Nisei Week returns, and the Tokyo Rose trial reaches its fifth week

Vol. 29, No. 6, August 6, 1949. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories from Los Angeles and San Francisco ran alongside news of the Judd bill in this eight-page issue. Marion Tajiri reported on the fifth week of the trial of Iva Toguri d’Aquino, where witnesses told of Radio Tokyo broadcasts and recordings of Zero Hour were played for the jury. The Nisei Week Festival was set to return for the first time since the war, with a queen contest led by Margaret Kikuchi, and an invitation to Ronald Reagan, who had once stood up for fired Nisei market clerks. In Hollister, vandals smashed headstones at the Japanese cemetery.

Support for the Judd bill, which sought equality in naturalization and immigration, came from Senator Paul H. Douglas, Governor Chester Bowles and the Houston Chronicle. Larry Tajiri, Bill Hosokawa, Togo Tanaka and Roku Sugahara wrote columns, and Col. Charles W. Pence recalled the formation of the 442nd. Sports pages followed Evelyn Kawamoto, Johnny Kuroda and the Nisei All-Stars.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Vandals Desecrate Japanese Cemetery in California Town, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Vandals used sledge hammers to smash headstones and overturn markers at the Hollister Japanese cemetery, causing several hundred dollars in damage. Most of the vandalism has targeted graves of persons of Japanese descent since the war.
• Prosecution Scores in 5th Week of Tokyo Rose Trial, by Marion Tajiri, page 1. The prosecution presented a series of witnesses against Iva Toguri d’Aquino, including former servicemen who testified to broadcasts they heard from Orphan Ann on Radio Tokyo. Recordings of Zero Hour broadcasts were played for the jury during the fifth week of the trial.
• Chicago JACL Considers Filing Service for Claimants, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Chicago JACL-ADC evacuation claims committee discussed offering a filing service for evacuation loss claims, noting that few of an estimated three thousand Chicago claims have been filed. Claimants were urged to file before the January 2, 1950 deadline.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Soldier’s Ashes Given to Japan Parents, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The ashes of Pfc. Konichi Tsunaki, a Nisei soldier killed in action with the 442nd in Italy, were presented to his father in Shimizu, Japan. The remains were brought to Japan at the father’s request.
• Nisei Veteran Tops Applicants for Police Clerk Job, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Yukio Kawamoto, a Pacific theater veteran, ranked first among 33 applicants passing an Oakland civil service exam for police clerk. Kawamoto served in army military intelligence and saw action in the South Pacific.
• Veterans Install New Officers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roy Ashizawa was installed as chairman of Townsend Harris Post 488 of the American Legion in San Francisco. Other officers were installed for the coming term.

Community

• Yoritomo One of Two Owners of 32-Mile Rail Line, by P.C. Staff, page 1. S. Yoritomo, a San Luis Valley produce shipper, is co-owner with W. W. Clinteck of the San Luis Valley Southern railroad in Colorado. The sale must be approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
• Margaret Kikuchi Maintains Lead in L.A. Queen Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Margaret Kikuchi remains in front in the Nisei Week queen contest with 56,544 votes, ahead of Fumi Iketani in second place. Around 350,000 votes remained to be tabulated.
• Canada’s Nisei Queen of Stampede Enjoys Visit to Hollywood, by P.C. Staff, page 3. France Kato, 16-year-old queen of the Kamloops B.C. Stampede, is visiting Hollywood as her prize. She is accompanied by runnerup Gloria Weixl and plans to attend the Nisei Week coronation ball.
• Rocky Ford Fibiaes Wins Area’s Annual Cantaloupe Derby, by P.C. Staff, page 3. T. Yagami, a produce farmer in the Rocky Ford area for 45 years, won the annual melon derby by being first to deliver a ripe cantaloupe to the Rocky Ford Daily Gazette. He also won the honor in 1948.
• Revive Nisei Week Festival For First Time Since War, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Nisei Week Festival in Los Angeles will run from Aug. 13 to 21 with a coronation ball, ondo parade, baby show, and queen contest. The calendar of events includes baseball and golf tournaments and a carnival.
• Dobashi Named Chairman of New Nisei ex-GI Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Frank Dobashi was named temporary chairman of a new Nisei veterans organization in the San Francisco Bay area. The group has about 100 members, and Dobashi estimates at least 1,000 Nisei veterans live in the region.
• Buddhists Plan Tour to Foster U.S. Interest, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rev. Kobo S. Tsunoda of Denver was selected for a traveling ministry tour of the eastern United States from October 8 to November 14 to promote Buddhism. The Eastern Young Buddhist League reported many inquiries from broadcast networks and publications.
• Gov. Bowles Urges Passage of Judd Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Connecticut Governor Chester Bowles endorsed the Judd bill for equality in naturalization and immigration, according to the Mountain Plains JACL-ADC office. He said he opposes legislation discriminating on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin.
• Nisei to Leave for Missionary Work in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Rev. Arthur J. Kamitsuka of Chicago was commissioned as a missionary to Japan, where he will serve at Doshisha University in Kyoto. His wife will teach at a girls’ school in Osaka.
• Sen. Douglas Backs Judd Bill, Recalls Nisei War Service, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Senator Paul H. Douglas wrote to a Senate subcommittee urging passage of the Judd bill for naturalization equality, citing the bravery of Japanese American interpreters and the 442nd Combat Team. He argued that removing racial barriers would strengthen relations with Asia.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei Film Producer Holds Premiere of New Documentary, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Harry Ushijima, a Nisei producer of 16mm motion pictures, held a premiere of his latest film, They Follow On, before an audience of 300 at Moody Institute in Chicago. The film follows an Institute student choosing a missionary life work.
• Ruins Revisited, by Iwao Kawakami, page 6. Iwao Kawakami’s poem reflects on a Nisei woman’s return to her abandoned farm and the decay of a house once home. The piece weaves fragments of song and memory into an elegy for lost places.

National

• Houston Paper Hails Record of Texas Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Houston Chronicle praised the record of Japanese Americans in southeast Texas and asked for passage of the Judd bill for equality in naturalization and immigration. The paper called it an act of simple justice.
• JACL Groups Join California Federation for Civic Unity, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fourteen additional organizations joined the California Federation for Civic Unity since January, including several JACL chapters. Executive director Richard Dettering said the growth shows civic unity is the right democratic approach to interracial problems.
• Strandees, Expatriates File Suit for Return to America, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Six Japanese Americans stranded in Japan filed suit in U.S. district court seeking restoration of their citizenship and the right to return. The petitioners include former Tule Lake renunciants and men who served in the Japanese army under conscription.

Commentary

• Behind the 442nd’s Formation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Col. Charles W. Pence, wartime commander of the 442nd Combat Team, recalled the formation of the unit and credited Col. Kendall Fielder with championing Hawaii’s Japanese Americans. Pence argued that loyalty is part of the American birthright and that the 442nd was a mission for democracy.
• Requiem for the Yellow Peril, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Senate subcommittee hearings on the Judd bill saw west coast legislators and newspapers, including the Hearst press, endorse naturalization rights for Japanese aliens. The editorial argues the Yellow Peril bogeyman is fading from American politics.
• On a Hot Summer Night, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Columnist Larry Tajiri reflects on summer nights and memories including Nagasaki before the war, then covers Dave Beck’s anti-Nisei record in labor and the Hawaii ILWU strike. He notes the Nisei’s new familiarity with the American interior.
• New York JACL Will Assist in Audit on Civil Rights, by Ina Sugihara, page 4. The West Side Committee on Civil Rights in New York, with the JACL as a cooperating sponsor, announced that Congressmen Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. and Jacob Javits accepted as co-chairmen. Volunteers will survey local doctors, hospitals, housing, employment, and public places.
• Farewell to Goro, Nisei Architect, by Roku Sugahara, page 5. Goro, a USC-trained architect, leaves New York for Arizona after failing to establish himself professionally and developing tuberculosis. The column traces his idealistic arrival in New York and his disillusionment with the architectural firm.
• Moving Is a Necessary Evil, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa describes the trials of moving house, from packing and parting with neighbors to uncertainty about how new neighbors will react. He counts thirteen moves in eleven years of marriage, including the assembly center and WRA camp.
• Postscript: Togo Tanaka Says Hearst Is Great Guy, by Togo Tanaka, page 6. Togo Tanaka responds to a former Hearst newsman’s defense of William Randolph Hearst, recounting Hearst’s role in inciting anti-Nisei sentiment after Pearl Harbor. He quotes Charles Beard’s harsh judgment of Hearst.

Sports

• Johnny Kuroda Turns Down Pro Ball for Optometry, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Johnny Kuroda, outfielder for the Nampa Clippers, turned down pro baseball offers to enter the Los Angeles College of Optometry. He has been an outstanding player and had impressed pro scouts with his power and speed.
• Nisei All-Stars Begin Tournament Schedule, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Nisei All-Stars opened play in the Oakland Tribune’s California State Amateur championship tournament against the California Tigers. The team is made up of top players from the Northern California Nisei AA league.
• Nisei Girl Star May Win Two National Swim Titles, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Hawaiian Nisei swimmer Evelyn Kawamoto, 15, broke two national women’s outdoor records in time trials and may win two championships at the AAU meet in San Antonio. The Hawaiian team left for the mainland on August 7.
• Aihara Wins Broad Jump at Stockholm, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Heave Aihara of USC won the broad jump with a leap of 23 feet 11 inches as the United States won ten of twelve first places in a dual meet with Sweden. He is the third American to win the event on the tour.

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