Mrs. d’Aquino’s confinement and the end of limited passports

Vol. 27, No. 17, October 23, 1948. 8 pages. View this issue

A federal judge’s order moving Mrs. Iva Toguri d’Aquino from the county jail to “suitable quarters” led the front page, so she could interview witnesses and prepare her defense against the government’s treason charges. The same page reported that President Truman had revoked the 40-year-old limited passports order, a step the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee had pressed for. Bill Hosokawa wrote about stranded Nisei coming home from postwar Japan, and Harry Oshima answered Kiyo Hamanaka in the paper’s political debate.

Other pages covered the filing of evacuee claims under Public Law 886, a Denver survey on easing prejudice, and Hideo Kuwahara’s review of Hisaye Yamamoto’s story in the Partisan Review. Sports and community news fill the last pages, including bowling, high school football and Nisei at the Chicago worship service.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Mrs. d’Aquino’s Removal to “Suitable Quarters” Ordered by Federal Judge, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Federal Judge Louis Goodman ordered Mrs. Iva Toguri d’Aquino moved from county jail to suitable quarters so she can interview witnesses and prepare her treason defense. The San Francisco Immigration detention quarters were selected as her new place of confinement.
• Hearing on Stranded Nisei Suit Delayed in Hawaii Court, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Federal Judge J. Frank McLaughlin postponed indefinitely a hearing on a passport suit for William Ishikawa, a Hawaii-born man stranded in China. The government contends he lost citizenship by serving in the Japanese army.

Community

• Hiroshima Minister Prays at Graves of Nisei War Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto, featured in John Hersey’s Hiroshima, offered prayers at graves of Japanese American soldiers in Evergreen Cemetery on Oct. 16. He visited at the request of the Nisei Center in Hiroshima and was escorted by members of the Nisei Veterans Association.
• San Francisco JACL Backs Public Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Francisco JACL chapter cabinet unanimously endorsed California public housing Proposition 14 and is urging other California chapters to support it. The group argued low-cost public housing may be the only option for Japanese Americans facing displacement from urban redevelopment.
• Seven-Year-Old Wins Coast Trip in Hawaii Radio Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Seven-year-old Ian Komenaka won a free trip from Hawaii to San Francisco by winning a KPOA baseball contest. He visited Seals Stadium and presented leis to manager Lefty O’Doul and outfielder Gene Woodling.
• Robert Okamoto Elected President of Santa Clara Scholarship Branch, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Robert Okamoto was unanimously elected president of the Santa Clara Union High School branch of the California Scholarship Federation. A senior majoring in mathematics and science, he has also lettered in track and basketball.
• Chicago Resettlers Committee Sends CARE Packages to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Chicago Nisei arranged CARE food packages to be sent to Japanese American occupation babies at Our Lady of Lourdes orphanage in Yokohama. CARE now offers Japanese food packages at $10 each with guaranteed delivery in Japan.
• Wedding of Bette Nishimura and George Mukasa, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Bette Nishimura and George Mukasa of Washington were married September 25 in a candlelight ceremony at Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. The bride is the daughter of Mrs. Sam Nishimura of Rocky Ford, Colorado, and the groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Keitaro Mukasa of Seattle.
• Shig Wakamatsu Unopposed for Chicago Post, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Shig Wakamatsu is unopposed for Chicago JACL president in the 1949 slate announced by the nominating committee. The membership meeting also featured a mock trial based on an actual civil rights violation case in Illinois.
• Chicago Initiates ADC Fund Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Chicago JACL ADC fund drive began with a $12,000 goal for 1948, to be raised through house-to-house solicitation by more than 100 Issei and Nisei volunteers by the end of November. The funds support the national legislative program, including naturalization legislation.
• Gardena Discusses Chapter Work in Claims Procedure, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Gardena Valley JACL plans to help file some 1,200 evacuee claims applications, with volunteers needed for the effort. Forms will be distributed at a later meeting, with Japanese translations available.
• Rep. Walter Judd Praises JACL ADC Work in Talk to Twin Cities JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rep. Walter Judd of Minnesota commended the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee and Japanese Americans for their conduct after evacuation. He said repealing race restrictions in naturalization law would strengthen U.S. standing in Asia.
• Oikawa Acquitted, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kyoji Oikawa, 57, was acquitted in Honolulu of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Henry Katsuno. The charge stemmed from a January incident.
• Corky Kawasaki Will Leave for Japan on Relief Mission, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Corky Kawasaki, administrative assistant with the American Friends Service Committee, sails for Japan on October 25 on a relief mission. He will survey Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia distribution work across the main islands for two months.
• Nisei Businessman Now in Japan on World Tour by Air, by P.C. Staff, page 3. S. John Nitta, president of the American Chick Sexing Association, is in Japan on the final leg of an air trip around the world. He plans to study chick sexing techniques and visit Nagoya, where he learned the process fifteen years ago.
• Hawaii Chemist Quits School for Communist Post, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Charles K. Fujimoto, a University of Hawaii agricultural experiment station chemist, resigned to become chairman of the Communist Party of Hawaii. He said the party needed a full-time public figure and that the post pays less than his university job.
• Tanabe Forms Group to Back Harry Truman, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Eiji Tanabe organized the first Nisei committee in Los Angeles to support President Truman’s reelection. The group cited Truman’s civil rights program and his support for evacuee claims and removal of naturalization race restrictions.
• Chinese American Legislator Seeks Reelection in Arizona, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Wing F. Ong, a Chinese-born lawyer in Phoenix, is seeking reelection to the Arizona legislature after rising from a grocery clerk to a lawyer. He earned his law degree at the University of Arizona in 1943 and was first elected to the legislature in 1946.
• Marked Lowering of Prejudice Against Japanese Americans Noted, Denver Survey Reveals, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A University of Denver Opinion Research Center survey found a marked decline in prejudice against Japanese Americans in Denver over a half-year. Results also showed substantial anti-Semitism and varied attitudes toward Negro and Spanish-speaking residents.
• Community Hallowe’en Social, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Eden Township JACL is hosting a community Hallowe’en party on October 31 at the IDES hall in Ashland. Kazu Okada is general chairman, assisted by several committees for decorations, refreshments, and music.
• Citywide Nisei Worship Service Held in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A citywide Nisei worship service was held October 10 at the Moody Church in Chicago, sponsored by the Nisei Churchmen of Chicago. The laymen’s organization brings together members from Nisei churches.
• Nisei Help Sponsor Chicago Appearance of Ruby Yoshino, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Chicago Nisei helped sponsor Ruby Yoshino’s first Chicago appearance with the One World Ensemble. The ensemble, which includes a Negro tenor and a Scotch-Irish contralto, is touring toward Cleveland and New York.
• Race Relations Group Sought in San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Supervisor DeWitt Peters Wackerly proposed a city-county human relations committee in San Francisco to improve intergroup relations amid housing pressures. The resolution was backed by the Council for Civic Unity and the local JACL.
• Twelve Nisei Make Courtland Varsity, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Twelve Nisei players are on the Courtland, California high school varsity squad coached by John Desalernos. Eddie Ito serves as team manager.

JACL

• JACL Offers Services in Postoffice Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL ADC has offered to aid a Nisei postoffice employee denied credit for his preevacuation service record. The case was cited recently by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
• Tri-State JACL Council to Hold First Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The newly organized Mountain Plains JACL district council will hold its first meeting November 20-21 in Denver. National officials Hito Okada and Masao Satow are expected to attend.
• Midwest JACL Officials Meet on Evacuation Claims Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Delegates from seven Midwest JACL chapters met in Chicago to plan evacuation claims assistance and other services. Noboru Honda was elected chairman of the Midwest District Council, succeeding Henry Tani, who became national first vice president.

National

• President Truman Revokes Limited Passports Order, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Truman revoked the 40-year-old executive order that barred certain Japanese and Korean residents of Hawaii from entering the U.S. mainland. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee had pressed for the action, which removes a long-standing hardship.
• Report Relaxation of Exit Permit Ruling on Issei Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Exit permits will no longer be required for aliens leaving the country, according to a Washington report, easing travel for Issei fishermen and visitors. Issei fishermen will still need return permits before sailing.
• Limited Passports Regulations Originated from San Francisco Schools, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The limited passport order rescinded by President Truman grew out of a 1906 San Francisco ordinance segregating Japanese children from public schools, according to the Nichi-Bei Times. The school dispute was settled through a deal with Governor Hiram Johnson that led to the immigration restriction.
• Nisei Group Issues Pamphlet to Support Wallace Candidacy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The New York Nisei for Wallace committee issued a 15-page pamphlet for national distribution presenting Henry Wallace’s answers to Nisei questions. Wallace criticizes Earl Warren’s record on the Alien Land law and wartime evacuation while defending cultural pluralism.
• Hawaii-Born Nisei Sues for Right to Return Home, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hatsuye Ouye filed suit in Honolulu federal court seeking a passport for travel from Yokohama to Hawaii, claiming American citizenship. She alleges she was denied a passport and was coerced into voting in Japanese elections.
• Possibility Seen That Los Angeles County May Seek Rehearing on Intermarriage Decision, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles County Counsel Harold Kennedy indicated the county may seek a rehearing of a state supreme court ruling that struck down the ban on intermarriage between Caucasians and persons of Negro, Mongolian or Malay ancestry. The 4-3 decision held the ban violated federal and state constitutions.
• Seek Hearing on Decision Outlawing Intermarriage Ban, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles County officials are considering seeking a rehearing of the California high court decision striking down the intermarriage ban. The majority opinion by Justice Roger Traynor held the ban violated equal rights guaranteed to citizens.

Arts & Entertainment

• Sono Osato May Get Lead in New Play, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sono Osato, currently touring Europe, is being considered for the female lead in the forthcoming Broadway production He and She. It would be her first dramatic role after successful musical appearances.
• Okubo Painting Wins Prize at Coast Exhibition, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mine Okubo of New York City won a $100 prize among eight winners at the 12th annual San Francisco Art Association water color show. Her pastel painting Fish No. 2 is one of two of her works in the exhibition.
• High-Heeled Shoes: Noted Literary Magazine Publishes Story by Nisei Writer, by Hideo Kuwahara, page 6. Hideo Kuwahara reviews Hisaye Yamamoto’s short story The High-Heeled Shoes, published in the Partisan Review. He praises it as a serious, carefully crafted piece with keen psychological insight into a woman’s fear of male harassment.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A column of entertainment and community notes covers MGM’s planned Battleground film including a Nisei GI episode, the revival of Li’l Neebo cartoon for Wallace, and a Canadian Nisei joining the RCAF. It also mentions Nisei interest in seedless watermelon research.
• Nisei Sings With Interracial Ensemble, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Ruby Hideko Yoshino, Nisei soprano, appeared with the One World Ensemble at Orchestra Hall in Chicago on October 18 under the sponsorship of the Free Religious Fellowship. The ensemble performed works by Yamada, Verdi, Mozart, and Gounod to a large audience.

Military & Veterans

• 100th Veterans Hold Memorial Services, by P.C. Staff, page 1. About 1,200 people attended memorial services at Honpa Hongwanji in Honolulu for men of the 100th Infantry Battalion, held by Club 100 on the fifth anniversary of the unit’s first combat at Salerno. A memorial tree was planted and films of graves in Italy and France were shown.
• Veterans Seek Ruling on Claims for Treatment of Mental Illness, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Nisei Veterans Association asked Attorney General Tom Clark whether medical expenses for mental disorders caused by the 1942 evacuation are recoverable under Public Law 886. The group argued many Nisei veterans incurred hospitalization costs for stress-related mental injuries and sought clarification.
• PC Wins Citation from VFW, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Veterans of Foreign Wars presented the Pacific Citizen a citation recognizing its efforts to increase public interest in war veterans and community welfare. National Commander Lyall T. Beggs signed the citation, presented to editor Larry Tajiri.

In-Depth

• The Japanese Canadians: Dominion Nisei Fared Worse Than U.S. Group, Says Tamaki, by Dick Kleeman, page 2. George Tamaki, legal counsel to Saskatchewan’s economic planning board, says Canadian Nisei faced harsher wartime treatment than Americans. He notes Canada’s evacuee claims law is less generous than the American version, though Nisei have since spread into diverse jobs across the Dominion.

Commentary

• The Nisei and the Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Pacific Citizen editorial observes that mainland Nisei political activity has concentrated on the Wallace Progressives and Thomas Socialists, with Democrats and Republicans largely apathetic. It argues Nisei support for bipartisan causes shows their voting does not follow racial bloc patterns.
• Safeguards in Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial supports the Council for Civic Unity’s proposed ordinance barring discrimination in San Francisco’s urban redevelopment of the Western Addition. It warns that private redevelopment could draw a color line that excludes minority residents from returning.
• “B” for Buddhists, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial backs a campaign for Army recognition of Buddhism with a ‘B’ classification and Buddhist chaplains. It notes many Buddhist Nisei died in the war without access to their religious rites due to lacking proper classification.
• No More Limited Passports, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes President Truman’s revocation of the 40-year-old exclusion order, calling it a step toward equal treatment of resident aliens of Japanese and Korean ancestry in Hawaii. It credits the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee for bringing the issue to the Justice Department.
• Continuing the Political Debate: Oshima Answers Hamanaka, by Harry Oshima, page 4. Harry Oshima responds to Kiyo Hamanaka’s defense of Ina Sugihara’s claims about Communist domination of the Progressive Party. He disputes specific points about convention committees and the Vermont Amendment and argues Henry Wallace controls the party.
• Filing Evacuee Claims: Washington Office of ADC Answers Typical Questions, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The JACL ADC Washington office answers common questions about filing claims under Public Law 886 for evacuation losses. Topics include who may file, deadlines, corporate claims, and the treatment of deceased owners and aliens.
• The Stranded Nisei Come Home, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa reflects on Nisei strandees returning from postwar Japan to the United States, many in search of opportunities they cannot find abroad. He observes that the changes they face at home can be breathtaking and that not all will achieve their dreams.
• Carl Iwasaki Assignment from Life Magazine, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Carl Iwasaki, a Denver photographer, received a rare Life magazine assignment covering senatorial races in Wyoming and Texas. His photos of Senator Robertson and Governor Hunt ran in Life.
• Prudence, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A brief column notes Nisei big game hunters have a relatively good safety record compared with other hunters, though they excel at pheasant shooting. The writer contrasts the Nisei restraint with recent hunting deaths in Colorado and Utah.

Sports

• Sun Imps, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Coach Bill Kajikawa’s Arizona State freshman eleven defeated Flagstaff State freshmen 27 to 0 in their opener. Kajikawa, a 442nd veteran, also coaches the varsity basketball team.
• Oda Will Lead Hawaii’s Swim Team in 1949, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Charles Oda, a 442nd Combat Team veteran, was named captain of the University of Hawaii swimming team for a third straight year. Coach Shoichi Sakamoto expects strong results from the squad.
• Sad Sam’s Protege, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Sam Ichinose seeks national recognition for Nisei lightweight Bob Takeshita, who has won 22 of 33 professional fights. He is pursuing a bout with Tippy Larkin in Honolulu.
• Bowling Tournament Set in San Jose, by P.C. Staff, page 7. San Jose will host a statewide Nisei bowling tournament November 6 and 7 with team, singles, doubles, and mixed events. Trophies donated by local merchants will be awarded and participants should contact Vic Hirose.
• High Games Mark Women’s Bowling, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Salt Lake City JACL women’s bowling league saw high games in its third week at Temple alleys. Pagoda swept Temple Noodle 4-0 led by Dora Iwasaki’s 498 series, while Dawn Noodle took three from Main Appliance.

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