Evacuee claims signed into law, and Nisei soldiers come home from Italy

Vol. 27, No. 2, July 10, 1948. 8 pages. View this issue

President Truman’s signing of the evacuee claims bill, H.R. 3999, led the news. The law lets the Justice Department settle losses from the forced removal up to $2,500, with larger claims needing private bills. JACL President Hito Okada called it a major step toward rectifying the injustice, and a Senate subcommittee heard testimony on the Judd naturalization bill from Edward J. Ennis, Robert M. Cullum and Mike Masaoka. The front page also reported that the remains of Pfc. Kashi Araki of Selma arrived from Italy, with hundreds more Nisei expected in coming months.

Columns by Larry Tajiri, Bill Hosokawa and Togo Tanaka cover the cancelled film Honored Glory, a Colorado prison premiere, Nisei veterans and Nisei politics in 1948. Elsewhere: Issei fishermen receiving licenses after the Takahashi decision, the treason trial of Tomoya Kawakita, and Hizi Koyke’s Madame Butterfly in Cincinnati.

What’s in this issue

National

• Selma Infantryman’s Remains Returned for Reburial, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The remains of Pfc. Kashi Araki, a Nisei soldier killed in the Italian campaign, were returned to the United States aboard the USAT Hollywood Victory. The Army reports hundreds more Nisei dead from Italy will be brought home in coming months.
• California Issues Commercial Fishing License to Issei as Result of Takahashi Decision, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Isohei Hatashita received a commercial fishing license at Terminal Island, the first granted to a Japanese alien in California in seven years. The license followed the U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating the state’s racially restrictive fishing law.

Community

• Buddhist Church Leaders Elect New U.S. Head, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rinban Enryo Shigefuji of Fresno was chosen to succeed the late Bishop Ryotei Matsukage as head of the Buddhist Churches of America. It was the first time a bishop was selected in the United States rather than appointed from Japan.
• Infant Drowns in Irrigation Ditch on Colorado Farm, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Arthur N. Kawakami, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Ka Kawakami of Ogden, Utah, drowned in an irrigation ditch near Derby, Colorado. Rescue efforts by firemen and a resuscitator were unsuccessful.
• Nisei Legion Post Explains Stand on Naturalization Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Townsend Harris American Legion post, made up of Nisei veterans, explained its support for naturalization rights for Japanese aliens after being censured by the national Legion. The post argued that the extension of naturalization to Japanese aliens merits widespread appeal.
• Issei Receive Fishing Permits in Monterey, by P.C. Staff, page 2. More than 30 resident Japanese fishermen in the Monterey area received or expected to apply for commercial fishing licenses following the Supreme Court’s Takahashi decision. Fishermen have had difficulty chartering boats as the season nears its peak.
• Hanamura Convicted for Giving False Statement in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Akira Hanamura, a Stockton-born man who served in the Japanese Army, was sentenced to six months in prison for falsely telling a U.S. consular official he had not served. He sought the passport to return to the United States.
• Cincinnati Supports Convention Benefit, by P.C. Staff, page 2. About 125 Cincinnatians attended a preconvention benefit sponsored by the local JACL chapter, highlighted by a performance from opera star Hizi Koyke. Proceeds supported the national JACL convention.
• Stranded Nisei Return from Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fifty-five Japanese passengers, including several Nisei, disembarked in San Francisco from the President Cleveland after sailing from Yokohama. The passengers included students, church ministers, and returning residents from across the western United States.
• San Jose Damage Suits Filed in Tainted Soya Sauce Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Damage claims totaling $11,000 were filed in San Jose Justice Court by Japanese American families who were poisoned by arsenic-tainted soya sauce. More than 40 persons were stricken in the San Jose area in July 1947.
• Army Film Will Depict Nisei Postwar Resettlement Success, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The War Department is filming a documentary in Los Angeles showing Japanese American resettlement since 1945 for audiences in Japan and occupied countries. Scenes include a Nisei veteran’s funeral and local businesses.
• Nisei Doctor Wins Prominent Place in West Virginia City, by Ken Matsumoto, page 8. Dr. George Miyakawa, a Sacramento-born Nisei, became chief of orthopedics at two Charleston, West Virginia hospitals after arriving six years earlier. He is the only Nisei member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery.

Military & Veterans

• Remains of 10 Nisei Soldiers Arrive for Reburial in U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The remains of ten Nisei soldiers killed in World War II arrived aboard the USAT Oglethorpe Victory from Europe. Six were listed with next of kin in California, with others in Colorado, Oregon, Nebraska, and Idaho.
• Nisei Vet Returned from French Cemetery, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The remains of Cpl. Yasuo Kenneth Kanegai were returned from an Army cemetery in France, as reported by the Nisei Veterans Association in Los Angeles. He was killed in action in October 1944 during the rescue of the Lost Battalion.
• VFW Post Holds Rites for Lost Battalion Hero, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Memorial services were held in Sacramento for Pfc. Torao Hayashi, killed in the rescue of the Lost Battalion in the Vosges mountains. Nisei Post 8985 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars directed the church and graveside services attended by many ex-servicemen.
• Colorado Nisei War Veterans Recall War Experiences, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa profiles Colorado Nisei who served with the 442nd Combat Team, including Tom Doi, who lost a leg in Italy. The article recounts the 442nd’s history and the continuing denial of citizenship to Issei parents.
• Final Rites Held for Nisei GI in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Honor guard members paid tribute at the funeral of Technical Sergeant Kenneth M. Uno of the 170th Language Detachment, who died in a traffic accident in April. The photo caption describes the military service in Osaka.

Incarceration & Redress

• President Truman Signs Bill to Compensate Evacuees for Property, Business Losses, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Truman signed the evacuee claims bill, H.R. 3999, just before the deadline, completing the only part of his civil rights program approved by Congress. The law lets the Justice Department settle evacuation losses up to $2,500, with larger claims requiring private bills.
• Government Witnesses Tell of Alleged Brutalities in Trial of Tomoya Kawakita, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Former American POWs testified in Los Angeles that Tomoya Kawakita, an interpreter at the Oeyama prison camp, committed beatings and mistreatment. Kawakita faces a possible death penalty on treason charges, and his defense argues he was a Japanese national.
• War-Stranded Girl Permitted to Enter U.S. for Hearing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Etsuko Arikawa, a war-stranded Nisei who reportedly lost her citizenship by voting in Japanese elections, was allowed to enter the United States to testify at her citizenship hearing. She had filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles.

JACL

• Okada Sees Evacuee Claims as Effort to Rectify Injustices, by P.C. Staff, page 3. JACL President Hito Okada hailed congressional passage and presidential signing of the evacuation claims measure as a major step toward rectifying the evacuation. He stated that the naturalization bill is the remaining major goal of the ADC program.
• Passage of Judd Naturalization Equality Measure Urged at Senate Subcommittee Hearing, by Tosuke Yamasaki, page 4. Edward J. Ennis, Robert M. Cullum, and Mike Masaoka testified before a Senate subcommittee in support of the Judd bill to remove race as a barrier to naturalization. They argued that racial restrictions in the Nationality Code no longer belong in American law.

Arts & Entertainment

• Cincinnati Hails Hizi Koyke for Butterfly Role, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Critics in Cincinnati praised Hizi Koyke’s portrayal of Madame Butterfly at the Cincinnati Summer Opera on July 1. Multiple newspapers, including an editorial in the Times-Star, lauded her performance.
• Down the Hollywood Drain, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Larry Tajiri reports that RKO cancelled the proposed film Honored Glory, about a Nisei soldier in the 442nd, after Dore Schary resigned as studio head. He laments Hollywood’s turn toward sex and spectacle over socially engaged films.

Commentary

• Evacuation Claims Act, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the evacuee claims law as recognition of injustices done to Japanese Americans during the mass evacuation. It notes the limited recovery possible and summarizes the act’s provisions and exclusions.
• Relief for Defeated Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reports that LARA has delivered about seven million pounds of food, clothing, and medical supplies to Japan from Americans. It argues the aid has transformed Japanese attitudes toward Americans from conquerors to friends.
• Shades of Nazism, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A Denver court referee dismissed as kid stuff an incident in which an older boy hanged refugee Henry Kosterlitz from a ladder. The column suggests Americans have not experienced enough sorrow to grasp such discrimination.
• Book Club, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Institute of American Democracy warns that the Poor Richard’s Book-of-America Club judges include figures with race-hate views. The column suggests race-hate books may eventually be distributed through the club.
• Changing Era, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The column notes a reversal in missionary patterns as Korean Rev. Samuel T. Lee was named a missionary to native Americans in Oregon. It presents this as a sign of changing times.
• Manhattan Hospitality, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A columnist recounts the high cost of entertaining visiting relatives in Manhattan, with a single dinner, show, and nightclub outing totaling over $100. He contrasts this with the more generous hospitality he associates with California.
• From the Frying Pan: World Premiere in Canon City, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa describes attending the world premiere of the film Canon City at the Colorado state penitentiary and touring the prison. He reflects that the prison’s confinement recalled the wartime incarceration camps for Japanese Americans.
• The Nisei in Politics, by Togo Tanaka, page 6. Togo Tanaka surveys Nisei political affiliations across Republicans, Democrats, Wallaceites, and Socialists for the 1948 election. He argues Nisei voters should judge candidates on broader issues rather than racial considerations.

Sports

• Honolulu Bowlers Quit ABC Over Race Prejudice Policy, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Honolulu Bowling Association withdrew from the American Bowling Congress over its exclusion of non-Caucasian bowlers from sanctioned events on the mainland. Jesse J. Kelly was elected association president.

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