Japanese American Internment: One Family's WWII Story

Introduction: Human Rights and a Personal History

This year marked the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which supports equal rights and liberties for everyone regardless of race, gender, language, religion, or nationality. Nothing as atrocious as the two World Wars has occurred since the Declaration was adopted in 1948. Nevertheless, what it stands for is, as the title suggests, universally valid. Moreover, as contemporary societies address the importance of international interrelation as perhaps never before, members of different groups have an even greater need to relate to one another without prejudice. Unfortunately, America has a long history of discrimination based on race and ethnicity. As much as we might try to persuade ourselves that such issues are no longer regular occurrences, we may discover otherwise.

This paper, however, deals not so much with the current state of affairs in matters of discrimination as it does with taking the course of action further back into the past — to a time when the dust over Pearl Harbor had not yet settled and the memory of the attack had not yet faded. This is a story about a Japanese American citizen who, along with tens of thousands of others, faced incarceration during World War II in camps throughout America.

The man in question passed away years ago, and the author of this paper acknowledges that the facts presented here were passed on by the deceased's son. We do not believe this makes the information any less viable. The memories and stories are well preserved in this particular family, and because we truly wanted to uncover this story, we decided to proceed. Furthermore, because the effects of internment reflected upon the entire family, we felt this would further substantiate our analysis. The interview was conducted naturally, allowing the interviewee to express ideas in a free-flowing manner. We pointed to questions relevant to our understanding and context. The version presented here has been reviewed and arranged, but not altered in matters of accuracy.

The Himura Family: Immigration, Identity, and Early Discrimination

Today, 78% of Japan's population is urban. At the end of the Second World War, however, half of the Japanese people were still concentrated in rural areas. Akira Himura's parents, his son reveals, came from the Chūgoku region in Japan and were Issei — meaning they were among the first generation of Japanese to immigrate. That made Akira a Nisei, a child born in the new country, and his son — our interviewee — a Sansei, a child of the third generation. Akira's parents descended from a family of farmers, as did so many other Japanese immigrants. They came to America in 1917 to work on the Hawaiian plantations, thinking they would eventually return home, but they never did. Akira was born in 1919, and his parents decided to settle in the United States from that point on.

Eventually, the family moved to the U.S. mainland, despite rumors that Japanese people were treated differently in other parts of the country than in Hawaii. The parents were ambitious and wanted their only child to succeed in this new and rapidly modernizing environment. They worked longer and harder hours to increase their income and eventually became competitive entrepreneurs. But in those days, our interviewee states — as passed on by his father — Americans had already begun to develop a general contempt for Japanese immigrants. Many felt that the Japanese were taking what belonged, by common assumption, to the American people. It had been acceptable when Japanese workers were paid less than Americans and required to pay more when purchasing farms, but once it became clear that many were successfully working their way up, attitudes began to shift.

The family left Hawaii for Idaho when Akira was six years old and remained there as part of an ever-growing Japanese community for some time. As rejection of Japanese people increased and the Idaho Legislature restricted their rights to property, Akira's parents struggled to raise their child in a harmonious environment. Japanese culture, our interviewee relates, was very much a part of his father's childhood. Later, as Akira became increasingly estranged from the country he considered his rightful home, he came to cherish even more deeply the cultural legacy taught to him by his parents.

His son recalls Akira saying that some Japanese people were reluctant to engage with Americans — not necessarily because of discrimination, but because they were unsure of themselves, almost timid. They had been raised with different values, and some found it difficult and frightening to mingle with Americans, as though they might lose a part of themselves by doing so. But Akira's parents were different. They were fairly young, open-minded, and enthusiastic enough to explore this new world. They befriended like-minded Americans and, for a time, believed they could build a good life in Idaho. But both life and business prospects were endangered by continuous hardship, and the family relocated once more — this time to Oregon, where Akira's father had been promised a business opportunity by a family member who had recently settled there. Akira was 18 years old.

In the 1930s, prejudice against Japanese Americans did not diminish; if anything, it intensified. Fearing that their lands were being claimed by people of other races and nationalities, local communities closed ranks and refused contact with Japanese residents. Their indifference was harsh, and Akira witnessed his mother becoming increasingly depressed by the situation. She had been forced to leave a place where the family at least had friends they could rely upon, but this new environment prevented any such contact with Americans. Increased violence and legal discrimination made everything worse. "It was difficult to see my mother suffer," our interviewee recounts his father's words, "more difficult than having to deal with discrimination against myself."

Oregon, Interracial Marriage, and the Road to Internment

Akira's wife had been a nonconformist long before she met her future husband. A white American woman, she met Akira and married him out of genuine love and deep admiration for his culture. She loved him as much as she appreciated Japan for its intrinsic value, and that was all that mattered to both of them as they committed to a lifelong journey together. There were objections from both families, but each reluctantly accepted the situation. As Akira told his son, exclusion was applied by society because, in the eyes of many, "if there was anything worse than Japanese Americans, it was miscegenation." With intermarriage between white Americans and Japanese Americans prohibited in Oregon since 1866, the couple traveled to Washington State to be legally recognized as husband and wife.

"It was difficult having to fight simply in order to make a living," Akira later told his son. Because the Issei fostered their traditions and passed them on to their children, those born in the new country were intrinsically linked to both Japan and America. There was also a desire to share cultural traditions with Americans, and events were organized for that purpose, allowing people to discover their mutual similarities. Akira embraced his parents' ambitions and joined other Nisei who strived to fulfill their parents' dreams. But World War II took a severe toll on Japanese Americans, and a history of racial discrimination culminated in the imprisonment of many, both Issei and Nisei alike.

Investigations of Japanese American communities had already begun before the attack on Pearl Harbor, but starting the morning of December 7, 1941, rights violations intensified rapidly. Women and men alike were allocated to various assembly centers throughout America before being relocated to internment camps.

Conclusion

It remains a disconcerting fact that, even with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being signed in 1948, discrimination persisted and continued to shape the lives of those who suffered under it. The story of Akira Himura and his family is not simply a historical anecdote. It is a testament to the enduring human cost of racial prejudice — the loss of home, livelihood, identity, and family cohesion that no subsequent legal recognition can fully repair. As long as such histories are preserved and passed from generation to generation, they serve as a reminder of what societies must guard against, and of the quiet resilience of those who survived.

Works Cited

Nagata, Donna K. "Psychological Effects of Camp." Densho Encyclopedia, 19 March 2013. Web. 28 Jul. 2013. http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Psychological%20effects%20of%20camp/

Yamashiro, Jane H. "Nisei." Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. 2008. Print.