In the annals of Japanese American history, a great deal of attention has been justly devoted to the four wartime “internment cases,†in which individual Nisei — Gordon Hirabayashi, Minoru Yasui, Fred Korematsu and Mitsuye Endo — challenged mass removal before the Supreme Court. In contrast, several other Nisei brought cases in the lower courts. […]
The Great Unknown and the Unknown Great
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Buchanan YMCA Secretary Lincoln Kanai’s ‘courage against injustice’ of World War II
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Feminist Writer Ishigaki Made Waves
In the decade surrounding World War II, the Japanese-born feminist and activist Ayako Ishigaki lived in the United States, where she distinguished herself as a radical intellectual and outspoken opponent of Japan’s military occupation of Manchuria and China. She joined dockside protests aimed at preventing Japanese ships from landing and transporting cargoes and barnstormed the […]
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Oyabe’s Adventures
Jenichiro Oyabe (1867-1941) was among the first people of Japanese ancestry to write about his life in the United States. His memoir “A Japanese Robinson Crusoe,†first published in 1898, offers a picturesque account of the author’s experiences. It is also a fascinating example of the dark side of “Americanization†— how immigrants seeking liberty […]
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