Product Description
In December 1982, a congressionally created commission concluded that the incarceration of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II was the result of racism, war hysteria, and failed political leadership. This book offers a case study of the political, institutional, and external factors that led to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which demanded redress for the surviving internees. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating and Engaging
Hatamiya has put together a book that is educational but doesn't skimp on the passion. It's an analysis of the factors that came together that led to passage of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act which apologized to the JapaneseAmericans who were interned during WWII. Besides an official letter ofapology from the President, every surviving internee received a $20,000payment. The payment was meaningless in terms of the freedoms taken away(not to mention businesses and real financial losses), but of greatsymbolic importance. Hatamiya examines the crucial question of how, with aconservative President and a time of economic down turn (the latter half ofReagan's second term, leading into Bush's Administration), did a bill whichled to payments of $20,000 to a special segment of the population could bepassed. Hatamiya also draws out the various factions among JapaneseAmericans who disagreed over tactics to win redress, as well as the variouscommunities (Asian Americans more widely, WWII veterans, US Senate andCongress) who stood on either side of the debate.

The book is also agood introduction into the personal side of legislation and lawmaking, howand why representatives do what they do. I use it for a class onAsian/Pacific American legal issues and the book is great both for itssubject matter as well as its general analysis of factors involved insuccessful legislation. Japanese Internment is not just a JapaneseAmerican, or even an Asian American issue. The fundamental injusticesinvolved in the relocation of loyal citizens for no other reason than skincolor is a vivid lesson that our Constitutional freedoms are not protectedby the document itself, but by the sentiment and agreement of all thepeople who live under it. This is a necessary object lesson for allAmericans. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first collection of letters by a member of the legendary 442nd Combat Team, which served in Italy and France during World War II. Written to his wife by a medic serving with the segregated Japanese American unit, the letters describe a soldier's daily life.

Minoru Masuda was born and raised in Seattle. In 1939 he earned a master's degree in pharmacology and married Hana Koriyama. Two years later the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor, and Min and Hana were imprisoned along with thousands of other Japanese Americans. When the Army recruited in the relocation camp, Masuda chose to serve in the 442nd. In April 1944 the unit was shipped overseas. They fought in Italy and in France, where they liberated Bruyeres and rescued a "lost battalion" that had been cut off by the Germans. After the German surrender on May 3, 1945, Masuda was among the last of the original volunteers to leave Europe; he arrived home on New Year's Eve 1945.

Masuda's vivid and lively letters portray his surroundings, his daily activities, and the people he encountered. He describes Italian farmhouses, olive groves, and avenues of cypress trees; he writes of learning to play the ukulele with his "big, clumsy" fingers, and the nightly singing and bull sessions which continued throughout the war; he relates the plight of the Italians who scavenged the 442nd's garbage for food, and the mischief of French children who pelted the medics with snowballs.

Excerpts from the 442nd daily medical log provide context for the letters, and Hana interposes brief recollections of her experiences. The letters are accompanied by snapshots, a drawing made in the field, and three maps drawn by Masuda. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

a love story via letters
an expression of love during the worst times in a persons life,to be let into that world is a honor.

Hawaiiboy
Great reading - as a previous review mentioned - "Min" is an excellent letter writer.The power is putting down mundane every day tasks and events as they happen - these are things that most histories are missing.Being grubby and dirty, basically living without a home, fear, longing for loved ones and hopes for the future - all this makes this a powerful record of war from a ordinary soldier's personal perspective.

Including the medical unit log entries is genius.My uncle was in the 2nd Battalion.The addition of the places and movements makes the book even more alive.After 65 years I hear about places such as "Hill 140" when some movie or news story about war starts my uncle talking.Hill 140 [...]

Great read.
This is a classic.Everyone should read this book.It is stark and real with a little love and humor.It shows the love the Japanese Americans had for their people and the US.

Compelling and Remarkable
Masuda, his family and friends suffer the humiliation and shame of being forced into camps. Then Masuda decides to fight for the country that put them in the camps. His remarkable choice is never questioned in years of letters, no matter how painful his combat experience.His correspondence reflects not only what is happening on the Europe front, but, insofar as it responds to correspondence from his wife and other Japanese-Americans, it reflects the human toll from the internment program. What makes this book so good is that Masuda is a gifted letter writer (a nearly lost art). The editor also did an outstanding job of providing historical context for Masuda's letters, as well as helping with abreviations and the occasional Japanese word. For anyone whose life was touched (no matter how remotely) by Japanese internment, this book is a must-read! ... Read more

Product Description
The internment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II is one of the most shameful episodes in American history. This reference guide will help students and other interested readers to understand the history of this action and its reinterpretation in recent years. Through the words of those who were interned, this insightful work will also help readers to understand what Japanese Americans experienced during World War II. ... Read more

Product Description
Autobiographical account of the internment of the Japanese American author's family in 1942. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Summer reading for history
This was a book assigned for my son over the summer and he said it was a fast read and was well written.

survival
Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family
Researching the history of Japanese internment camps led me to a great links on the subject through Amazon. Desert Exile will bring tears to your eyes and a hunger for more books on this subject.My interest in the subject was put into action after reading a novel Hotel on Avenue between Bitter and Sweet, another don't miss book.

My review
Desert Exile
Written by Yoshiko Uchida
Review by MC

Description:
This book was about the life of Yoshiko Uchida and her family in the time period when World War II was happening. Her family was a Japanese American family living peacefully in Berkeley, CA, but being treated as though they were only Japanese in America. In these times, Japanese people living in America were being treated just as well as the dirt that they walk on. These Japanese people were being taken away to concentration camps that were being called "relocation centers". They could not go anywhere outside of their home barracks at these camps, unless they were being moved to another camp. Eventually, they made it out when the war ended, but not without claiming many victims of these people who had done nothing wrong in this time period, let alone possibly their lives.

Review:
This story was very well written by Yoshiko Uchida. Since it was written in first person point of view, and that it really happened, it made this story even more powerful. I enjoyed this gripping story of this family that was taken into camps involuntarily, with only the possessions that they were able to carry. In good stories, there are almost always ups and downs, but this story had one big up, and many saddening downs. These poor people were taken out of their homes to somewhere that they were very unfamiliar to with few precaution to keeping everyone healthy. These people were born in America, and salute the American Flag, they are no less American than you or me.
This story shows the human spirit because these people had their freedom taken away for doing absolutely nothing wrong. They were being punished for their looks. They, and for generations in their family, have probably never committed a crime. I would like to say that I am glad that this book was written to show people what hardship these people had to suffer through, and it is shameful. It is in my best hope that this will never happen again in my lifetime and forever.

Desert Exile
I was very interested in finding a book that wasn't just dry history. I wasn't born in this time period of World War II, so I was really eager to find a book relating to this topic. Possibly learning about someone who lived through this time period, something a little like Ann Frank's Diary.

My initial thoughts were, this book would be interesting learning about history without any government interference with the conditions of the camps. In fifth grade I made friends with my best friend who had just moved from Japan and her family was getting aquainted with the United States. I interviewed her mom on how she was liking America and the one resp9onse that really stuck out was, I have so much Freedom.

In the Book I realized that many Japanese Families experienced Racism from many nationalities. Children were taken out of school and from colleges. For a few years the students that were attending Universities were no longer able to graduate with their friends.

Having a friend from Japan gave me an extra push to read the book. To my surprise, I couldn't believe that families were living in horse stalls and that people did not have proper barials if they did die while in the camp.

The beginning of the book started off with how this Japanses-American Family pushed their way through life in America and tells us about their family success. At the end of the book I found that some of these Japanese American Families were actually more patriotic than many American families.

Great Memoir!
I had to read a memoir for my 8th grade English class.This book was about Yoshiko Uchida'sJapanese American family, who were put in camps during World War II. I chose this book because I was very interested in the war, which put over 8,000 Japanese American people into old race tracks and deserts. Yoshiko was placed in two different camps, one in Northern Californiaand the other Utah, both the same: over stuffed with people and nowhere to cry.

Even though she suffered a lot while in the camps, Yoshiko learned that all the things in life, are worth living. She was a student, about to graduate from UC Berkeley, when they were taken off and disconnected from the "American's". They were stuck in the camps for a whole year, with no where to cry without someone seeing you.

This book gave too much background before the war, but when the war hit, the book got much more interesting and exciting.

Lori Sue
Northern California


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Customer Reviews (2)

Powerful and Enlightening
This is a powerful and enlightening work bringing clarity and understanding to an important issue related to globalazation and multi-cultural human relations and identity.It is a must read.

The classic study in the field: should be on all bookshelves
A powerful study of the experiences of Amerasians in America and Japan, this book is clearly the touch-stone for all researchers and others interested in the issues of race and ethnicity in transnational,transcultural contexts... empowered by his extensive research andempathetic reporting, Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu takes this field to anotherlevel of understanding... a must-read for all people interested in theexperiences of those people who are key bridge-builders to a new humanconciousness...Kudos to Professor Murphy-Shigematsu for this significantand critical study...Buy this book! ... Read more

Product Description
In 1871-1882 fifty Americans, along with other foreign experts, were employed by the Japanese government to develop Japan's northern frontier, Hokkaido. Their work covered a wide scope of activities, from introducing Western agriculture and industry, constructing roads and a railroad, and surveying topography and mines, to establishing an agricultural college. This is the first major study of this undertaking; one that has been considered to approach in scope and complexity the development aid projects of the mid to late twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
"The bigger story is that redress is a triumph for all Americans, giving us the heart to pursue other ideals."--from the Foreword by Chizu OmoriWhen President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, tens of thousands of Japanese Americans could finally claim redress from the government that had violated their constitutional rights during World War II. Films and books have explored the appalling circumstances of these 120,000 Japanese immigrants and their families, twothirds of whom were American citizens, incarcerated in ten camps situated in eight western states from 1942 until 1946.What is not commonly known is that the roots of redress began to take shape with a few second-generation Japanese American engineers at the Boeing Company in Seattle in the late 1960s. Tired of being disregarded by their hakujin (white) colleagues, they decided to change the perception that most Americans had of hardworking, silent Asians. Their decision coincided with the opening of a 1970 museum exhibit in Seattle that examined the history of Japanese Americans in the Northwest, depicting in compelling images the consequences of Executive Order 9066. From these initially unrelated circumstances a movement was born that involved national organizations and eventually gained congressional attention in the 1980s. Robert Sadamu Shimabukuro has constructed a very personal testimony from hundreds of interviews with those who lived in the wartime camps and with those who initiated the campaign to seek a public apology from the United States government. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Getting it Right
Of all the current history books on the Asian American experience, Roger Daniels' book "Asian America" still stands out as the most scholarly, the best thought-out and the most clearly presented. While thisis not to deny the achievements of Asian American historians such as RonTakaki (whose "Strangers From a Different Shore", and "IronCages" remain classics), Daniels' book presents a more systematicaccount of the social and historical context for the Chinese and Japaneseexperience in the US.He has an undoubted talent for presenting historicaldata with rigor, sensitivity, and skill.

I recommend this volume to allmy students who are doing papers on Chinese or Japanese American topics,but it is also useful for anyone who wants to understand the development ofthe particular version of US race ideology during the late 19th andearly-mid 20th centuries.

Highly highly recommended

Great Book
I Used This Book On History Project. It Was Great. ... Read more

Product Description
The diary of a third-grade class of Japanese-American children being held with their families in an internment camp during World War II. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Amazing book
This is an amazing and powerful book.I used it as research for my own historical novel and found it to be not only immensely useful, but touching as well.I learned so much about the dignity of the Japanese Americans and their fight to maintain joy under the worst of circumstances.This book is a must read.

A Somewhat biased account of a Very Biased Act
I picked up this book at a museum in Delta, Utah that contained, among other local historical displays, a reconstruction of in internment building.Most Americans are aware of what WE did to Japanese Americans after 12/7/41.There are similarities with how we look at Arab Americans after 9/11/01.There are a number of things that make the treatment of Japanese Americans more egregious such as the absence of similar segregation of German and Italian Americans.There would certainly seem to be obvious racial overtones to this although, in fairness to a supposed "other point of view", we were not so directly attacked by the Germans or Italians.

"The Children of Topaz" is a short book that arose from a diary of an elementary class at the Japanese American internment camp in Utah known as Topaz.The diary itself would barely fill a page or two.The book is comprised mostly of the Introduction, Afterward, and the supplemental information that embelishes each day's diary entries.This supplement comes in very handy.For example, there is an entry for 4/14/43 that reads, "...an old man, Mr. James H. Wakasa passed away."The author's supplement lets us know that Mr. Wakasa was shot by a camp guard and decribes suspicious circumstances.Much information was thus shared about this otherwise "insignificant" entry.There are many other such supplements all of which are longer that the diary entries they describe.There was one entry that I thought was quietly brushed aside; April 20, 1943 "Today is Hitler's birthday".Possibly just an innocent observation but I didn't think the authors gave it an unbiased evaluation.Yet that is OK for me because this book is about what the victims of this injustice went through.The "3" rating is because there wasn't anything that I would consider to be great or outstanding in this book.It is helpful but if you want a truly compelling story about the internment from a child's view, read the book "Obasan".

5th grade class learns about discrimination during WW2
We are class 5T in Holland Elementary School in Holland, MA, USA.We just finished reading The Children of Topaz for our Holocaust unit in Reading.This was our fifth literature study book of the year.

This book is abouta diary kept by a 3rd grade class in a Japanese internment camp in Utahduring WW2.It was about the life and times of the camp community.The3rd graders illustrated their diary.The book showed some of those pages. There were also photographs.The book covered the span of one schoolyear.

Some of us liked how such young children wrote such an amazingstory.It was amazing how the Japanese took the relocation so well.Thechildren drew very good pictures in the diary.

Some of us did not likeThe Children of Topaz because it wasn't fiction, and we like fiction.Thebook was also kind of boring.It didn't have very many exciting parts.Itwas also depressing to read.Some of us felt there could have been morewriting by children and less commentary.We found the terms and namesconfusing.

Some of us felt uncomfortable reading this book.The peoplewho put the Japanese in this camp were us, the American people.We shouldhave thought before we placed innocent American people in camps because ofthe way they looked.The whole story was about racism.It washeartbreaking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans by Nichol Bryan is a good starting point for looking at the Japanese American experience.It introduces young readers to Japan and the history of Japanese immigration.It takes care to note that while many Japanese stayed, many others came (or come) for a while and return to Japan.Japanese culture, religions, and food are touched upon.Famous Japanese Americans like Daniel Inoue, Kristi Yamaguch, and Seijo Ozawa, etc. are noted.The historical photos are good but some stock photos of (non-famous) Japanese Americans look dated.There is a glossary, pronunciation guide, index, and publisher updated web link. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a book about the collective identities of Japanese American elderly in a former sugar plantation community in the rural town of Puna, Hawai'i.Investigating their plantation stories in which they remember, evaluate, and represent their past lives on the plantation from the 1920s to the 1980s, the author explores a process of which they collectively delineate their identities in terms of ethnicity, class, generation, and gender.

The purpose of this book is to present an ethnography of remembering that captures the so-called "cultural testimony" in which the Japanese American elderly narrate their plantation experience as both an internally-oriented emotional manifestation and an externally-based common understanding of their community. The author demonstrates how the Japanese American elderly employ their memories to reconstruct plantation experience and define their peoplehood as the collective identities of plantation-raised Japanese Americans.

This book is informative for many students in different disciplines because of its distinctive approach to people and community. An analysis of interview transcripts reveals the significance of shared story in creating a sense of community.

Most significantly, this book is for people who love Hawai'i. Stories told by Hawai'i-born Japanese Americans will fascinate readers and acquaint them with Hawai'i's culture and history. ... Read more

Product Description
Since many Japanese immigrants focused on agriculture, California and other western states sought to discourage their presense by passing laws making it impossible for Japanese to own agricultural land and enacted other discriminatory as well. The articles in this volume explore the background and ramifications of the so-called Alien Land laws and other anti-Japanese measures and the fascinating legal challenges that ensued. ... Read more

Product Description
"Unflinchingly illustrates the reality of life during this extraordinary moment in American history."—Dinitia Smith, The New York TimesCensored by the U.S. Army, Dorothea Lange's unseen photographs are the extraordinary photographic record of the Japanese American internment saga. This indelible work of visual and social history confirms Dorothea Lange's stature as one of the twentieth century's greatest American photographers. Presenting 119 images originally censored by the U.S. Army—the majority of which have never been published—Impounded evokes the horror of a community uprooted in the early 1940s and the stark reality of the internment camps. With poignancy and sage insight, nationally known historians Linda Gordon and Gary Okihiro illuminate the saga of Japanese American internment: from life before Executive Order 9066 to the abrupt roundups and the marginal existence in the bleak, sandswept camps. In the tradition of Roman Vishniac's A Vanished World, Impounded, with the immediacy of its photographs, tells the story of the thousands of lives unalterably shattered by racial hatred brought on by the passions of war. A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2006. 104 black-and-white photographs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Impounded
Anyone who doesn't think there could possibly be prison camps in the United States needs to have this book.This shows in great detail how the government covered up the Japanese prison camps during WWII.The photography by Dorothea Lange is as always superior. She is by far one of the greatest people who lived and walked on this earth.This is a must have for EVERY single personal library and should be a mandatory book to be taught in school so the people can know the truth.

Unexpected family portrait
Anyone who had relatives affected by Executive Order 9066 knows that photographic depiction of camp life was pretty much forbidden from 1942-1944. My family collection of that time consists of my Grandfather's watercolor paintings of Amache, a family photo surreptitiously taken by a Chinese visitor in 1943 and a 1945 softball game at Topaz.

I purchased the book hoping to see additional images of Amache and Topaz, my Father's and Mother's respective camps. While I really didn't expect to see them in any of Dorothea Lange's photos, I came to realize that the pictures, absent any geographic landmarks, could easily have been taken in any of the ten camps. Some of the shots appear to have been editorially 'stylized', but I have been told that film speeds and camera shutters of the time were not conducive to candid images. It is clear that I have grown accustomed to a digital age with high resolution and strobe lights. Regardless, I very much appreciate and respect the effort undertaken in finally publishing these censored photos.

The ultimate surprise came from a non-Dorothea Lange photo at the beginning of the book. It shows a crowd of Issei and Nisei in San Francisco enroute to the Santa Anita assembly center. The photo not only shows Dorothea Lange holding a large format reflex camera in the background, it also shows my Father, Grandfather and Uncle! But for a man's fedora and a woman's hat blocking them, my Grandmother and other Uncle would also be visible.

A cropped version of the picture was shown on the front page of the April 7, 1942 edition of the San Francisco News, so it can be deduced that the photo was taken no later than April 6, 1942.

I can only hope that other Japanese American families will be able to identify significant relatives following close examination of these now un-censored photos.

Good Recovery
The book is what I expected and I am happy with it.Even better was Amazon's handling of problems with the purchase.The book was not properly packed and had scuffing on the cover.I emailed Amazon about the problem, and they immediately put another copy of the book in the mail to me (without waiting for a return of the first) and sent a postpaid mailing label for me to use in returning the scuffy copy.

I thought it an excellent recovery from an error on their part.

David

OK, But I Have Seen Better
I purchased the book based on previous photos by Dorothea Lange during the Japanese internment period in the United States.She is an excellent photographer, unfortunately the reproduction of her prints were fair in this book.

The Face of Internment
Truly marvelous photos and insightful essays combine to make real for those of us too young to remember, as well as for those who lived outside of the camps.A moving tribute to an unfortunate, if not shameful, part of American history. ... Read more

Product Description
The only anthology of its kind, Only What We Could Carry is a collection of literature from the internment experience, including poetry and fiction written and published in the camps, personal diaries, letters, and the haunting recollections of other American citizens who saw what was happening. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

The Pacific War from the homefront.
For World War II history buffs, this book is an excellent view from the eyes of Japanese Americans.They were amazing people in how they dealt with the situation.
One section of the book gets a little bogged down covering the issue of "Question 28", and I passed over the poetry, but beyond that it is a great read.

Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience
I thought I knew a good bit about the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II before I read this book, but I was badly mistaken.This is a very good gathering of different sources: journal excerpts, recollections, legal documents, photos, poetry, ect., that give a complete and horrible picture of these events.The parallels to an unfortunate number of things happening currently in our government/society are a real demonstration of the adadge that if we don't learn from history we are condemned to repeat it.

What National Panic makes us think.
Only what we could carry, edited by Lawson Fusao Inada, is a compilation of photography, drawings, poems, personal stories, legal documents, and memoirs of the Japanese Americans that were put into internment by the American government after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor.Not only did this book include the interneesEexperience and their feelings, the interneesEAmerican friends and the media who were on the government side were included.

Some of the interesting facts in this book were the propaganda images.One that really struck me as an interesting propaganda was titled, "How to spot a Jap.E In a cartoon style, it mentions the differences between a Chinese and a Japanese.The drawings are put there so that it'll be easy for the public to differentiate them.I'm Japanese and I found this propaganda amusing.By just looking or reading the propaganda, it gives the reader the history and portrays how so many Americans were narrow minded and easily persuaded.

Perspectives
This book has an impressive collection of accounts from various sources and manages to touch upon any significant Japanese American experience during World War II.
I purchased this book for its coverage of the Nisei 100th and 442nd batalions, and was impressed at the varied perspectives included.From an excerpt from Daniel Inouye's account to a reflection by a concentration camp survivor liberated by men of the 442nd, Only What We Could Carry certainly covers the map.
A good source for those studying any aspect of Japanese American life during the war, and an excellent one for those studying the subject in general.

An important account of the Japanese American internment
Only What We Could Carry provides an important account of the Japanese American internment experience after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. Personal documents, art and propaganda are presented in a title which captures the camp experience in a series of personal autobiographical revelations. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
"Altered Lives, Enduring Community" examines the long-term effects on Japanese Americans of their World War II experiences: forced removal from their Pacific Coast homes, incarceration in desolate government camps, and ultimate resettlement. As part of Seattle's Densho: Japanese American Legacy Project, the authors collected interviews and survey data from Japanese Americans now living in King County, Washington, who were imprisoned during World War II. Their clear-eyed, often poignant account presents the contemporary, post-redress perspectives of former incarcerees on their experiences and the consequences for their life course.Using descriptive material that personalizes and contextualizes the data, the authors show how prewar socioeconomic networks and the specific characteristics of the incarceration experience affected Japanese American readjustment in the postwar era. Topics explored include the effects of incarceration and resettlement on social relationships and community structure, educational and occupational trajectories, marriage and childbearing, and military service and draft resistance.The consequences of initial resettlement location and religious orientation are also examined. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Past is not Just the Past
I grew up in Seattle hearing bits and pieces of the stories of the Japanese Americans who had been rounded up from their homes nearby in the months after Pearl Harbor and sent to inhospitable concentration camps in the interior West, and am always curious for more information.This book, written by a professor of psychology and ethnic studies and a professor of sociology, is, predictably, a scholarly study. This is the first scientific, representative study of the American-born generation who lived through the experience.Time was running out, given the advancing age of the Nisei.So a random study was done in 1997 of 183 current residents of King County, Washington (Seattle) who had been what they call "incarcerated" in the camps.I found this a powerful term to express the injustice of what was done to the Japanese Americans without having to go through diatribes.It got the point across.They chose this location partly because research was already going on, and partly because of the high concentration of Japanese Americans there.

The book follows a chronological order, first describing what prewar life was like, for various age groups, then the act of incarceration, what life was like in the camps, resettlement after the war, and present day life.Two formats are used, first, quotations from the open ended responses people made.These tend to be all too brief; I wanted more.The other is charts and statistics.I've taken statistics classes so am not intimidated by this, but it might feel like a bit much to someone who just wants to know what life was like.But the narrative tells you, and you can let your eyes pass right over the numbers and pay attention to the words.

Among the interesting findings I'll just pick some.Even before the war, a generation gap was looming.The Issei, the immigrant generation, were terribly discriminated against, and thus clustered in "Japantowns."They lived either by farming or in businesses that catered to their own community.Thus, they tended not to learn English.Their children, the Nisei, learned English and American ways in school.They became their parents' interface to the American world.This is probably a universal immigrant experience.But it became even more problematic in the camps, where the structure of life was controlled by the US Army and the parents had little or no control over their children, and the family structure so important to the Japanese started to collapse.

Sixty years later, those who had been the youngest when they entered the camps had the least-negative memories, while those who had been young adults had the worst memories.Young adult women's memories were worse than men's.The book didn't talk about this, but I wondered if it wasn't related to the difficulty of raising young children with minimal resources.

Women who were not married when they entered the camps married two years later, on average, than their age-mates in the population at large--at a time when women were marrying earlier than they had during the depression years.And they had fewer children, spaced farther apart, again at a time when the general birth rate rose.

The Japanese American Issei generation had a low level of education, due to lack of opportunity, and they had high expectations for their children.Their children had high expectations for themselves.Almost half the young men and a quarter of the young women expected to go to college.And they actually exceeded those expectations, though many waited years to fulfill them.The same was true of occupational status.Issei fathers were very limited in the occupations available to them, but their children were ambitious.And as a group, they exceeded their ambitions.

One of the most interesting chapters was on resettlement.It clearly surprised the authors that the incarcerees had so much difficulty reestablishing themselves after the war.Part of this was caused by the government's policy of encouraging them to "spread themselves thin" across the country to be less conspicuous and "more American."Their strong community and church ties were thus destroyed and took years to rebuild in new ways.Before 1945, they were still not allowed to return to the Pacific coast, and some of these people who ended up in the Seattle area moved as many as eight or nine times before landing there.Discrimination made finding jobs very difficult, and many had lost all economic assets.

If you are interested in knowing more on what happened to the Japanese Americans during and after World War II, I would highly recommend this book.If you need to ignore the statistics, do so, but get the gist of the overview of the story.Then look in the long bibliography, or do a Google search, and find one of the many good autobiographies written by someone who lived through it, for an up close and personal view of what it was like.You'll benefit from both vantage points. ... Read more

Product Description
Since 1855, nearly a half a million Japanese immigrants have settled in the United States, the majority arriving between 1890 and 1924 during the great wave of immigration to Hawai'i and the mainland. Today, more than one million Americans claim Japanese ancestry. They came to study and to work, and found jobs as farm laborers, cannery workers, and railroad workers. Many settled permanently, formed communities, and sent for family members in Japan. While they worked hard, established credit associations and other networks, and repeatedly distinguished themselves as entrepreneurs, they also encountered harsh discrimination. Nowhere was this more evident than on the West coast during World War II, when virtually the entire population of Japanese Americans was forced into internment camps solely on the basis of their ethnicity.
In this concise history, Paul R. Spickard traces the struggles and achievements of Japanese Americans in claiming their place in American society. He outlines three forces shaping ethnic groups in general: shared interests, shared institutions, and shared culture, and chronicles the Japanese American experience within this framework, showing how these factors created and nurtured solidarity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Insightful and Englightening
Spickard explores the history of Japanese Americans, beginning with the first group who migrated to the United States between the period of the Civil War and World War 1 (1890-1910).By providing a brief history of Japan and the reasons for migration, the author tells the story of Japanese immigrants - their hardship in the new country, their struggle against racism, internment during World War 11 and rebuilding their lives after the war, the new wave of immigrants and their struggle to preserve Japanese ethnic identity. ... Read more

Product Description
This authoritative book shows how the gap between a group's mean IQ and achievement can be precisely measured, and then partitioned between two factors -- an important methodology with potential application for all ethnic groups. In this case, the author shows that Chinese Americans' occupational achievements are generally far beyond their IQ -- as if they had a mean IQ 21 points higher than they actually do. This unique approach to explaining group achievement emphasizes non-IQ factors such as historical origins, family, work ethic, educational tradition, personality traits, and social institutions.
... Read more

Product Description
Judgment without Trial reveals that long before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government began making plans for the eventual internment and later incarceration of the Japanese American population. Tetsuden Kashima uses newly obtained records to trace this process back to the 1920s, when a nascent imprisonment organization was developed to prepare for a possible war with Japan, and follows it in detail through the war years.

Along with coverage of the well-known incarceration camps, the author discusses the less familiar and very different experiences of people of Japanese descent in the Justice and War Departments’ internment camps that held internees from the continental U.S. and from Alaska, Hawaii, and Latin America. Utilizing extracts from diaries, contemporary sources, official communications, and interviews, Kashima brings an array of personalities to life on the pages of his book -- those whose unbiased assessments of America’s Japanese ancestry population were discounted or ignored, those whose works and actions were based on misinformed fears and racial animosities, those who tried to remedy the inequities of the system, and, by no means least, the prisoners themselves.

Kashima’s interest in this episode began with his own unanswered questions about his father’s wartime experiences. From this very personal motivation, he has produced a panoramic and detailed picture--without rhetoric and emotionalism and supported at every step by documented fact--of a government that failed to protect a group of people for whom it had forcibly assumed total responsibility. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Kashima's judgment not justified
The final chapter of any book is that in which most authors wrap up their ideas. Kashima does it well in the last chapter of his book:

"During and after World War II, the U.S. government imprisoned nearly 120,000 Nikkei, the majority of whom were American citizens. They were detained in imprisonment centers without being charged with the commission of crimes, deprived of legal counsel and trials, and incarcerated, in most instances, for no stated justifiable reason or specified duration."

Kashima utilizes a rebuttal often used in many books of this nature: "No evidence exists that any Issei or Nisei resident of the United States... ever committed an act of espionage or sabotage." They contend then that the Nikkei's "only crime was the accident of nationality or parentage." They do err, unfortunately, in their declaration of innocence for all Nikkei, on this major point -- the issue for the Nisei was not crime, conviction, or even accusation. The need, then, for courts or hearings becomes a moot point; there were a number of high profile court cases, however, but none proved any government action unconstitutional. The main issue for the Issei, however, was entirely different, made so by a belligerent act by Imperial Japan -- the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor -- when the Japanese residents in the US suddenly became America's enemies. That status made action imperative -- in fact, the public demanded that something be done with the Japanese on the West Coast.

It is most unfortunate that Kashima, though studying quite fastidiously the trees, has failed to correctly comprehend the forest. The major detraction from this commendable research is his insistance on imprisonment and incarceration of the Nikkei. This sad dirge in the minor key is commonly sung by those who believe the US Government did them wrong during WWII. Though their bitterness may be real, their accusations are, however, without basis.

Thousands of Issei and Nisei were never in any assembly or relocation centers, and thousands upon thousands more spent very little time there, having moved out to jobs or colleges elsewhere in the United States. Thousands of others enjoyed their time in the centers, and indeed, preferred life there than on the outside. Furthermore, any Nikkei had easy access to legal counsel, at any time.

The majority of the evacuated Nikkei were cared for by the US Government in many special ways. For former center inhabitants to ignore this fact, and to demean US leadership, is to bite the hand that fed them. Kashima lumps the entire WWII experience of the Nikkei in assembly and relocation centers, as well as in detention and isolation camps, and calls it "imprisonment" and "incarceration" in "concentration camps."

Perhaps one of the keys to understanding Kashima's lack of factual data to backup these final observations of his may be found in the caption for the illustration on the jacket cover of the book: "Guard Tower, water color and ink painting by Kenjiro Nomura, Minidoka Relocation Center, Idaho, 1942-43." The "guard towers" drawn in the illustration were in actuality water towers -- one such photo from Aug. 1942 has the caption, "One of the several water towers which serves the Minidoka War Relocation Authority center." Granted, there were guard towers at the relocation centers; insistence they were there to control or even terrorize the occupants of the centers is a hysterical conclusion, however.

As for the barbed wire fence with 45-degree top brackets (inward slant specifically for stopping escapees) in the illustration, there is no photo proof of such a fence. Even if such a high-security type of fencing actually existed at Minidoka, what would have been the need of it? The evacuees were free to leave the center to work out in the expansive fields surrounding Minidoka, to take walks along the canal, to go swimming at the pool (skating in the winter), etc.

Another excerpt: "After the signing of EO 9066, all families on the West Coast and in the territory of Alaska, and others in Hawaii and Latin America, were either interned or incarcerated." Unbeknownst to Kashima, he has effectively destroyed his credibility in this sweeping statement. I find myself again blinking my eyes in amazement as I re-read those words. Granted, he means Nikkei families, but "all"? Somehow his research has degraded into generalizations and blanket statements.

One more excerpt: "Japanese Americans have conducted their lives for decades under the social cloud of the incarceration and, unable to banish it, have lived with the stigma." Kashima then has a quote by Congressman Matsui, which also betrays similar bitterness about the evacuation and lack of discernment regarding the so-called "stigma," due to the trauma of having their "faith in the government and the strength of the U.S. Constitution... shaken during World War II" because "their government... had refused to protect them from outside prejudices," and worse, wanted to deport them.

And there you have the crux of this book: The American populace is to blame for injustices against their fellow Americans and for creating a stigma they endure to this day. Americans must be aware of this so that it will never happen again.

Interesting. I've heard that "never again" phrase somewhere before. Ah yes, it was stated twice, in the beginning of the film, and at the end, a 1944 film entitled "Betrayal from the East," which is a dramatized version of a real event, showing the danger of espionage and sabotage from among the Nikkei on the West Coast. Fortunately, THAT has not happened again.

Kashima once again had an opportunity to redeem the injustices done in "Personal Justice Denied." He followed the mainstream once again, sadly, though with a new twist -- that of "predetermined" racism and internment.

Personal justice has once again been denied -- the personal justice for individuals such as DeWitt, McCloy, Bendetsen, and even Franklin D. Roosevelt. Where is any sense of justice for them? Not to be found in writings of this caliber.

Japanese Americans as scapegoats
The book Judgment Without Trial primarily focuses on the process by which U.S. authorities impounded people of Japanese descent (both alien and first generation American) from the West Coast, Hawaii and Latin America.Additionally, the author asserts that racial prejudice and political expedience were the primary motivations behind the government's plans to indefinitely hold these foreign nationals and their children under duress without charge, evidence, or due process.This secondary assertion aside, the book primarily focuses on how this process was conceived, organized, and implemented by the Justice Department, the War Relocation Authority, and the army.

Tetsuden Kashima argues that our present-day characterization of this mass imprisonment as a wartime "mistake" ignores the fact that the imprisonment of Japanese, both foreign nationals and American citizens, was conceived by high-level officials decades before the United States entered the war.The federal government's decision and plans were therefore not made in haste, or because of "hysteria" following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.Kashima further asserts that the federal Japanese imprisonment organization went far beyond the establishment of a few assembly and relocation centers.Government public relations pronouncements to the contrary, he claims the organization created by the Roosevelt administration was large, complex, and oppressive.

The book is organized around a series of themes.One concerns the problem of organizational disputes among the agencies.Another addresses the problem of control of the prisoner population.A third theme examines the way in which the imprisonment organization dealt with the unanticipated needs that arose in regard to the prisoners.Yet another theme concerns the actual control methods used in the centers.

The first three chapters chronologically present the evolution and deployment of the internment process.Chapters four and five deal with the U.S. government's treatment the Japanese living in Hawaii and Latin American.The last five chapters concern life in the camps themselves, and the physical and psychological hardships inflicted upon the internees.The book concludes with sixty eight pages of notes and charts, along with a bibliography section containing over two hundred entries.

The book appears to be thoroughly researched.Kashima's sources include personal correspondence, diaries, interviews, books, magazine articles, official government reports, along with court briefs, transcripts, and records.

Judgment Without Trial succeeds in making its case that the U.S. government began planning for the internment of the Japanese American population long before the first bomb fell onto Pearl Harbor.Also, Kashima's description of the creation and implementation of the program is illuminating.However, the book falls short in presenting objective proof of deliberate U.S. government's abused of Japanese foreign nationals and their American-born children.His evidence for the assertion that animosity toward Japanese-Americans affected the general tenor of the treatment they received is mostly anecdotal, and ignores the very real threat to our West Coast by Japan.Our commercial shipping was under constant threat by Japanese submarines following the destruction of our Pacific fleet - those same submarines actually fired missiles at our undefended coast. Also, evidence obtained from decoded Japanese diplomatic communications (the so-called "MAGIC" files) revealing the threat of a Japanese espionage networks on the West Coast is never mentioned By Kashima.

Sheds new light on reasons for internment
This book is a comprehensive look at some of the major reasons for the internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans during WW2. Many people think that racial hatred of Japanese started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, but actually this was only the culmination of years of anti Japanese feelings , especially on the west coast. Most of the first generation Japanese were farmers, and they made what was once thought to be barren wasteland into some of the most productive land in the US. However, the 1920 Land Act prohibited all Japanese nationals from owning any land, and first generation Japanese werePROHIBITED from becoming US citizens, laws influenced by racist white farmers to prevent any more Japanese from owning farm land. The ever resourceful Issei (first generation Japanese) bypassed this by putting their land in their childrens (by law, American citizens) names. In 1924, the Congress and President Coolidge passed the Anti-Asian exclusion act, which prohibited any more immigration by Japanese (and other Asians) (for an excellent reference, see Roger Daniels "The Politics of Prejudice" for an authoritative look at the laws used to discriminate against Japaneseduring the early 20th century). In addition, Newspaper publishers like William Randolph Hearst were making large efforts to inflame anti Japanese sentiment in their newspapers.
When Pearl Harbor occured, mass hysteria ensued. Many Japanese owned businesses were burned and lootedand homes of Japanese families were vandalized and attacked. It was Feb. 1942 whenExecutive Order 9066 effectively gave all persons of Japanese ancestry, some times as little as 72 hours, time to pack their belongings, settle their affairs, and report for "relocation" (a euphemism if there ever was one).
One last fact that a previous reviewer conveniently doesn't mention- The US Army's 442nd and 100th all Nisei(second generation) combat units, comprising nearly 10,000 men,were the most decorated units for their size in the history of the United States.While their families were locked up or prevented from returning to their lawful homes, "these brave men fought prejudice and won" - spoken by Pres. Harry Truman in 1945 in a ceremony honoring the 442nd and 100th battalions.Its on archival news reels, for any doubters out there.
A previous reviewer says that the WW2 internment of Japanese Americans was NOT due to racial hatred and prejudice- this book and a look at history and the congressional record for the aforementioned anti-Japanese legislation would prove him dead WRONG.

More activist Japanese-American reparations nonsense!
These folks just won't stop. Kashima is a reparations demagogue who like his activist reparations colleagues is bent on re-writing the history of Japanese-American espionage before Pearl Harbor. MAGIC intelligence was the reason for the evacuation. If you want an accurate portrayal of the history, read "MAGIC" by retired National Security Agency Executuve David Lowman. The declassified documents will be enough to convince fair minded readers.

Until Japanese-Americans fess up to the darker chapters oftheir own history and quit attempting to portray themselves as victims and the U.S. government as racists this issue will always be controversial. Version of events of Kashima's ilk will always be taken with a grain of salt by the majority of Americans.

Did you know:

1. It is not true that Japanese-Americans were "interned". Only Japanese nationals (enemy aliens) arrested and given individual hearings were interned. Such persons were held for deportation in Department of Justice camps. Those evacuated were not interned. They were first given an opportunity to voluntarily move to areas outside the military zones. Those unable or unwilling to do so were sent to Relocation Centers operated by the War Relocation Authority.

2. During the war, more than 33,000 evacuees voluntarily left the relocation centers to accept outside employment in areas outside of the military zones. An additional 4,300 left to attend colleges in the East.

3. Approximately two-thirds of the ADULTS among those evacuated were Japanese nationals--enemy aliens subject to detention under long-standing law. The vast majority of evacuated Japanese-Americans (U.S. citizens) were children at the time. Their average age was only 15 years.In addition, between 50 and 75 percent of Japanese-Americans over age 17 were also citizens of Japan (dual citizens) under Japanese law. Thousands had been educated in Japan, some having returned to the U.S. holding reserve rank in the Japanese armed forces.

4. In a recent study made by the National Park Service for the Manzanar memorial site, it was revealed that during the war over 26% of Japanese Americans over military age said they would refuse to swear an unqualified oath of allegiance to the United States.

5. According to War Relocation Authority records, 13,000 applications renouncing their U.S. citizenship and requesting expatriation to Japan were filed by or on behalf of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Over 5,000 such applications had been processed by the end of the war.

6. The evacuation was not motivated by racism, as so often claimed today, but by information obtained by the U.S. from pre-war decoded Japanese diplomatic messages (MAGIC) and other intelligence revealing the existence of espionage and the potential for sabotage involving then-unidentified resident Japanese aliens and Japanese-Americans living within the West Coast Japanese community.Many of these messages and associated intelligence documents have since been declassified and are available in a number of historical publications.

Don't fall for what Kashima and his activist buddies are feeding the public....

Diaries, contemporary sources, and official communications
Judgment Without Trial is a college-level survey of Japanese American imprisonment during World War II and reveals that even before Pearl Harbor, the US government was making plans for the eventual internment of the Japanese American population. Newly discovered records traces this back to the 1920s and plans to prepare for a possible war with Japan. This plus new information on experiences of people of Japanese descent in the Justice and War Departments' camps for internees from Alaska, Hawaii and Latin America makes for an important, different guide which blends diaries, contemporary sources, and official communications in a revealing history. ... Read more