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Book Profiles Japanese Americans' "Greatest Generation"New Book Reviewed by NikkeiView's Gil Asakawa
The annual Day of Remembrance on Feb. 19 isn't just the day to commemorate the 1942 signing by President Roosevelt of Executive Order 9066, the law that allowed the U.S. military to round up and imprison Japanese Americans during World War II. It's also a day to commemorate the incredible accomplishment of the Nisei generation - those JAs who were young and vital the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, who suffered the injustice and indignity of internment only to become stronger and more supple in the decades afterwards. The Nisei, those second-generation Japanese Americans, were the great hope of the immigrants who had come to the United States searching for a new, better life, only to find hardship and discrimination darkening their dreams. The Issei immigrants who settled in Hawaii and California and to a much lesser extent throughout the rest of the country, weren't allowed to become U.S. citizens. In many places they weren't even allowed to own property. And everywhere, they faced prejudice and hatred. But their children, the Nisei, were American citizens by birth because they were born here. The Nisei could grow up attending American schools; learn to speak English even if their parents at home could not; appreciate American culture like movies and books; and grow up to be good, patriotic Americans. They could also own property legally, since they were citizens, and many Issei bought land and businesses in the names of their children. But this first true generation of people who were Japanese by blood but American by birth faced incredible and tragic hurdles along their journey as United States citizens. Most were swept up by internment and had their lives turned upside-down during the war years. That story, of the Nisei's journey, wasn't told for many years, because the shame of internment was like a blanket that kept the facts covered in many families. In the past couple of decades, the stories have come out, in an increasing library of books, movies, exhibits and the simple, powerful voice of the Niseis themselves speaking out about what happened.
I feel honored to have been allowed to help with one book that recently was published, which tells the story through the eyes of people who were students during the 1930s, "Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s - Then & Now." Nisei Voices is Joyce Hirohata's project. A Sansei living in Oakland, California, she grew up knowing that her grandfather, Paul Tsunegoro Hirohata, had been a writer, and remembered that he had written a book a long time ago. A few years ago she came across a tattered copy of that book that her family had kept. It was called "Orations and Essays," and it was a collection first published in the late 1920s, and updated in the early 1930s, of speeches by Nisei valedictorians throughout California. The speeches may be somewhat stilted and formal by today's standards, but they reflect the thrill that these young JAs felt as the best students in their schools, sharing their thoughts on the brightness of the future, of greatness of America. Hirohata's grandfather published these speeches because he thought it was important to show that young Japanese Americans worked hard and were exemplary students - the model minority, if you will, and future upstanding citizens. The books were slim volumes, and have been lost over time. But they serve as a fascinating snapshot of a time and place, and of the earnest young people who saw so much potential in their lives. When Hirohata came across her family's copy of her grandfather's book, she wondered about these Nisei, and what became of them, because most if not all of them surely had been interned during the war, just a few short years after their high school graduations. She undertook a project of passion, to honor her grandfather's memory and also to honor the Nisei and their lives. Over a period of several years, she tracked down most of the students by using every \means available: word of mouth about the project, flyers distributed through Japanese American community centers and organizations, and a couple of well-placed newspaper articles. She passed out lists of all the graduates and asked if anyone knew of them or their whereabouts. A few contacts led to more contacts (the JA community being as tight as it is, the "the one degree of separation" rule meant that if she could find one person who knew someone, that person would lead to other people who knew other people and so on). She eventually tracked down everyone, and either spoke to them, or if the person had passed away, spoke to their family members or friends about their lives. Those stories, told in a narrative that leads from the pre-war years and school experiences to wartime lives and the decades of rebuilding and careers and families that followed the war, make up the heart of "Nisei Voices." The history is told through contemporary stories and quotes from the onetime students, and is a more vivid way of experiencing the passing of the years than a typical history text. It's a personal look back, an oral history of sorts but one that's made more touching by the fact that these people were the cream of the crop when they were young students. I was delighted to find that I even know one of these wonderful Nisei. In Denver, I've known Tillie Taguchi for years through the Mile-Hi chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. While working with Hirohata on "Nisei Voices," I read about a Mathilda Honda who left California in the middle of the night with her sister to avoid internment, and came to Colorado. When I read her biography I was stunned to realize that this nurse, who later married a JA doctor, Jim Taguchi, is the woman I know. When I brought up the book to Til, she was typically reserved about her young accomplishment and shrugged off the attention. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the others in the book are the same (some didn't want to speak to Hirohata at all and bring up those old memories; she of course honored those wishes). Hirohata also republished the original speeches and added short biographical sketches so readers can be reminded of the original impetus for the book. And, she included many photographs both donated from the Nisei and their families, and archival photographs, that help even more to bring this history alive. In the end, though, the most powerful thing about this book isn't that it captures history, but that it captures the spirit of the Nisei today. The more recent photos of the vibrant Nisei and their life stories and accomplishments show that internment - as terrible an experience as it was - didn't keep them from living full, amazing lives, as individuals and as a generation. They've remained valedictorians in the school of humanity. You can read more about "Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s - Then & Now" and order copies of the book at: http://home.earthlink.net/~hirohata
Other Readings of Interest
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