieces examining Asian American experience. He describes its three sections on identity, history, and community and recommends it for schools and classes.
• Understanding of Nisei and Sansei attitudes changing, by Karen Kaizuka, page 5. Karen Kaizuka reports on a Santa Ana talk by Warren Furutani, who said Sansei had often judged Nisei wartime choices without understanding the period. He urged questioning attitudes and listening to other viewpoints.
• East Wind: Kogyan, Da’ Kine, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Bill Marutani reflects on his visit to his ancestors’ graves in Hiroshima prefecture and on Hiroshima dialect expressions from his childhood. He contrasts these with the standard Japanese he was taught.
• Yomiuri-Gallup poll: Trustworthiness of Japan continues to drop in latest survey of Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored Gallup poll found most Americans believe the U.S. should prioritize its own interests over equal partnership with Japan. Japan’s ranking as a trustworthy nation fell in the survey.

National

• Nat’l JACL in yearend look at budget, program, staff, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. The National JACL Executive Committee met in Salt Lake City to assess the organization’s tight finances, membership totals, and budget needs for the 1973-74 biennium. Plans for federated programming, education commission funding, and convention deadlines were also addressed.
• U.S.-Japan ties in troubled state, because U.S. insensitive to Japanese, by Dr. Clifford Uyeda, page 1. Former State Department officer Dr. Harrison Holland told a San Francisco audience that U.S.-Japan relations have deteriorated because Washington ignored Prime Minister Sato and failed to consult Japan on China policy and the 10% surtax. He also described Japan’s history of economic protectionism.

Community

• Shig Ushio heads Intermountain DC as governor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Shigeki Ushio was elected governor of the Intermountain District Council at its biennial convention hosted by Mt. Olympus JACL. George and Harriet Kimura were honored as Nisei of the Biennium, and Salt Lake JACL won the chapter award.
• Construction starts on fifth building in Nihonmachi, five more due in 1972, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Construction began on the Morino Building, the fifth new building in San Francisco’s Nihonmachi Redevelopment area, which will house an expanded Babe’s Evergreen Fountain. Several additional projects are slated to begin over the next six months.
• CCDC installs 1972 chapter officers at confab, by P.C. Staff, page 1. At the Central California District Council convention in Fresno, delegates recommended a national JACL initiative and referendum procedure and named Reedley JACL chapter of the year. Silver and past president pins were presented at the banquet.
• Parents troubled by drug abuse, delinquency meet for self-help, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Parents, youth, and community workers in Los Angeles meet weekly at Senshin Buddhist Church under JACS auspices to address drug and delinquency problems in their families. The group emphasizes open communication and shared responsibility.
• Enola Gay log over Hiroshima auctioned off, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The manuscript log kept by co-pilot Capt. Robert Lewis aboard the Enola Gay was auctioned in New York for $57,000 to a Manhattan book dealer. The log was requested by New York Times science editor William Laurence, who arrived too late to join the mission.
• On the scene report published on Asian demands on school, by Betsy Boyle, page 3. Following black-Asian confrontations at Franklin High School in Seattle, Asian leaders presented demands to the superintendent, resulting in hiring of an Asian counselor and a bilingual teacher. The article details the remaining unresolved demands, including faculty ratios and discipline of extortionists.
• CBS ’60 Minutes’ on contemporary Nikkei slated to air, by P.C. Staff, page 3. CBS’s 60 Minutes planned a short segment on contemporary Japanese Americans featuring scenes from San Francisco, Berkeley, and Southern California. Interviewees include Dr. Harry Kitano and JACL’s Warren Furutani, and the broadcast was rescheduled to Dec. 12.
• Morning Ceremonies and U-NO Bar continued, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Continuation of the JACL president’s column and convention coverage from Fresno. Additional convention details and remarks are provided.

Incarceration & Redress

• Hirabayashi challenges Nisei to fight all inequities, by Gene Kuhn, page 1. Dr. Gordon Hirabayashi, keynote speaker at the CCDC convention, urged JACL members to combat inequities facing all groups and recounted his wartime challenge to curfew and evacuation orders. He also supported JACL efforts to review his Supreme Court case.

Arts & Entertainment

• Yoichi Hiraoka slates xylophone program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Xylophonist Yoichi Hiraoka will give a free solo recital in Los Angeles on Dec. 10 sponsored by the Japan America Society. The program will include Japanese numbers and classics by Handel, Bach-Gounod, Haydn and Von Weber.
• Miss ’66 Nat’l JACL on KNX newsradio as ‘action reporter’, ombudswoman, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tritia Toyota, a former Miss National JACL, hosts the public service feature Action Reporter on KNX Newsradio in Los Angeles. Listeners can submit questions about government or private agencies, and the show answers some on air and others by mail.
• TV columnist calls ABC-TV film title change due to ‘burst of corniness’, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles Times TV columnist Cecil Smith criticized ABC-TV’s decision to retitle the Patty Duke film about Japanese American evacuation from The Glass Hammer to My Husband, the Enemy. JACL representatives had objected to the new title.

In-Depth

• Japan divorce rate in Meiji era found higher than at present, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Historical statistics show that divorce rates in Japan’s Meiji era were higher than in recent years, with about one in three marriages ending in divorce compared to about one in ten today. The article links this to feudal family structures, early arranged marriages, and later legal restrictions.
• 29-volume survey of Japanese art in English planned at $8 per volume, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tokyo publisher Heibonsha announced a 29-volume English survey of Japanese art to be published jointly with John Weatherhill over three years. The series covers Japanese art from prehistoric times to the contemporary age.
• Japanese Time, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This article traces the history of Japanese timekeeping from ancient Chinese water clocks through the 1872 adoption of Western time. It also explains the cultural tradition of ‘Japanese Time’ and the custom of arriving late.

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