People in motion : the postwar adjustment of the evacuated Japanese Americans

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People in Motion

The Postwar Adjustment of
the Evacuated Japanese Americans

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

WAR AGENCY IIOUIDATION UNIT '
formerly
WAR REIOCAIION AITHORIIY

A^v. • •

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People in Motion

The Postwar Adjustment of
the Evacuated Japanese Americans

Unjted States Department of the Interior .

J. A. Krug, Secretary
WAR AGENCY LIQUIDATION UNIT

formerly

War Relocation Authority

R. K. CANDLIN, Acting Chief

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents

U. S. Covernment Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C.

Price $1.00

^"-vx-^

a. S. SUPERIffTENBENT Of DOCUWtNW

AUG 28 1947

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORSVrOHD 1

CHAPTBR—

I, RELOCATION 5

Kelocation Process... ••••••• 5

Present Location... •••••••..••••••••••••••••• •••••••••• 11

II, PUBLIC ACCEPTAITOE , , 16

Increased Public Acceptance........ •••.••.•»••••• •••••* 17

Legal Restrictions... ••...••.•. •••...•• 32

Eligibility-- to citizenship. .....••.•••.•••. •••.••••• 32

California Alien Land Laws ••.••••..••...•••.• 35

III. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT 47

Evacuation Loss and Remedial Legislation. ••.... ...•...• 51

U. S. Depariaasnt of the Interior Proposal for Evacua-
tion Claims Comioission. ••.••.••..... .••....••..•....•. 53

Adjustment in Agriculture and Related Business Activity 57

Prewar west coast agri culture..... •.... 4. •...••.••.• 57

Postwar west coast agriculture. .••••......••. ....... 61

Return to specific west coast localities.. .,..♦,« 65
Some considerations relating to the futxxre of Japa-
nese Americsins in west coast agriculture .♦•.... • 70

Evacuees in agriculture away from the west coast.... 71

Colorado. . ...•....••.• .......•.•• 71

Utah 76

Eastern Oregon— Idaho.... •.....••.. .••.•••• 77

Eastern Washington. ...•..••.....••.......•.••..•• 81

Southern and Eastern States...................... 81

Urban Economic Adjustment. ...••••.... ....••. 82

Calif oruia.... •••...•••• 82

Business recovery in Los Angeles. 85

Employment in Los Angeles.. ........ .............. 100

Notes on employment in smaller cities and towns

of California 109

Notes on San I^ancisco...... ••....• Ill

Seattle ..••• 113

The labor force... ••••... 114

Types of occupation*. •«••••••••••••••••••••• 113

Patterns of economic adjustment— finding em-
ployment. •■••••••••••.•• ...••• ••••...••.... 125

Inco]:!ie and job satisfaction... ••.••• •••••••...•.• 1E7

Job discrimination.. ••••.••••.•...•.•.••... 132

Colorado •..•••.•..•••.•••..•••..•••.....•..••..•••.. 134

Denver .•..•.•....•..••.•.•.••..•..•.•..........•• 134

Notes on smaller cities and tovms of Colorado.,.. 141

Utah 143

Chicago and ^'Adwest. •.•..••...•.• 145

Uotes on the East 158

ViTashinGton, D. C. ...... ........•• 158

New York City 159

Nisei in Status Positions...... 162

IV. HOUSING ADJUSTM3NT , 166

Midwest and Intermountain States... ............. ....... 166

Chicago 168

Denver. ..•..•••................•.• •••....•..•.. 170

West Coast States.... ..•..•...•••••••.•. 172

Seattle 175

San Erancisco Bay Area. ..•••.•......•......•••...... 178

Los Angeles. .••.••....•....•..•. 179

V. SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT 187

-^ Prewar Social Adjustn^nt.......... 188

Postwar Social Adjustment..... •..*•••........... ....... 196

Residential segregation. .•........•.••.•••...•••.... 197

Family relationships.... 198

Educational institutions. 201

Economic organization......... ••...•• 202

The vezmaoular press..... ........a. 203

Orgemization for social control. ••(. 204

Organization for social advancement.... ••..•• •.....• 206

Organi zation of veterans ............................ 216

Relations with other minorities..................... 224

Religious institutions and activity 226

Christian. 227

Buddhist 234

Recreational and social activities.... 236

Participation in Wider Comnninity Activities... 244

VI. RESETTLEMENT , 253

APPENDICES

A. Seattle Sample Suirvey.. ••••••••••••••• ••••• •••• 254

5« Statement •••••• •.••.••.....• 258

C« References** •••••••••••••••••••• ••••••.»••• •••••• 263

Listing of War Relocation Final Reports**..*. ••*•»*•*.••..••* 270

FOREWORD

Description of the postwar adjustment of the evacuated Japanese
Americans following their return to the main stream of life in American
boimminities can test be stated in terms of motion. The evacuation,
•which was started in the early spring of 1942 at the order of the
Western Defense Command of the United States Army did more than take
110,000 people from their homes in sm area bordering the Pacific Coast
into ten relocation centers constructed in remote areas betrreen the
Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Mississippi Idver. In addition to
physical uprooting, it shattered the social and economic patterns which)
had given a measure of stability to the prewar life of Japanese Ameri- t_
cans. ^

The svua of their past experience, as well as the new conditions
faced in relocation and resettlement has been in^Jortant in the postwar
adjustment of these people. Intangible factors going back to the trans-
planted and already disintegrating old world social organization of the
west coast Japanese communities, and the changed character of public
opinion have had an effect on that adjustment. While it is important to
note that the character of the prewar Little Tokyo communities had been
changing tovfard the level of the wider community, the process was slow.
With the evacuation came the complete uprooting of the Little Tokyos and
the destruction of many cultural practices which had stabilized the
immigrant communities. Attitudes of the wider community before the war
were mixed, with a tendency to accept knovm individuals but to reject the
group. As a group, the west coast Japanese Americans had not been per-
mitted to become sufficiently a part of the total community to be allowed
to go through the crisis of attack by Japan as Americans, The evacuation
produced a profound psychological shock which has carried over in varying
extent to the postwar adjustment period.

Today, the most notable characteristic of the evacuated Japanese

Americans is a feeling of vmsettledness, of having \uiansv/ered questions ij j^

concerning location, economic activity and social adjusfanent. Com- I ''^'yt>^

pletion of the process of resettlement will reqmre another five to n

ten years. The human effects of the evacuation will not be fully evi- \\

dent short of that time, -J

In the meantime, there is exploration of those phases of sentiment
toward the group which affect the economic and social life of Japemese
Americans in America, and individual and some group decisions are being

made concerning the kind of economic and social arrangements which Tdll
provide satisfactory adjustment . During the period _of the last 18
months, which followed the completion of relocation after the centers
were closed, the process of settlement has had its real beginning.

This report has resulted from a study of adjustments during this
period. Study was undertaken upon the request of the Director of the
War Relocation Authority with the express approval of the Congress, to;

"Analyze the effects of the evacuation from the west coast, and
to complete the study of the relocation aspects, such as the new
distribution of the people, and adjustment problems that re-
located people continue to face in order to provide an adequate
history of the effects of the evacuation upon the evacuated
people and the country. "«■

This study was carried out by the War Agency Liquidation Unit of the
United States Department of the Interior.

The history of the evacuation, the life of the people in the
centers and of the early relocation period has been documented in the ■
final reports of the War Relocation Authority.** Except for a short
description of the relocation process and such brief historical
references as may be necessary to the understanding of present adjust-
ment, the events of 1942 - 1945 will not be covered in this report.

Notes on study methods. When study was begun in July of 1946, the
pattern of resettlement had crystalized sufficiently to provide a basis
of selection of localities to be studied. Chicago had become a center
of midwestern relocation, Denver was a community in vrhich both prewar
and evacuee Japanese Americans were in residence, Los Angeles and Seattle
were the largest prewar and postwar communities in the evacuated area.
Accordingly these were chosen as the points of intensive study, with
supplementary study in the Santa Clara Valley, the Snake River Valley,
and Salt Lake City. Major study planned for the spring of 1947 in the

♦Page 1294, Interior Department Appropriation Bill for 1947, Hearings
Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United Stateis
Senate.

**The United States Government, having called upon the Japanese American
people to move from their west coast homes, assumed a responsibility for
helping them to become reestablished. To carry out this responsibility,
a civilian agency, the War Relocation Authority was created by executive
order on March 18, 1942. A complete list of the WRA final reports will
be found on the final page of this study.

riiral areas of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys had to be aban-
doned because of pressure of time and lack of funds. In addition, some
material was gathered through secondary sources such as the vernacular,
press, and through short visits by sta'^'f members to othor cities of the
■West Coast States, the Midwest, and the East.

With the exception of Seattle, the program of study was one of in-
tensive inteiTiewing of representative Japanese Americans within these
communities, with findings being compiled from recorded interviews amd
published material to form a connected account depicting the range of
adjustment, TJhile information collected by this method does not pennit
statistical comparisons, representative data could be secured over a
much wider area than otherwise would have been possible under time and
budgetary limitations. Material in the words of the people has been
used liberally, not only for illustration, but to carry the narrative
forward ,

In Seattle, the study was fortunate in securing the results of a
survey conducted independenbly by S, Frank Miyamoto and Robert W, O'Brien,
members of the faculty of the University of Y\'ashington, In terms of
broad adjustment problems, the statistically supported findings of this
survey, which were based on a random sample of the total Japanese Ameri-
can population of Seattle, are very similar to those seciired through in-
terviews in other areas, a fact which gives added assurance to the val-
idity of material secured through the basic method of tliis study,*

In reporting findings, the selection of uniform terminology descrip-
tive of the group and its various parts, was the occasior. of some diffi-
culty. This was particularly the case since much direct quotation has
been used, and there was different usage as between various respondents.
In order to provide consistency, it was arbitrarily determined to use the
tenas "Japanese" and "Japanese Americans" interchange ablj/-, Ihen the im-
migrant generation is referred to specifically, the word "Issei" is used.
Similarly, the word "Nisei" is used to designate the second generation.
Additional descriptive terms include the words "Kibei" to designate one
born in America but tdio had spent considerable tine in Japan prior to the
war, «md "Sansei" to denote the children of the Nisei, or the third gen-
eration.

The following observers lived as a part of the community under study
for a period of from six weeks to four months: Tom Sasaid., IjOS Angeles;
John deYoung, Chicago; Toshio Yatsushiro, Chicago and Denver; A, T, Hansen,
Santa Clara Valley. Hobert Y>:. O'Brien and S, Frank Miyamoto, served the
study for a period of one month each as consultants, Elmer Smith, a mem-
ber of the faculty of the University of Utah reported for that state under
a similar arrangement.

♦Notes on methods used in setting up the Seattle study will be found in
Appendix A,

3

In Washington, the staff had available the counsel of the Resettle-
ment Adjustment Report Advisory Comnittee composed of Dr. John Provinse,
As.sistant Commissioner of Indisin Affairs, Chairman; Dr. Alexander
Leighton of Cornell University; Mr. Edward B. Marks of the National
Housing Authority; Dr. Joseph Douglas of Howard University; and Dr.
A, T. Hansen of Miami University. These men, who served as individuals
and without compensation, brought to the study an intimate knowledge of
the wartime problems of the Japanese American and other minority people
as well as a broad knowledge of the techniques of social research. Be-
cause of the pressure of time, members of the committee have not had an
opportunity to pass on the report as finally prepared, but are familiar
vdth the findings generally.

The study was directed by Robert M. Cvillum, who isas assisted in
the preparation of the report by Tom Sasaki. While the primary field
assignments were carried out by staff members, acknowledgment must also
be made for the generous contribution of time, effort, and material by
individuals and organizations too numerous to mention. Peirticular thanks
are due the Japanese Americans Yfhose ej^erience and opinions form the
basis of this report.

CHAPTER I

RELXATION

The fact of common ancestry, wliich was the basis of the evacuation,
subsequently proved to be a shallow common denominator. The Japanese
Americans who found themselves together in relocation centers came from
a variety of economic and social settings, and represented every level
of adjustment to life in America. Relieved of the controls imposed by
their former relationship to Japanese communities, they faced their new
problems in the relocation centers and in their return to normal American
communities according to the kind of individuals they happened to be.

It is nov> definite that all segments of the Japanese American group
remaining in the United States both desire and expect to make their
homes in America. There is strong belief among all that the Japanese
American wartime record of civilian and military service, together with
the peaceful submission to an evacuation that none of them felt neces-
sary, had demonstrated their right to the full privileges of citizenship.
In the process of settling into a new place in American life, they are
faced with two sets of problems— those resulting from the econoraic and
social disruptions of the evacuation, and those relating to racial
visibiUty,

The relocation process. Relocation from the centers occurred in
five or six observable movements, determined in part by the age and
experience of the people involved and in part by the sections of the
country open to resettlement. The fact that movement was selective has
had a definite bearing on subsequent adjustment. Moreover, the nature
of the relocation experience has been important both in the kind of
activities engaging the evacuated Japanese Americans and in the formation
of attitude. A review of this phase of their experience is necessary as
background for later sections of this report.

College and university students who were among the first to receive
permission to go outside, had been most intimately accepted in their own
segment of life before the war. They were closely followed by a group
of individuals whose adjustment to cramped center life was desperately
negative. For these, almost any treatment on the outside was preferable
to confinement. These, the students, and the several thousand who helped
harvest the intenaountain sugar beet crop while on temporary leave, were

the advance guard who probed the war inflamed attitudes of American
communities from the eastern border of the evacuated states to the

Atlantic,

Few Americans not having the relocation center experience can con-
ceive of their neighborhood or their city as it was viewed by those in-
side. Rvunors of violence were given wide belief. Thus, as late as
February 1944, after many thousands had left the centers, sin official of
the Rohwer canter related an incident which reflected the range of center
opinion on this matter;

"A few Sleeks ago, Mrs. K., the wife of one of our Nisei ministers,
went with her husband to a llidwest city to attend a church con-
vention. \Vhen they returned. Rev. K. told me, with some amuse-
ment that she felt safe enough when she was with all the church
people, but that she had a nervous upset vfhen he proposed to go
alone across the city by street car to visit a friend. She was
sure he would be killed. When he persisted, she went along for
better or worse. Rev. K. says she still can't get over the fact
that no one paid any attention to them."/l

To go "outside" was considered extremely hazardous. Even when no
specific reports of violence, or of inability to make a living came back
from the vanguard, at first only those of high employability and without
immediate family responsibilities ventured out. During the middle six
months of 1943> the third phase of relocation movement got underway and
the number of relocation pioneers grew. Many highly competent secre-
taries and stenographers went out to take domestic work, only to convert
quickly to their specialties. Such a person, who wrote the New York
relocation office to request placement as a maid, listed among her
qualifications — graduation with honors from both business and junior
college, life membership in several scholastic societies, a "best writer"
award for work on her high school paper, a wide range of student club
activities, two years of secretarial experience, and interests including,
"writing, reading, dogs and people, poetry, badminton, tennis, collecting
recipes, cooking and baking, walking and music."

The wartime need for manpower was great. Midwest business and
industrial concerns, which at first may have been reluctant, found they
could employ Nisei effectively and soon the demand far outran the supply
of Nisei workers; a fact which quickly raised the status of Nisei
genereilly. The number of Nisei young men in factories, garages, and
various types of services grew. Among them were persons qualified for
skilled and professional occupations, and they, too, began to shift
to jobs in keeping with training and experience. The pioneers wrote
their brothers, sisters, and friends, sviggesting employment possibilities
to them, offering to provide temporary housing. Throxigh October of 19"*.3>

the young employables continued to find their way outside. Hy the end
of the year, nerirly 18,000 had left the centers for good.

Their adjustment was fundamentally peaceful, but it was not vdthout
incident. A loafer on a Cleveland street spat in the face of a Nisei
girl, A hospital in Chicago refused to receive a Nisei patient. The
shed of a Nea-r Jersey farmer was burned when he brought several Japanese
Americans to his fann. A Nisei boy became hopelessly lost in the New
York subway system and wanted to return to the center. Prlne war con-
tractors Here largely prevented from employing Nisei by army regulations.

The uprooting raised an honest question with many of the American
people. "If these people were too dangerous to be permitted on the west
coast, aren't they dangerous here where there is so much vital war siork?"
A fundamental tenet of American law, that the individual is innocent un-
til proved guilty, made it difficult for many to conceive the possibility
that there had been no individual accusation, or proof of guilt, as a
basis for evacuation.

The Federal Government was active in correcting the impression that
mass evacuation indicated widespread disloyalty. In 1943> for example,
a pamphlet distributed by the War Relocation Authority called Relocation
of Japanese Americans contained the following:

"In the interest of both accuracy and fairness, it is important
to distinguish sharply between the residents of relocation centers
and the militarists of Imperial Japan. Two-thirds of the people
in the centers are American citizens, bora in this country and
educated, for the most part, in American public schools.

"Under our laws, sdiens of enemy nationality who are found
guilty of acts or intentions against the security of the Nation
are being confined in internment camps which are administered
not by the V/ar Relocation Authority but by the Department of
Justice. American citizens suspected of subversive activities
are being handled through the ordinary courts. The residents of
the relocation centers have never been found guilty — either
individually or collectively — of any such acts or intentions.
They are merely a group of American residents who happen to
have Japanese ancestors and who happened to be living in a
potential combat zone shortly after the outbreak of the war.
All evidence available to the VJar Relocation Authority indicates
that the great majority of them are completely loyal to the
United States. "/2

Throvigh the Vfer Relocation Authority, the Federal Government pro-
vided added assurance by means of a loyalty screening test, which all
evacuees were required to pass before permission to leave the centers

was granted. Through this measure and the vddespread public information
program undertaken by WRA, public confidence in the relocation program
was made secure.

Essentially, however, it was within the various localities of re-
settlement that acceptance or rejection took place; if WRA covild vouch
for the Japanese /jnerican resettle rs, it was the community that provicied
acceptance, jobs, and housing.

Leadership in providing acceptance was taken by many church and
civic groups. In every city where any number of resettlers went, there
was sponsorship on the part of "Resettlement Committees" in v/hich local
citizens of respected opinion served. This gave substance to the efforts
of the Federal Government. To attack the right of a resettler to be-
come a member of a community meant to attack people of respectability.
Conversely, to be tolerant or to provide assistance meant identification
with persons of importance,*

The process of securing acceptance was not abstract, but depended
upon the presence of the Nisei vanguard. Vflien John Sugimoto or Nancy
Fujiwara made an appearance, the issue became concrete. They went to
Cleveland, Detroit, or Chicago, feeling a heavy responsibility for
-proving the loyalty, industriousness, and presentability of all Japanese
Americans. The process of leaving the centers was selective, and the
first to arrive in a new locality most often provided a favorable im-
pression of the group.

Like most pioneering movements, that to the "outside" gained
strength as word of success came back. In 194A-, the movement out of
the centers continued at a pace about equal to that of the previous
year; but it be^jan to include some whose immediate family responsi-
bilities were greater, V/ives and children joined husbands who had gone

*The general principle involved in the process of securing tolerance for
Japanese Americans was stated concisely by Dean Robert Redfield in a
speech made in April 1946 before a meeting of the National Association
of College Registrars:

"If one man or one institution takes a public position against
racial prejudice so as to make effective an equality as among
racial groups that was before denied, that act gives encouragement
to all others whose attitudes inclined toward equality and justice
but who were held from acting in accordance with their inclination
by uncertainty or timidity or other causes. As a result, some of
these will now act on their convictions; others will then be in
their turn encouraged, and commit themselves to justice rather
than injustice by performing just acts."

8

out earlier. Occasionally a iwhole family left at one tine to take resi-
dence in one of the temporary hostels provided in a number of cifcies by
religious groups. A few of the Issei be^jan to leave the centers. By
the end of 1944, they numbered about 6,000 of nearly 36,000 who had left.
Of tMs last figure, about 3,500 or les.s than ten percent were under
fourteen years of age.

During 1944 community acceptance in the Fidwest and Cast had
steadily become better. The John Sugimoto's and the Nancy Pujiwara' s
were workintj steadily, and were receiving much favorable attention.
News from the fighting front in Italy, where Nisei served with great
distinction, was given prominent display by newspapers, and in the parts
of the coxmtry where relocation was permitted, the question of loyalty
had receded almost to the vanishing point. Jobs in keeping with ex-
perience and training vrere available for those qualified. But at the
time when families were beginning to come out of the centers, the na-
tional housing crisis was deepening. The task of finding shelter be-
came the first and increasingly desperate concena of resettlers. T.iany
who had wished to bring parents or immediate families from the centers
were unable to do so for lack of housing.

Until the west coast was reopened, most resettlers felt unsettled,
even though their immediate economic adjustment v;as to their liking,
Yilhen the announcement opening the coast was made on December 17, 1944,
the necessity for definite planning grew more pressing. Letters v/ere
exchanged with family members still in centers, and visits to centers
were made for family consiiltation. Should parents be \irged to come
East, possibly to be lonely because there would be few Issei who could
talk with them? Should the relocated Nisei give up his position and
return to the coast to help his parents, even though it meant reduction
in status and earnings? These questions were very distvirbing.

In the year 1945, decisions could not be delayed. The centers were
to close before the year was out, ViTiether housing was available or not,
family reunions had to be arranged, and the decision had to be made
whether to return to the west coast, or to remain wtiere they were.

Likewise, those in the centers had to decide whether to return to
their old localities, or to join friends and relatives already re-
located. Of the 75,000 center residents eligible for relocation on
Janviaxy 1, 1945, nearly a third, including many Issei, ultimately turned
eastward.

The first to return to the evacuated area were met both with or-
ganized and unorganized hostility; but also with support from organi-
sations and individuals. Very often immediate neighbors, who knew them
personally, were friendljr to those who returned. Nevertheless, some

#'

homes were shot into and there were a number of cases of arson. Neither
the Japanese /jnericans, the government, nor supporters in the community
gave ground.

In a small tovvn located in the central valley of California, for
example, v;hen the school board removed a Nisei from third base of the
high school baseball team, to avoid possible reaction elsewhere in the
valley, the removal was carried out over the protest of the team, and
thereafter the youngster v.'as carried along as a water boy.

In another instance, an adult Nisei farmer, living in the same
general vicinity, vras visited one night by several of his "neighbors".
Commenting later, he said:

"VTe talked until nearly midnight. They wanted me to promise
to go, and I refused. There v/as not one that I knew, and I
know everyone that lives for miles around. I told them I had a
brother who did a job of fighting in Italy. I told them he
fought for the right of his people to live as Americans. I
told them he hadn't turned tail when the going was tough, and
that I wasn't going to either. IThen they left, I shook hands
vdth all of them. None of them have been back."/l

Gradually public sentiment developed to support the right of the
evacuees to return to their homes. By VJ-Day, August 14, 1945, even the
most vocal opponents v/ere silenced, and from that time, relocation con-
tinued vdthout major incident.

During the first eight months of 1945> another segment of people
had left the centers under the pressure of some compulsion but still
with freedom of choice — between January 1 and VJ-Day, appro^dmately
31,000 persons had chosen a destination and had left the center j but
nearly 44,000 eligible to relocate still remained. After this date, the
Government placed the remaining evacuees in the centers under direct
compulsion to leave. The evacuees \anable to make up their minds, or who
refused to leave, vjere given train fare to the point of their evacuation.
By the end of November 1945, all except those at Tule Lake wtre outside.

They returned by the train load to such centers as San Francisco,
Los Angeles and Seattle. They included the old and infirm, and those
vdth heavy family responsibility. They piled into temporary shelter,
hostels, converted army barracks, and public housing. Their only
certainty vjas that the refuge of the relocation center was no longer
available to them.

^ Once back on the coast, a future that from the security of the
centers had been vievred almost with terror, refocused in the day to day

10

reeilitiss of the search for work and permanent shelter; those who had
returned found they were not entirely alone. The ones who had gone out
earlier were available to help the late comers. VJRA officials, wtio had
seemed remote and arbitrary in the centers, became instruments through
which barriers could be broken. Constructive leaders in the coinraunity
were concerned and active. Public assistance was made available when
needed. For man^' the homecoming was difficult in the extreme; but not
impossible as they had feared. V/ith relocation completed, the process
of settlement could be begun.

-O''

Present location. A direct by product of the evacuation has been
the dispersal of Japanese Americans throughout the United States. Of
the 126,947 persons of Japanese descent, enumerated by the 1940 census,
112,353, or 88.5 per cent lived in the three 'liest Coast States,

'Vhen the closing of the relocation centers had been completed,
Vi/RA records showed that 57,251 persons had returned to the three states
of California, Oregon, and VJashington.*- This figure includes 3,124 re-
siding in the non-evacuated eastern sections of the latter two states.

During the entire period of the relocation movement, 54,254 persons
who had left relocation centers, gave as their destinations states
other than those mentioned above, and 961 had gone to Alaska or Hawaii.
Of the number who relocated to other parts of the country, approximately
5,500 returned to the evacuated area on government travel grant before
March 30, 1946. How many have since returned at their own expense is
not known, but it may be assumed from the evident expansion of the west
coast Japanese American population, and general indication of movement,
that at least an equal number has been involved.

On the basis of incomplete data concerning the 106,925 evacuees,^-*
who are known to have relocated from V^/RA centers, present estimates
place between 28,000 and 30,000 of the total east of the Missouri River,
from 10,000 to 12,000 in the Great Plains and Intermountain States, and

^Tables 12 and 13 of the Wk report. The Evacuated People — A Quantitative
Description provide detailed information concerning the first destination
of evacuees after they left relocation centers, and a comparison of
the number of Japanese Americans known to have returned to west coast
localities with data taJcen from the census of 1940.

**The total number of persons in MRn custody was 120,313. In addition to
the 106,925 who relocated, 2,355 v/ent to the United States Armed Forces,
1,322 to institutions, 1,862 were deceased, 4,724 went to Japan, and 3,121,
including family members were sent to United States Department of Justice
Internment ./5

749181 0-47-2 ^^

the remainder in the three West Coast States.* From this estimate,
slightly more than 60 per cent of the evacuees have returned to thtsir
former homes, or other parts of the evacuated area, and slightly less
than 40 per cent have remained east of the evacuation boundary.

If the number of prewar residents of states other than those along
the west coast, about 14,500, is added to give a total of all persons
of Japanese ancestry now residing in the United States, the distribution
roughly would be 55 per cent for the states of Washington, Oregon, and
California, and 45 per cent for the rest of the country. This compares
with 88.5 per cent of the total in these three states in 1940,

After accounting for births and deaths since 1940, and after de-
ducting the number of those who have gone to Japan, a rough estimate of
the total United States population of persons of Japanese descent comes
to approximately 130,000, or slightly fewer than one person in a thousand
eimong the total population of the United States. Of these, not more
than one-third are foreign-born. The median age of Nisei, however,
remains low — half are below 22 years of age, and in terms of v/orking
population, Issei and Nisei are about equal in number.

As noted earlier in this chapter, the process of relocation was
highly selective. The better trained and the more aggressive, and those
with the least family responsibilities, were the first to leave the
centers for the Midwest and East, and the fact of selective distribution
has had a definite effect on the natiure of adjustment, both in the
evacuated area and to the East. However, the assun^^tion that the
present age distribution would reflect this process, appears not to be
valid. In Seattle, for example, where accurate statistics are available,
it was found that the age distribution was one normal to the entire
population of Japanese Americans in the United States.**

A number of explanations may be advanced for this fact. Family
solidarity remained a strong force in the development of relocation
plans. During the last few months of relocation, there was a sizable
movement of Issei toward the Midwest and East as families were reunited,
as well as departures of younger people towai'd the west coast from their

■"•Accurate population statistics will not be available before completion
of the 1950 census of population. Estimates are based on WRA figures,
wiiich provide an indication of the destination given at the time the
evacuee left the center, and on infonjiation secured from Japanese
American residents of the various communities in which they are now
living. The only known enumeration was made in Seattle. Tables in-
dicating total number and age distribution for this city may be found
in Appendix A.

**See Appendix A for Seattle population data,

12

points of relocation. Furthermore, as Nisei soldiers v;ere discharged,
they tended to return to their original homes, since few had experience
in other localities during the war period when jobs were readily avail-
able. These, together with less evident factors apparently have been
sufficient to balance age distribution throughout the country.

Those who relocated to the East before the west coast was reopened
and then returned to their original homes, had a variety of reasons for
doing so. Some had property to which they returned; others, as for
example the many Colorado and Utah evacuee farmers, who returned to
the West Coast States, felt economic opportunities to be better there.
Likewise, some Nisei and Issei, who have becone unemployed, have left
for the West in the hopes of finding work among old associates.

The effect of sentimentsLL attachment to places where homes had been
made for 30 to 40 years cannot be minimized. As put by the editor of a
Midwest vernacular newspaper:

"A good many of the older people had once hoped to go back to
Japan to spend the last few years of their life. The war ended
that desire for most of them. Now they look back to California
as their home; as the place where they want to go to die. This
sentiment is very strong . "/l

An Issei who had returned to Seattle said very much the same thing
when he remarked;

"In a way it is just like going back to Japan. Seattle has been
my home for over 30 years, and although I do not know any of the
Caucasians I meet on the street, the streets are still there,
there is the same Smith Tower, the same waterfront, the same
parks, and the buildings have the same corners that they
occupied when we left. It may be a fine thing for the Nisei
to pioneer in other sections of the country, but vfhen you are
60 years old you want to return home, and Seattle is home to most
of us older people. The pigeons and the seagulls are probably
not the same pigeons and seagulls that we saw in 1941> but they
look the same . "/l

It is probable most of the older people have similar feelings, but
some have put them aside, as for example. Rev. T. of Cleveland, who
remarked:

"You know, I came to Cleveland and stayed 18 months in the home
of a friend. I was vihat you call a resettler. But now I have
bought a home J now I have become a Clevelander . "/l

13

Many of the Nisei returned unwillingly because of family obli-
gations. Japanese custom requires that the eldest son assume responsi-
bility for his parents in case of need, and this feeling of obligation
has remained strong among the Nisei, Cases where this responsibility
has been discharged by bringing parents to the new location are not
infrequent, but much more often, parents have insisted on returning to
their west coast localities, and that their children return to help
them. Few have stood out against pressure of this kind.

Present indications are that the Japanese American population in
the East and Midwest has become relatively stable. In Cleveland and
Detroit, for example, where the group is small enough to permit general
knowledge of its composition, it is believed by Japanese American resi-
dents that the number leaving is about balanced by those who have re-
traced their steps from the west coast. Although information is less
exact, Japanese American residents of Chicago believe the same to be
substantially true of that city. Movement away from centers of Japanese
population in the Intermountain States is continuing at a fairly high
level «*

The possibility of return to the west coast continues to be a
general topic of discussion among those now located elsewhere. VJithout
question, old surroundings continue to exert a strong pull. However,
where family or property ties to the west coast do not exist, economic
considerations have tended to keep them where they are. Thus, a Nisei
accountant living in Cincinnati remarked:

"I'm sure I'd feel more at ease back home in California. You
can't forget the place where you were brought up. But right
now I've got to think first of my wife and child. My business
here is good and getting better. I can't afford to take the
time to get reestablished out there. I have nothing definite
to which to go now. Maybe I'll go after a few years . "/l

After mentioning the frequent discussion of return, a Chicago Nisei
journalist noted:

"But the gap between this kind of talk and action widens with
each passing month. ..Japanese American resettlers in Chicago
during 19ii6 have invested nearly a million dollars, bringing
to a reputed total of some ^2,500,000 in over 400 business

*-In the discussion of economic adjustment in the localities covered,
additional information will be presented concerning mobility.

U

enterprises; purchased in excess of /4.5O homes throughout the
city; launched new businesses at a steady clip of two to five
per week; persuaded several hundreds of west coast returnees
to join them in Chicago on a permanent basis; formed new com-
munity groups on what seems to be a permanent basis; increased
their family income by upgrading in their employment in approx-
imately 2,000 different business and industrial organizations,
in hospitals, laboratories, social agencies, and educational
institutions . "/^

In support of such activity, in Chicago and the other cities of
the Midwest and East, a counter-claim to that of the TJest is developing.
The basis for attachment to the new location was well stated by another
Chicago tv'isei VJriter:

"The -whole experience of resettlement in the Midwest has
taught the Nisei that he no longer needs to fret within his
own shell and bitterly wall about discrimination with that
inevitable 'lose fight' attitude., .The older Nisei have chosen
to remain in the East where opportunities for employment are
such as they have never been on the west coast.. .Unless the
traditional economic barriers against orientals pn the Pacific
Coast are drastically eased, it is very doubtful that very many
Chicago Nisei will move back . "/4

Much of the conversation concerning return to the west coast is
prefaced by, "when housing is available back home." No one knovirs when
this Td.ll be, but the assumption is that several years must elapse. It
is evident that when housing is available on the west coast, there will
be another period of questioning and decision. Undoubtedly, there will
be some new movement at that time. How extensive this v^ill be cannot
be predicted. Factors related to employment acceptajice, earnings,
housing, and educational and social opportunities for children will all
be weighed before the decision is made.

Another factor which has seme bearing on the delay in coming to a
final decision concerning location is the fact that their first migration
was involuntary. Since the original move was not of their own choosing,
there is a definite conditioning toward a return to old surroundings be-
fore making a final choice. A visit "home" has been a standard practice,
even among those who have decided to remain in the East, Some movement
from the west coast localities to the Midwest and East has been noted,
and this also may be exjjected to continue.

15

CHAPTER II
PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE

Japanese Americans face divergent trends of public attitude and
legal acti(m.

The trend toward increased acceptance, nhich is now dominant,
existed before the war, but was almost extinguished by Pearl Harbor.
Since the war, acceptance of the group has become much more positive
than ever before, a conditicm based on the exceptional Nisei war re-
cord and a much more widespread person to person acquaintance with
other Americans following dispersal from relocation centers. The
issue is still much sharper in the West than elsewhere, but examples
of acceptance are not uncommon there*

The present negative trend, which in severity of economic appli-
cation also dates from the evacuation, has its roots in the west coast
euiti- Japanese campaigns of the past, primarily as antagonistic senti-
ment of the past became established in law. The most severe economic
difficulties under which Japanese Americans are now placed result from
legal restrictions based on the "ineligibility to citizenship" of alien
Japanese. Of these, the Alien Land Laws of the West Coast States are
the most important, not only to aliens, but to the citizen generation
as well.

The degree of broad public acceptance will in the long run deter-
mine the presence or absence of discrimination, which in turn will bear
on the economic, housing, and social adjustments of the Japanese Ameri-
can people.

Accordingly, the following section seeks to present information
concerning the elements making up the wider aspects of public accep-
tance as background for consideration of day to day adjustment problems.

16

Increased Public Acceptance

Any discussion of public opinion toiward Japanese Americans must
note the Intense anti-Japanese agitation, which In California extend-
ed back to as early as 1900, and the fact that attitudes of vocal Call-
fornlans on this question eventually became the attitudes of the coun-
try at large.* Note also must be taken that the attitudes of Calif or-
nlans were not unanimously held; that in the decade before World 7fer 11,
a means of living together had been found which permitted Japanese
Americans an opportunity to earn a livelihood and gave them a not im-
possible social status; that a large number of Calif ornians were person-
ally friendly to Individuals even while many remained antagonistic to
the group as a whole.

In part, this accommodation can be traced to diminished exclusion-
1st activity resulting from the 1923 ruling of the United States Su-
preme Court, which in the Ozawa case held a Japanese alien Ineligible
for citizenship, the more stringent Alien Land Laws enacted in 1923,
and the 1924 Immigration Act, which prevented further Japanese entry.
Those viho favored the expulsion of persons of Japanese descent from the
country had not been entirely successful, but sufficiently so that
their opposition became largely dormant.

Between Pearl Harbor and the evacuation, latent antagonism revived
and multiplied to an Intensity never before reached. After the evacu-
ation took place, antl- Japanese agitation died down in the evident be-
lief that all persons of Japanese ancestry would eventually be expelled
from the United States, but was redoubled when the V/ar Relocation Au-
thority announced its relocation program. After Japanese Americans be-
came well known in mldwestern and eastern communities, and after the
Army had re-opened its ranks to Nisei, with many volunteering from the
confines of relocation centers, the hoped for exclusion became improb-
able. When the record of Nisei tropps became known, exclusion became
impossible; the case of the exclusionist was lost on the battlefields
of Europe and the Far East. As one Calif ornlan who favored exclusion
put it:

"The worst mistake the Government made was to let them
in the Army. They come back with an arm gone, or a leg
gone, and you have to show them consideration. "/l

*A detailed description of the origins of anti-Japanese sentiment on
the west coast may be found in the WRA final report titled "'.YARTIME
EXILE — The Evacuation of the Japanese Americans from the 'Test Coast",

17

Not different In implication, if from another motivation, were the
words of Lt. Gen. Uark Clark when he fixed the Presidential Citation to
the colors of the Nisei 100th Infantry Battalion:

"You are always thinking of yoiir country before yourselves.
Tou have never complained ttoough your long periods in the
line. Tou have written a brilliant chapter in the history
of the fighting men in America. You are always ready to
close with the enemy, and you have always defeated him. The
34th Division is proud of you, the Fifth Army is proud of
you, and the irtiole United States is proud of you."/2

C^ the other side of the world, in an interview given on Okinawa
just after the war's close. Gen. Joseph Stillwell said of Japanese
Americans :

"They bought an awful hunk of America with their blood.,
you're damn right those Nisei boys have a place in the
American heai^, now and forever. We cannot allow a single
injustice to be done to the Nisei withCMit defeating the
purposes for which we fought. ••/3

Less then two months later. General Stillwell flew from Vlashington
to California to present, posthumously, to the family of Sgt. Kazuo
Uasuda, the Distinguished Service Cross. In pinning the medal on Mary
Uasuda, iriio earlier had been threatened with vigilante action if she
remained at the family farm, the General said:

"I've seen a good deal of the Nisei in the service and
never yet have I found one of them who didn't do his
duty right up to the handle.

"The Distinguished Service Cross in itself is a small
thing, but since it stands for gallantry in action, I
hope you and your family will remember that Sergeant
Masuda, in winning it, has also won the respect and ad-
miration of all real Americans . "/4

On July 15, 1946, the men of the M2nd Combat Team were reviewed
on the Vftiite House grounds by President Truman. The Pacific Citizen
report reveals the pride of Japanese Americans in their soldier kin:

"The 442nd Nisei Kegimental Combat Team climaxed their
triumphant homecoming on July 15 when they marched down
Constitution Avenue to the Ellipse to receive from Presi-
dent Truman the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation.

18

"The celebrated foot soldiers who tramped the ruggea ter-
rain of Europe experienced the rare thrill of marching on
the asphalt pavement of the most famous parade thorough-
fare In the Nation, and of bringing into the full view
of thousands of cheering Washlngtonians and the President
of the United States the colors which so proudly weathered
the bloody £uropean campaigns.

"As 6,000 rain-drenched spectators looked on, the Presi-
dent, accompanied by Secretary Patterson and Colonel Pur-
saU., inspected the troops, stopping along the way to
shake hands and chat with various soldiers.

"After the President returned to his position in front
of the reviewing platform, the colors of the 4A2nd and
the 100th Battalion and guidons of component units ad-
vanced to the front of the stand, followed by the ten
outstanding men of the combat team.

"The President spoke as follows:

"It is a very great pleasure to me today to be able
to put the Seventh Regimental Citation on your banners,

"Tou are to be congratulated on what you have done for
this great country of yours. I think it was my prede-
cessor wno said that Americanism is not a matter of
race or creed, it is a matter of the heart.

"Tou fought for the free nations of the world along
with the rest of us. I congratulate you on that,
and 1 can't tell you how much I appreciate the privi-
lege of being able to show you Just how much the
United States of America thinks of what you have done.

"You are now on the way home. Tou fought not only
the enemy, but you fought prejudice— and you have
won. Keep up that fight, and we will continue to
win — to make this great republic stand for Just what
the constitution says it stands for: the yrelfare of
all people all the time."

"If the 'Go for Broke' beys, those iriio marched on Monday,
and those trtio at one time or another wore the red. white,
and blue Liberty Torch shoulder patch, had any doubts on
how America feels about them, they were dispelled dramati-
cally. The. esteem with which they are held by the Amerl-

19

can public was all too evident on Monday. The thousands
of persons who lined Constitution Avenue and who stood
for an hour around the Sllipse in the rain and got soak-
ing wet presented the best proof of the high regard with
which they are held by appreciative Americans."

A day later, the New York Herald Tribune coomented editorially:

"The 4A2nd is composed of Nisei, second generation Ameri-
cans irtio are citizens and idiose parents are Japanese immi-
grants. It fought in Italy, Southern France, and the
Rhineland; was tagged the 'Purple Heart Regiment' for its
3,600 citations, and received its Presidential honors on
the White House grounds.

"In the late winter and early spring of 19A2, by conti*ast,
and under duress of the emergency, more than one hundred
thousand Japanese aliens and Nisei were removed from the
Pacific Coast to the interior and placed in protective
custody. Two-thirds of this group was made up of Ameri-
can citizens, and in the region it had been obliged to
quit there had been at times great feeling about the
' Yellow Peril' which Pearl Harbor did nothing to lesson.

"It has since been reported that campaigns in behalf of
tolerance, some under the influence of the War Reloca-
tion Authority, some inspired by the 4A2nd, and some by
common sense, have done much to iron out unnecessary feel-
ings of difference. If it had not happened that way there
would not have been much point in the 442nd going overseas,
or in any of the democratic theories that count men before
race. We, too, salute the 4A2nd for its record overseas
and the good work that record has accomplished here."

The sense of gratitude and obligation has not been (xie sided, as
shown by an action of Nisei enrolled at the Military Intelligence
Language School at Monterey, who in September of 1946 raised a fund
of $1,236.05 for the fight against poliomyelitis in Minnesota. In
a letter to Governor Thye of that State, Pvt. Edwin Nakasone wrote
for these men:

"It was with a deep sense of sympathy that we learned of
Minnesota's recent poliomyelitis epidemic. We felt doubly
concerned because it was only a few months ago that w^ were
stationed in your very hospitable state. Many of us made
warm, lasting friendships with the understanding people of
Minnesota, especially in the Twin Cities area. None of us,

20

ifho had the good fortune of being stationed In Minnesota
can ever forget the kindness, friendship, and the helping
hand accorded the Nisei. '*/5

While a direct connection with this incident can hardly be drawn,
there can be no quest! cm of fundamental relationships iaplled by a
statement made 6 months later by Mayor Hurbert H. Humphrey of Minne-
apolis:

"During the war we came to know the Nisei well in connec-
tion with the fine patriotic seiTrice they performed at
Fort Snelllng and Camp Savage. It is a pleasure to note
that many of them have chosen to make Minneapolis their
permanent home, and that they are becoming a part of our
social community.

"I would like to urge that every Nisei participate to the
fullest possible extent in the numerous civic activities.
We need to know each other better and to build strong
bridges of understanding between us so that we all recog-
nize that we are a part of a single democratic tradition
In which the dignity of every individual is placed upper-
most . "^6

Statements such as these received wide coverage in the press of
the Nation. They went far to establish a set of criteria for Judging
the loyalty and the contribution of the Nisei. A more recent state-
ment, made by Fleet AdmlraJ. Chester W. Nimltz, relative to the state-
hood petition of Hawaii was similarly carried:

"Before World War II, I entertained some doubt as to the
loyalty of American citizens of Japanese ancestry In the
event of war with Japan. From qy observations during
World War II, I no longer have that doubt.

"I know of no cases of sabotage or subversive activities
during my entire service as Commander In Chief of Pacific
ocean areas."/?

Equally Important in day to day activities has been the fact of
strong support by individual Caucasian veterans of both theaters of
action. In iiinneapolls, for example, the president of the 34th
(Red Bull) Division Club made a public appeal for Nisei membership.
In Spokane, a Nisei was unanimously elected secretary of the A7C
Chapter. In Salt Lake City, the state commanders of the American
Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans,
and the United Spanish War Veterans joined to petition the Leglsla-

21

ttire to repeal the Allen Land Law of that State, an appeal later Joined
by the AF of L and CIO of Utah, In presenting the petition, the com-
mander of the Salt Lake City VFW "Atomic Post" noted:

"The Alien Land Law is directed against the innocent
{parents of many of our ccorades in arms of Japanese
ancestry who fought so gallantly on all the battle
fronts of World War II, the alien Japanese who through
no fault of their own cannot become citizens of our
country.

"The Alien Land Law denies the right to 'acquire, possess,
or transfer real property* to those alien Japanese who
though actual citizens of enemy Japan contributed so much
to our victory over that enemy in counter-intelligence, as
instructors in the Army and Navy Language Schools, <xi the
production lines of war industries, and on the farms. "/8

The repeal action passed both houses of the Utah Legislature, the
Senate unanimously, and was signed by Governor Uaw.

Early in May 1947, Governor Uaw again expressed his support of the
Japanese Americans of his State vrtien he wrote Senator Arthur H. Vanden-
berg. President of the United States Senate:

"The Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants iriio live
in the State of Utah are among our best citizens. They
are law abiding, industrious, cooperative, and loyal.
Their war record is unexcelled.

"A good many of them migrated to Utah when they were evacu-
ated from California during the early days of the war. Most
of these lost a large portion of the wealth they had accumu-
lated on the Pacific Coast.

"Because of the high caliber of citizenship these people
have exhibited and because of their outstanding war re-
cord, I sincerely believe that discriminatory legislation
against them should be repealed. It is with this thought
in mind that I respectfully urge your support of the
measure before the Congress irtiich extends to the Japanese
people the same privileges as are enjoyed by immigrants
from other countries, I also respectfully urge that you
support legislation which will compensate these people for
the tremendous financial and property losses incurred by
them during their forced evacuation from the west coast."

22

similar letters were sent Representative Joseph H. Uartin, Speaker
of the House f and the chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Com-
mittees.

In Hood River, Oregon, earlier the scene of much vocal antagonism,
the wife of a storekeeper who had been instrumental in the return of
Japanese Americans noted the following:

"The GI, almost to a man, is loyal to his Nisei buddy.
Yesterday one of these lads, iriicm I have seen in our
place of business seversJ. times in recent months, happen-
ing to catch me in our store, somewhat flustered and em-
barrassed, stammered out a sincere commendation of our
work in helping the Japanese people to reestablish them-
selves. 'We GIs take off our hats to you. We think guys
like that fellow that wouldn't sell fireworks to those
Nisei GIs for their kiddies last Fovirth of July ought to
be hung up for the birds to pick and I told him so, I
served out there in the Pacific and I know the job these
guys did. There were three of them in our outfit and I
saw their work, I don't usually take things up but I
had to tell that guy what we thought of fellows like him.
It burns me up to see those boys wearing the uniform and
the discharge buttons turned down on things they wanted. "'/9

Less spectacular, but no less significant, a Caucasian veteran of
the Philippines campaign and a participant in the "Uarch of Death" has
taken lodging in the home of a Denver Nisei newspaperman, irtio, it is
worth noting, is now an editorial writer for the Denver Po?t. one of
the most vocal antagonists of Japanese Americans during the war.

Public support and a positive reaction on the part of Nisei ser-
vice men have combined on a number of occasions to alleviate discrimi-
nation. Thus, a front page story which appeared in the August 14, 1946
issue of the Houston Press, gave an account of the difficulties being
experienced by ex-Sgt. George Otsuka:

"Meet Sergeant Otsuka — He Helped Kescue Texas'
'Lost Battalion' — Now Texans Snub HUT

"The last thing Sgt. George Otsuka ever expected was a
raw deal from Texans.

"Sgt. George Otsuka is a Niaei-a second generation American-
born citizen. Because of that he finds he is unwelcome in
some parts of Harris County. He is told, in fact, that if he
moves onto a farm in the Tomball-Cypress area, 'There will be
trouble • .

23

"Tlie ex-infantryinan, wearer of four bronze battle stars,
wrote In protest to The Press:

"I have a complaint to make. In your editorial a
few weeks back you piraised the 442nd Infantry Regi-
ment for the wonderful combat record it rolled up
overseas. You know it was composed aostl^' of Japa-
nese Americans, or Nisei, as they are sometimes
called.

"Well I'm a Nisei. I was in that outfit from the
, beginning and all through every battle until the end,

"Now I am back with my family and, in looking for a
farm, I located one in the Cypress area near Tomball.
I had eveiTthing arranged and was about to move in
irtien I was told to keep away or otherwise there would
be trouble.

"No, it isn*t the landlord's opinion, I know that.
It is the neighbors around there. They do not want
us around.

"What I would like to know is this our answer for
rescuing the *Lost Battalion' of your proud 36th
Division in the Vosges Mountains in France?

"Is that your answer for the terrific casualty we
suffered to rescue those men of the 36th?

"If it is, then the picture, I am enclosing is yours.
I don't want it. There isn't enough room inside me
for this and my recent experience.

"The picture he enclosed was a copy of the plaque that the
First Battalion of the lAlat Infantry Regiment of the 36th
presented to the 442nd Infantry Regiment 'with deep sin-
cerity and utmost appreciation of the gallant fight to
effect- our rescue after we had been isolated for seven
days' at Biffontaine, France, October 24 to 30, 1944."

Three days later, the August 17 issue of The Houston Press ran a
second story concerning the Otsukas, under the caption:

"Sergeant Otsuka and 'Happiest Family' Move to Farm."

24

The same issue carried a half dozen "Letters to the Editor" all
in the same vein. One began "It makes my blood boil..."

Commenting on this case, a writer for the Pacific Citizen noted:

"Texans rushed to Otsuka's support not only through vigor-
ous condemnation of the bigots but through extending farm-
ing offers.

"The emphatic manner in which Texans rallied to Otsuka's
side demonstrated once again that the vast majority of the
people everywhere believe in fair play and that they will
act to beat down any contradiction of the American tradi-
tion of Justice and equality.

"The spontaneous and lusty response which incidents like
George Otsuka's evoke should be a tonic for the Nisei and
all minorities. It is another graphic proof that for every
person that pulls a raw deal in the name of bigotry, there
are at least a hundred who will squelch it in the name of
Justice and democracy. Our democracy seems safe as long
as there are people who will 'stay in there with the little
fellow. " "

Nor is additional evidence lacking that Nisei veterans e:q)ect to
receive equal treatment, or that they will refuse to remain passive in
the face of discrimination. The e^q^erience of loshlo K. on a "before
and after" basis provides precise illustration:

"You know, when I first came out of the relocation camp
to resettle in Colorado, boy, we sure got discriminated
against. I remember Paul (brother) and I got off at La
Junta and went to the nearest restaurant to get some food.
Paul and I sat down and waited for the waitress to take
our order. Well, we waited and waited, and the waitress
wouldn't come. I told Paul, 'cone on, let's get out of
here', but Paul wouldn't go. He said, 'let's sit until
the waitress comes to tak^ our order.' Vi^ell, we waited
some more, and I insisted to Paul, 'let's leave,' but
you know how Paul is. He was stubborn and wouldn't go.
Well, we waited for an hour and a half before we finally
left the place without being waited on.

"When I got out of the Army a little iriille ago and on
ajr way home to Denver, for the hell of it, I stopped
off at La Junta and went to the s£une restaurant. I was
going to raise caln if I got the same treatment as Paul

25

and I did 3 years ago. Boy, this time when I sat doim at
a table the waitress came to wait on me. It's a good thing
she did. I wasn't scared this time with my uniform on.

"Now if any Caucasian or anybody tries anything funny on
me, I'm going to tell him off. I don't care where I am,
nobody is going to discriminate against me."/!

This same ex-GI went on to relate an incident concerning another
Nisei GI, who lived in G^and Junction, Colorado:

"That guy is rugged all right. He's the kind of a guy
that was always volunteering for front line combat. He
is a typical guy from the country.

"Well, he was banged up in battle and had to have one
leg amputated. I saw him in Denver and he told me this
story. ?Vhen he got home the other day, being discharged
from the Army, he noticed a big sign in front of a restau-
rant saying 'No Japs Allowed*. He was plenty sore. He
went down to the restaurant without his one leg — inten-
tionally he left his artificial leg off— and with his
crutches he stormed into the restaurant. He demanded,
'Where Is the manager of this Joint?' The manager came
out, and he cussed him plenty for putting up such a sign
as 'No Japs Allowed' in front of his restaurant. He
went on to tell the manager, 'Vftiat do you think I went
to war for?' and about he being an American and about
his right to be treated fairly. The next day the sign
was taken off ."/l

That favorable public attitudes toward Japanese Americans grew
most rapidly as their war record became known, should not obscure the
fact that thousands of Nisei and Issei added to the wartime pool of
manpower, and many of them served in positions of confidence. This
kind of service was also exploited by the press and became widely
known in the communities of settlement. Moreover, at places of employ-
ment, Japanese Americans came to be known not as a category, but as in-
dividuals. Such personal relationships went far to cement friendly
attitudes toward the group as a whole.

Throughout the co\intry, the term "Nisei" has ccme to connote loyal-
ty, just as the term "Jap" carries a derogatory meaning. A glance at
the headlines of 1942 is sufficient to show that it was "Japs" vho were
taken away to relocation centers. Common use ot' the word "Nisei" can
be taken as one measure of respect won by Japanese Americans in both
military and civilian activities.

26

Esqjresslons of support have been more frequent In the East and
Ulddle West, but have not been confined to that area. In a September
1946 meeting with representatives of the Japanese American Citizens
League, Mayor Fletcher Bowrm of Los Angeles remarked:

"Not only Nisei soldiers but also your group of civilians
did well in proving their loyalty. We not only consider
you as Americans but also our fellow citizens. We accept
you as fellow citizens. "/lO

Later, at a Los Angeles testimonial dinner held November 3 for
Nisei war dead, Uayor Bowron amplified this statement:

"As some of you know, during the early part of the war, I
was outspoken not only against Japan, but now I freely con-
fess also to a great extent against Japanese in general. I
feared that blood would tell in some cases and that it would
be extremely difficult to separate those, even though in the
vast majority, who could be relied upon as to loyalty to
this, the land of their birth, and those whose hearts re-
tained the pride of ancestry to the extent that when there
was opportunity, they would act to give aid and ccuif ort to
the government of the land of their forefathers.

"I am glad, indeed, to make the public declaration that
I have been convinced beyond any peradventure of tioubt,
the Nisei have been true."/ll

The expressions of the military and of persons in high office were
not infrequently paralleled by neighborly action. Thus, the August 19,
19i46 issue of the Christian Science Monitor presented the following*

"Out of a disaster which befell his family last Thanks-
giving Day, Ushuro Ito of Leucadia, California finds cause
for rejoicing for adversity revealed the friends he had
made before the war.

"Ito was evacuated with his family in the west coast mass
movement of persons of Japanese ancestry in 1942. He
stored his farming tools in a garage building. The tools
and building were valued at $9,000.

"The Issei farmer and his family were moved to Poston, Ariz.,
iriiere he remained during the war. His two sons went to
Detroit where they worked in a war plant.

749181 0-47-3 ^_

27

"Last fall there came the great day. He and his family re-
turned to the little farm they oimed in Leucadia.

"Soon after th^ir return hoodlums set fire to the garage
building destroying it and all the equipment. This was a
serious blow to Ito.

"In the midst of Ito's despair, his friends descended on
his little farm. They came from nearby Vista and Del Mar,
bringing material from which they erected a new building
for Ito's tools. He has since returned to the agricultural
field in which he specialized — a development of stunted
cacti."

On August 24, the Pacific Citizen reported another minor, but in-
dicative incident:

"A group of five Nisei on a recent Saturday night sat down
. at a table in a Washington cafe. One of the group was Tad
Ono, a veteran of the 4A2nd Coobat Team, who carried a cane.
A waiter came to the table and said, ' The gentleman at that
table over there wants to buy all of you drinks. Order what-
ever you like and I'll take the check to him.'

"When the Nisei appeared a bit hesitant, the waiter assured
them it was strictly on the level, and so they ordered. On
his way out, the man stopped at the table of the Nisei, who
thanked him profusely.

"The man said his son had fought in Italy. 'He has told me
all about the 442nd, and this is Just my small way of show-
ing my appreciation for the great fighting they all did
over there . ' "

Although in the past organized labor frequently has led the attack
on the Japanese, vez*y early in the resettlement movement, certain seg-
ments of the labor movement gave practical support to Japanese Ameri-
cans. In 1943, for example, the national president of the United Auto
Workers sent a letter to all locals of that organization requesting
equal treatment of Japanese Americauis. On the west coast, the Long-
shoremen's Union went so far as to suspend several members of the
Stockton local, who in the first days of return refused to work with
Nisei. That this unicm has continued friendly is indicated by a
recent notation in the vernacular press concerning "Mike Deguchi, shop
steward. Local 6 of the ILWU". Similarly, officials of the AF of L
Unions in San Francisco in midsummer of 1945 successfully supported
the right of Takeo Miyama to work in the shops of the San Francisco
municipal railway.

28

The position of unions affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor has varied greatly from locality to locality. In the Seattle
area, the Teamsters Union has publically taken the stand that only
Nisei veterans may become members, and even veterans have had diffi-
culty in joining. This ruling has been especially difficult for those
vriio ifish to enter the cleaning and dyeing business, which is under the
jurisdiction of that union.

In Los Angeles, the Teamsters Uni(»i, irtiich had maintained segre-
gated locals of Japanese American produce and retail workers before the
war, sought early to bar returned evacuees from thesQ fields. Today,
there are Nisei union members working in these trades.

In San Jose, both Nisei and Issei hold membership in the Carpen-
ters Union, edthough generally, the Building Trades Unions continue to
exclude Japanese Americans. In the same city the Teamsters Union re-
fused membership. The Culinary Unions, affiliated with the AF of L
have not only admitted both Nisei and Issei, but through the war pro-
vided forceful support. Several hundreds of Nisei and Issei women hold
membership in the Los Angeles locals of the International Ladies Gar-
ment Workers Union, an AF of L eif filiate, and in lesser numbers, the
same is true of the CIO affiliate in the men's clothing field, the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.

The Utah Nippo. published in Salt Lake City, noted in its August
30, 1946 issue:

"Sweetmine, Utah — Franklin Sugiyama has been elected to
represent Local Union No, 65II, United Mine Workers of
America, at the 39th consecutive convention of the UUW to
be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from October 1 to 5.

"Sugiyama, cm official of Local 65II, came to Sweetmine
from the war relocation center at Poston, Ariz,, where
he was chairman of the community council. Before evac«-
ation he was in the grocery business in Los Angeles, His
brother, i>gt. Togo augiyama, was killed in action with
the iti»2nd Combat Team in Italy and has been posthumously
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross."

In Los Angeles, a Nisei reported:

"I have a job with an advertising company, putting up
billboards. Last year about this time, I went to the
USES and asked for a job, and they gave me this one. It
is a small outfit, and I didn't have any trouble getting

29

in, or with the workers. Just last week I finally became a
full-fledged member of the union. It is the same one that the
Hollj^Tirood Motion Picture advertisers belong to.'*

Before the war, the experience of Japanese Americans with unions
was liaiited, partly because many unions were closed to them, and partly
because of antagonism on the part of Japanese employers who saw in the
union movement a threat to their own business. Some antagonism on the
part of unions seeking Nisei members has resulted from reluctance of
the latter to Join,

•

Thus, in June of 1946, Michael Mann, Executive Secretary of the
Chicago Industrial Union Covmcil appeared before the Chicago Resettle-
ment Committee and his remarks were widely reported in the vernacular
press. According to the Colorado Times of June 28, 1946:

"Mann asked for the cooperation of the Chicago Resettlers
Committee in interpreting to Japanese Americans the efforts of
the CIO to eliminate discrimination and to guarantee the rights
of minority groups on a national as well as city wide basis,
Japanese Americans had thus far been slow to respond to the
labor union movement, he observed,"

In Detroit, the UAW solved a similar problem by the teraporary em-
ployment of a Nisei organizer.

Although noting some reluctance to join unions, field reports have
indicated widespread membership in labor unions throughout the Middle
West and 3ast, where the bi£Lk of Nisei industrial employment has been
secured, and in this respect, assimilation into normal community re-
lationships is well advanced, a condition which represents a notable de-
parture from the prewar situation.

Thus, in sviramarizing a discussion of present trade union practice
with respect to minority groups, the editor of the Pacific Citizen wrote
as follows in the January 25, 1947 issue of that paper:

"Skilled trades which once were barred to workers of oriental
suicestry in Western States because of the refusal of unions to
induct workers of minority race groups are now being opened as
discriminatory attitudes lessen. Race myths which once were
utilized against workers of oriental ancestry in 'yellow peril'
campaigns are being exploded by the consolidation of these
workers in the labor movement.

"The changed concept of organized labor in its attitude toward
minorities is consistent with the role of trade unions today as
instruments for social progress."

30

Note has been taken earlier of the organized support given Japanese
Americans by Resettlement Committees, the Council of Civic Unity, and
other community leadership groups. The membership of these bodies, which
earlier bore the brunt of opinion formation, gained much experience in
canbating prejudice and discrimination. The specific task for which
these organizations were formed has largely been completed, but in every
city of resettlement, there are vestiges of organization which in case
of necessity could be mobilized to meet an onslaught of prejudice or
discriminatory activity.

Through such groups, the Japanese American people have an experi-
enced smd resourceful body of organized friends available for support.
Their war and civilian record since evacuation, and the support provided
by these influential community elements, has made an attack on Japanese
Americans in the style so often employed between 1900 and 1925,
hazardous and unprofitable.

If new support has become available to the group from the outside,
the American-born have themselves matured during the buffeting of the
years since evacuation. Thus, in a postwar statement concerning the
widespread distribution brought about by relocation, Dillon S. Mver,
Director of the War Relocation Authority was moved to cormnent:

""niat dispersal is not an excuse for the evacuation, but it is
a direct by-product of the evacuation and the relocation pro-
gram. And that dispersal is healthy for the nation and for the
Nisei. It means that the Nisei have learned the vastness of
his country. He has discovered the economy, the policies, the
culture, the attitudes of the Midwest, the South, and the East.
He has taken his place in many pursuits and many surroundings
foreign to the familiar Western States.

"That dispersal means that the Nisei — and it was because of the
rude shock of evacuation — grew up within a few short months.
The dutiful son became a responsible adult. The Nisei became
an individual; a mature self-confident, tax-paying man who de-
pended upon his own decisions. It is demonstrably time that the
engineering graduate moved from the produce bench in California
to a relocation center in Arkansas to a drafting table in
Boston. "/12

The Japanese American Citizens League, (JACL), which before the
war was subordinate in the Japanese community to the numerous Japanese
associations, has emerged as the one effective national organization
among Japanese Americans. Its publication, the Pacific Citizen, is
well edited and responsible, and the contacts maintained by its national
officers are substantial throughout the country.

31

In the fail of 1946, the JACL established an Anti-Discrimination
Committee to work on such issues as the Alien Land Law, and the Natura-
lization of Japanese aliens. Its first major test came in California,
where an initiative measure seeking to strengthen the Alien Land Law
had been placed on the ballot. After a campaign in which the Anti-
Discrimination Committee directed a mailing of literature numbering in
the hxondreds of thousands, succeeded in mobilizing the support of a
large section of the California press, and received help from a wide
variety of civic organizations throughout the state, the measure was
defeated by a majority of nearly 350,000 of the votes cast.

The trend toward increased acceptance of Japanese Americans as an
American equal is strong and in the ascendancy. However, this trend is
not unchecked.

Apart from legal discriaination based on the fact that persons
bom in Japan are ineligible to citizenship, definite evidence of
discrimination was found in varying degree in every locality studied.
Most of the incidents' resulted from individual rather than organized
prejudice, and in most communities the number of cases was small. Such
incidents related largely to questions of employment and housing, and
can be discussed in better perspective in the sections of this report
dealing with those matters. It should be noted here, however, that
nowhere did prejudice or discrimination bear as heavily upon Japanese
Americans as upon other racially disadvantaged groups, and everywhere
strong counter measures were being taken by community leadership to
secure unprejudiced treatment of Japanese Americans.

Legal Restrictions

From the founding of the United States, extension of the privilege
of naturalization has been a legislative, not a constitutional matter.
Before the Civil War, naturalization was permitted only to "free white
persons." Since that time, the Congress has passed amendments to the
original law admitting to citizenship Negroes and "persons indigenous
to Africa," "persons indigenous to North and South America," Chinese,
and natives of India. The ineligibility to citizenship of aliens bom
in Japan was decided by the United States Supreme Court decision made
in 1923, in the OzAwa case.

Takao Ozawa was born in Japan, but at an early age he moved to
Hawaii, and later to the United States. He had resided in American
territory for 20 years when he petitioned for citizenship. His petition
was based on the claim that the "free white persons" clause of the
Naturalization Act was not originally meant to exclude orientals, but
only Negroes and Indians, and that the Japanese were included as "free
white persOTis." He asserted that his personal queilifications were of

32

the best, having graduated frcm High School in Berkeley, California,
having attended the University of California for three years and
having raised his family in an American manner.

His origineil petition and an appeal to the U. S. Circuit Court of
Appeals were both denied. In upholding the rulings of the lower courts,
the U. S. Supreme Court held:

"It may be true that these two races (Negroes and Indians) were
alone thought of as being excluded, but to say that they were the
only ones within the intent of the statute nould be to ignore
the affirmative form of the legislation. The provision is not
that Negroes and Indians shall be excluded, but it is, in
effect, that only free white persons shall be included. The
intention was to confer the privilege of citizenship upon that
class of persons whom the fathers knew as white, and to deny it
to all who could not be so classified. It is not enough to say
that the framers did not have in mind the brown or yellow races
of Asia. It is necessary to go farther and be able to say that,
had these particular races been suggested, the language of the
act would have been so varied as to include them within the
privilege..,, It is sufficient to ascertain whom they intended
to include; and, having ascertained that, it follows, as a
necessary corollary, that all others are to be excluded. ••/13

With the Ozawa ruling, serious efforts by Japanese aliens to se-
cure citii,enship were abandoned until the present.

Following World War II, in which a considerable number of Japanese
aliens served the United States in language schools, the Army Map Ser-
vice, and in several highly confidential war agencies, and for irtiich
they furnished more than 23,000 of their sons to the armed services,
the question of citizenship again has been brought to the fore.

Thus, Delegate Joseph R. Parrington of Hawaii introduced into the
79th Congress a bill to remove racial restrictions fron the Naturali-
zation Act. No action was taken. In the 80th Congress, he was joined
by Senator William Langer of North Dakota, in presentation of a similar
bill. (HR 857 and S602.)

To Japanese aliens, the ability to gain citizenship is much more
than a matter of sentiment. Like aliens of other derivation, they are
unable to secure licenses to practice in many of the professions. For
example, axj. states require that attorneys be citizens, 22 have citizen-
ship or declarations of intent as a requirement of architects, 9 of
barbers, 48 of certified public accountants, 26 of dentists, 17 of
funeral directors, 25 of physicians, and 18 of teachers. Unlike aliens

33

of most other nationalities, however, the Japanese alien is vinable to
secure citizenship and thus is permtinently barred frcwi these occupations,

In California, legislation was passed during the war to prohibit
aliens ineligible to citizenship the privilege of commercial fisJiing.
This measure bars approximately 200 individuals from their previous
occupation. In a test case on this question, the Los /ingeles Superior
Court held that this legislation was a "thin veil to conceal a purpose"
(to discriminate against Japanese), and that it violated the guarantees
of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by denying
to alien Japanese the equal protection of the laws. The case is now
pending before the California Supreme Court,

The abrogation of trade treaties between Japan and the United
States in 1940, has raised the question whether alien Japanese may have
the right to lease property for commercial or residential purposes. A
test case arose in Stockton, California, when a landlord started pro-
ceedings to cancel a lease on a theater. In describing the case, the
Pacific Citizen of December 28, 1946, stated:

"The landlord contended that because of the non-existence of a
treaty an alien Japanese no longer has the right to lease
commercial property and therefore the contract was void. The
trial held that there was no lease. Upon appeal the District
Court of Appeals held that the interpretation of the term,
'treaty not existing,' meant that the Treaty of 1911 was in-
corporated as a part of the California Alien Land Law and that
the subsequent abrogation made no difference,

"The California Supreme Court agreed to review the case. Until
a final decision is rendered, this question remains in abeyance.
Until the matter is settled, the reestablishment of businesses
by alien Japanese evacuees remains a difficult problem,"

Deportation proceedings against several hundred "treaty merchants"
have been started by the U. S. Department of Justice, a situation which
likewise results from the 1940 abrogation of the treaty with Japan.
Since the persons involved are ineligible to citizenship, that Depart-
ment has had no discretion in dealing with hardship cases, even though
some have performed war service for the United States Government, and
many had sons in the armed forces.

To meet this situation, some seventy private bills have been in-
troduced in the 79th and 80th Congresses, In addition to bills specifi-
cally applying to individuals, several general bills have been intro-
duced which would permit discretion by the Department of Justice, In
deference to these bills, none of the outstanding deportation orders had
been carried thixjugh at the time of writing this report.

34

The matters relating to ineligibility to citizenship noted above,
•while of great urgency to those immediately involved, are outranked in
importance to the whole group by the restrictions placed upon ownership
of farm property by the Alien Land Laws of the Vfest Coast States. The
economic welfare of a larger niimber of returned evacuees is more directly
tied up with agricultvire than with any other enterprise. For this rea-
son, and because the process hy v^hich the Alien Land Laws grew to their
present stringency provides an insight into the means by which past anti-
Japanese sentiment has been written into statute, the developnent of
these laws will be traced in some detail in the section immediately fol-
loTving .

Alien Land Laws

Since 1913, California statute books have carried a law prohibiting
o-'.'mership of farm property by "aliens ineligible to citizenship." The
Alien Land Laws of Oregon, as well as those of a ntunber of other Vfestern
States appear largely to have been patterned after their California covm-
terpart. The Alien Land Lav/s of the State of T/ashington antedate those
of California, but have a similar effect. Action has not been taken under
the provisions of the laws of these states since the west coast exclusion
was lifted.* A review of the California Alien Land Law will suffice,
therefore, to provide the essential background for an understanding of
the adjustment problem related to such statutes.

The first alien land measure was offered the California Legislature
in 1907. It was defeated in large part by the intervention of the Fed-
eral Government, which Tfas concerned v/ith relations with Japali. Similar
bills iiere offered in 1909 and 1911, but again failed of passage. By
the latter year, not only was there "the Gentlemen's Agreement" limiting
immigration, but the Japanese-American treaty of 1911 had been signed.
With the participation of Japan in the forthcoming Panama-Pacific Expo-
sition not yet definite, the record indicates less pressure for enactment.

During the 1909 debate, Assemblyman Grove Johnson (quoted on page
one of the San Francisco Chronicle of December U) stated the case of
the exclusion of orientals from California agriculttire in the following
terms J

"I would rather every foot of California was in its native
wilderness than to be curbed by the foot of these yellow in-
vaders, who are a curse to the country, a menace to our in-
stitutions, and destructive of every principle of Americanism.
I vraint no aliens, white, red, black, or yellow to own a foot
of land in the State of California."

*Since this was written, suit has been filed by Kenji and Etsuo Namba in
the Multnomah County Circuit Court seeking a declaratory Judgment de-
claring the Oregon Alien Land Law unconstitutional.

35

This viewpoint was not entirely unchallenged. In an official re-
port, which the California Legislature ordered, but later suppressed.
State Labor Commissioner J. D, McKenzie is quoted as having said:

"The Japanese land owners are of the best class; they are
steady and industrious, and from their earnings purchase land
of low value and poor quality. The care lavished upon this land
is remarkable, and frequently its acreage has increased several
hundred per cent in a year's time.... Most of the proprietors in-
dicate an intention to make the section in which they have lo-
cated a permanent home, and to adopt American customs and
manners.... Some form of labor such as is now represented by the
Japanese is essential for the continuance and development of
agricultural industry of California ./lA

The years from the offering of the first alien land bill to enact-
ment of the 1913 Alien Land Law happened also to cover the period when
enterprising Japanese were first meeting with success in large scale
development of California waste land. Notable among these were Shima,
the "potato king" who transformed worthless swamp land along the San
Joaquin River, and Ikuta, the "rice wizard" who first proved the feasi-
bility of commercial rice production on the alkali lands of Sutter,
Yuba, Colusa, Glenn and Butte Counties,

With the outstanding success of these Japanese farmers and others
elsewhere in the state before them, the 1913 legislature ignored the
Federal request for caution, presented in person by Secretary of State
William Jei)nings Bryan, and wrote into law provisions denying "aliens
ineligible to citizenship" the privilege of buying land for agricultural
use in California, and allowed them to lease land for agricultural pur-
poses for no more than three years.

Corporations, a majority of y*iose members were aliens ineligible
to citizenship or a majority of whose issued capital stock was owned
by such aliens, likewise came within the prohibitions of the law.

The act was so drawn that it did not technically conflict with any
of the provisions of the Japanese-American treaty of 1911. That treaty
authorized Japanese to lease and occupy land for residenticd and commer-
cial purposes but made no mention of agricultural lands. The 1913 land
law was the subject of an extended protest on the part of the Japanese
Government, but the question was allowed to lapse as both countries be-
came increasingly occupied with the developments of Vforld War I.

This statute marked the introduction of the term "aliens ineligible
to citizenship." Opposition had developed to earlier measures involving
agricultural property of aliens of European descent. By the device of

36

specifically naming "aliens ineligible to citizenship" it was possible
to single out orientals, which in practical application meant the
Japanese, It served also to place responsibility for this discrimina-
tion upon the Federal Government, which by law and interpretation had
refused the privilege of naturalization to oriental peoples.

While restriction of Japanese farm competition was an immediate
purpose of the 1913 law, the evidence is plain that it was desired also
as a means of discouraging Japanese residence generally. Thus in a
speech before the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco delivered August 9,
1913, States Attorney General, Ulysses S. Webb, an author of the Alien
Land Act of that year declared:

"The fundamental basis of all legislation upon this subject.
State and Federal, has been, and is, race undesirability. It
is unimportant and foreign to the question under discussion
whether a particular race is inferior. The simple and single
question is, is the race desirable... It (the law) seeks to
limit their presence by curtailing their privileges which they
may enjoy herej for they will not come in large numbers and
long abide with us if they may not acquire land. And it seeks
to limit the numbers who will come by limiting the opportunities
for their activity here when they arrive . "/15

It may be noted that the Alien Land Law was not retroactive, and
that the privilege of ownership of land was not jeopardized for those
ineligible aliens who had possessed agricultural property prior to its
enactment .

World Vfer I, which provided a growing demand for foodstuffs of
all kinds, began but one year after the law went into effect. It be-
came expedient to take advantage of the unquestioned ability of the
Japanese to produce food, and if violations of the law occurred, the
record for the war years make no mention of widespread prosecution.

In 1920, an initiative measure placed on the ballot and supported
by all political parties sought to tighten the 1913 act. Under it,
aliens ineligible to citizenship could acquire or enjoy interest in
real property only to the extent provided in any treaty existing be-
tween the United States and the country of the alien. Since the
Treaty of 1911 between Japan and the United States contained no pro-
vision authorizing an alien of Japanese origin to acquire or lease land
for agricultural purposes, and ineligible aliens were not permitted to
acquire stock in any company authorized to enjoy real property, other
than provided by treaty, cropping contracts provided the only legal means
by which an alien Japanese could acquire and cultivate land. Although
opposed by a number of influential groups, the initiative measure carried

37

668,483 to 222,086, and after becoming law on Jecember 9, 1920, super-
seded the 1913 Act.

To strengthen the Act further, a new statute was added to the
California Code of Civil Procedure on May 31, 1923. This statute
(175a) provided:

"No persons ineligible to citizenship in the United States and
no company, association, or corporation of which a majority of
the members are aliens ineligible to citizenship in the United
States, or on which a majority of the issued capital stock is
owned by such aliens, may be appointed guardian of any estate
wtiich consists in whole or in part of real property. "

It should be noted at this point, that a test case arising from
the similar Alien Land Law of the State of V/ashin^jton had been carried
to the Supreme Court of the United States in Terrance vs Thompson
(263 U.S. 197) and that the constitutionality of the act was affirmed.
In the California case of Webb vs O'Brien (263 U.S. 313), this opinion
was drawn upon in the following argument:

"Conceivably, by the use of such contract, (sharec Topping) the
population living on and cultivating the farm lands might come
to be made up largely of ineligible aliens. The allegiance of
the farmers to the state directly affects its strength and
safety. V/e think it within the power of the state to deny to
ineligible aliens the privilege so to use agricultural lands
within its borders ., .Racial distinctions may furnish legitimate
grounds for classifications under some conditions of social or
governmental necessities."

In May 1927, the California Legislature passed an amendment to the
previous acts requiring that where the fact of citizenship was at issue
in connection with enforcement of the Alien Land Laws, the cost of
proof must be borne by the individual involved.

Development of the Alien Land Law was a continuing process designed
to exclude Japanese farmers from participation in California agriculture.
As loopholes permitting Japanese farming activities were uncovered, new
and more specific amendments were passed. Thus, the amendments of 1923
attacking the problan of guardianship were enacted against the backdrop
of the Yano case in which the Supreme Court of California had ruled
against the state ••

♦ In the Estate of Yano, the California Supreme Court ruled in part:
"The Initiatory Act of 1920, Section Four, forbids the appointment of
any alien not eligible to citizenship as (cont'd on following page)

38

A second breach in the effectiveness of the Alien Land Law," was the
later ruling of the Superior Court of Sonoma County in the Fujita case:

"Children born in California of Japanese parentafje are citizens
of the United States and of California, and are entitled to the
same rights of property, real and personal, as other citizens,
irrespective of their racial descent; a Japanese father though
' incompetent himself to acquire real property may furnish money
in good faith for the purchase of real property for his minor
children, who are citizens of the United States; minor children
have the sane right to acquire real property as adults, and if a
gift of real property is made by deed to minors, delivery and
acceptance will be presumed; Japanese aliens are entitled to the
possession of real property for residential and commercial pur-
poses under Article 1 of the Treaty of 1911 between the United
States and Japan; a Japanese alien parent othervrise competent is
entitled to be appointed guardian of the person and estate of
his citizen child and the citizen child has the right to have
his alien Japanese parent appointed such guardian «"/l6

In February of 1935 a bill was suVjmitted unsuccessfully to the
California Legislature which would have prohibited absolutely any in-
eligible alien from engaging in agriculture under any circumstances.
Again in 1937 a bill designed to prevent Japanese aliens from vesting
titles to rural property in the names of their native-born children and
from acting as "caretaking guardians" of land so acquired was presented.
The intent was to enable the state to prosecute an individual violator
of the law without resort to conspiracy charges, which as the matter
then stood, frequently involved infants. These amendments also failed,
and it was not until 1943, v^en all persons of Japanese ancestry v/ere
in relocation centers, that their substance was enacted into law.

The enforcement of the Alien Land Law up to the time of the
evacuation cannot be called effective. From the standpoint of the
Japanese, a means of accommodation to the law had been found.

Thus, writing in 1934, S. K. Strong notes that:

"Wlien it is to the advantage of the whites to lease their land
to Japanese, they find a way to do it.... One reason why the

guardian of a minor with respect to. . .agricultural land belonging to
such minor. In this respect the Initiative Act of 1920 is clearly a
violation of the guarantee contained in Section 1 of the 14th Amendment
of the Constitution of the United States, that no state 'shall deny to
amy person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.'"

39

anti-alien land laws have been disregarded is that they worked
a hardship upon the white landowners as well as upon the
Japanese ... .As far as could be discovered by our interviewers,
the land law is non-operative in mani' sections of the state if
not in all parts. It makes it very difficult for the Japanese
to obtain title, but for all practical purposes he can do so
if his go-between is honest. More recently, ovdng to California
Supreme Court decisions, he can take title in the name of his
native-born children. "/17

A similaT comment is provided by Carey McV/illJ.ams, writing in
1943:

"Enforcement of the Alien Land Act of 1920 was vested in local
law enforcement officials. V/hen a 'white person' in one of
these counties wanted to lease land to a Japanese, he usually
had no difficulty in doing so. Local district attorneys en-
forced the act when they wanted to enforce it; and they oblig-
ingly ignored evasions of the act when it suited their interests
to do so. The act was easily evaded; title to farm land was
placed in the names of Hawaiian or American-born Japanese;
verbal .-igreements were entered into — 'gentlemen's agreements' —
that ran counter to the terras of written documents; Japanese
were employed as 'managers' instead of as 'tenants,' By these
and other devices, and with the connivance of law enforcement
officials, the act was blithely ignored. The Junount of land
escheated to the state under this statute is ivi^olly negligible."

By the complete exclusion of all persons of Japanese descent, the
evacuation destroyed this accommodation in agriculture, something the
State of California had been unable to acccanplish in nearly 30 years
of legislative enactment. In 1943, when all persons of Japanese
descent, citizens and aliens alike, were branded by mass exclusion,
and war fervor was at its height, the California Legislature again
enacted legislation amending the Alien Land Law to close loopholes
which had heretofore prevented realization of its basic purpose.

Among other things, the new amendments provided that the interest
in land both of the landlord or owner and that of the alien shaJJ. re-
vert to the state where the Alien Land Law has been violated; that any
violation of the Alien Land Law is a criminal offense, not merely a con-
spiracy to violate it; and gave the Attorney General of the State and
District Attorney of a county the right to use criminal, civil, and in-
junctive processes against an ovmer or lessor of land, where the owner
or lessor transferred an interest in his property to another with the
knov/ledge that an ineligible alien would be allowed to use it.

40

During the war years, Congress successive!:' gave the right of
naturalization to the Chinese and Phiilippine people, and to the people /
indigenous to India. With minute exceptions, the legal effect of the [
Alien Land Laws nov; rests exclusively on persons -of JapanGse descent.

During 1945 the Arniy lifted its exclusion orders, and the evacuated
people were free to live in West Coast States. Among the first fev/
who returned were holders of agricultural property. Also in 1945, the
California Legislature passed an act appropriating t'200,000 to the State
Justice Department for enforcement of the Alien Land Law. This measure,
provided that the proceeds of the sales of escheated land be divided
equally between the State and the county wrierein the real property was
located. It is noteworthy that while the State Attorney General then
in office had asked without success for repeal of the Alien Land Law,
his office ordered investigations which by late 1946 had resulted in
the entering of more than 60 charges of allien Land Law violation in
the California courts.

In the same year, 1945, according to a columnist writing in the
November 2, 1946 issue of the Pacific Citizen;

"State Senator Jack Tenny of Los Angeles had attempted to ob-
tain passage of a joint resolution to Congress asking for the
deportation of all persons of Japanese ancestry, presumably
including Nisei war veterans, and the permanent exclusion of
all persons of Japanese ancestry from California. ,,, Tenny. ., ,
failed in this, partly because State Senator Shelly brought 10
decorated veterans^ of the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Combat
Team into the Senate Chamber at the time when questions in-
volving Japanese Americans were being debated, but succeeded
in obtaining authorization to submit State Constitution Amend-
ment No. 17, the validation of legislative amendments to the
Alien Land Law,"

This amendment appeared on the November 5, 1946 ballot as Propo-
sition 15, "Validation of Legislative Amendments to Alien Land Law."
In their arguments in favor of this measure, Senators Jack Tenny of Los
Angeles County and Hugh M. Burns, of Fresno County stated in part:

"This amendment merely validates statutes pursuant to the Alien
Land Lavre heretofore enacted by the Legislature and novi in full
force and effect.

"Its enactment by the people will close loopholes in legis-
lative enactments based on constitutional grounds.

"It is well knov/n that Japanese aliens, in order to conceail
true ovmership of property, have indulged in all manner of

41

subterfuges. These aliens have resorted to the use of 'dummy'
corporations, American-born Japanese children and other nefarious
schemes and devices that, on the record, conceal the true ident-
ity of the ovmers of property,"/! 9

While by initiative measure the proponents of Japanese exclusion
were attempting to "close loopholes in legislative enactment of the
Alien Land Law," the California Supreme Court was hearing an appeal from
the decision of the Superior Court in the case of Oyama, et al. Be-
cause some 60 cases were dependent on the ruling in this, the first to
reach the State Supreme Court follovdng enactment of the 19A-3 amendments,
the Oyama case became a test of primary importance.

The Superior Court of San Diego County had held it to be the pre-
sumption of the /uLien Land Lav/ thct if an alien ineligible to citizen-
ship pays the consideration and takes title in another's names, there
is a violation, and judgment wa.s given the State,

The facts in the case were not at issue. As stated by counsel for
the Japanese American Citizens League, Saburo Kido:

"The facts.., are as follows: an alien Japanese father (in-
eligible to citizenship) purchased a tract of land for his
citizen son, Fred Oyama, a minor. Letters of guardianship were
obtained from the court, and on two occasions vrtien money was
borrowed, the order of the court was obtained. However, the
father had not kept a separate bank account nor filed an
accounting or reports pertaining to the management of the
property."

Three major points were urged by the Oyama attorneys:

"(1) that the act was unconstitutional; (2j that the statute
of limitations applied; (3) that the parents had the right to
make a gift of real property and once title v;as vested in the
citizen, his ownership was absolute . "/2Q

On October 31, 1%6, the California Supreme Court affirmed the
judgment of the trial court on all counts. Taking notice of the Yano
(188 Cal 645 J precedent, it stated:

"Section 4 of the statute, as originally enacted, denied to an
alien parent the right to become the guardian of the estate of
his native-born and was held invalid. However, in 1943> the
legislature amended that section, cillovdng the appointment of
an alien guardian but preventing such guardian from enjoying,
either directly or indirectly, the beneficial use of land ovmed
by the minor.

42

"The property/ in question passed to the State of California by
reason of deficiencies existing in the ineligible alien, and
not in the citizen Oyaraa. The citizen is not denied any con-
stitutional guarantees because an ineligible alien, for the
purpose of evading the Alien Land Lav;, attempted to pass title
to him. It is the deficiency of the alien father and not of
the citizen son which is the controlling factor; therefore, any
constitutional guarantees to which the citizen Oyama is en-
titled may not properly be considered, for the deficiency in a
person other than himself is the cause for the escheat . Property
which the citizen never had he could not lose, and as the land
escheated to the state instanter, he acquired nothing by the
conveyance and the Alien Land Law took nothing from him."

Regarding the question of citizenship, the opinion noted:

"The determination as to the eligibility to citizenship rests
exclusively vdth the Federal Government and is fixed by Con-
gress in the naturalization laws. Whomever it endows with the
right to become a citizen may acquire and own land in California."
/gl

Elsewhere the California Supreme Court quoted from the U. S.
Supreme Court decision in Terrance vs Thompson (263 U.S. 197):

"The broad basis of the decision is that one who is not a
citizen and cannot become one lacks an interest in, and the
pov/er to effectually work for the welfare of, the state, and,
so lacking, the state may rightfully deny him the right to own
and lease real estate within its boundaries."

At another point in its opinion the court provided an authoritative
summary of the Alien Land Law and sharply defined its purpose;

"The clear and unmistakable purpose of the Allien Land Law at
all times since it was enacted by the people as an initiative
measure has been to placs the ovfnership of real property
in this state beyond the reach of an alien ineligible to citizen-
ship. Not only is such an alien prohibited from acquiring real
property, or any interest therein, the statute expressly pro-
vides that he shall not possess, enjoy, use, cultivate, or
occupy land. He may not convey real property, or any interest
therein, or have, in whole or in part, the beneficial use of
land, and any attempted transfer to an ineligible alien is void
as to the state. These provisions.. ..state broad principles of
public policy relating to the ownership of land and declare that
ciny conveyance made in violation of the mandate of the people
shall be void."/21

749181 0-47-4 43

Five days after the Oyama decision. Proposition 15, Validation of
the Legislative /'jnendments to the Alien Lauid Law came before the people
of California in the November $ general election.

In the weeks preceding, the Anti- Discrimination Committee of the
Japanese American Citizens League, together with a number of civic or-
ganizations, had been working to defeat this measure. In the campaign,
wide circulation v/as given to a letter originally sent to the Los
Angeles Daily News on October 14, 1946, by a Japanese American service-
man, Akira Iwamura. It reads as follows:

"I am ex-sgt. nkira Iwamura, 26, and I'm puzzled. liy brother
and I came out of the Array to find an alien land law suit to
escheat my farm and evict the family froin ray home,

"Your newspaper, and the magazines and newsreels told about the
442nd Infantry Regiment, m,-ide up of Japanese Americans. They
praised its combat record and said the terrific casualties
suffered bought the right to fair play for us and our families.

"My brother Cecil is 24 but his black hair is streaked with
gray. He sweated it out and got wounded with the 442nd as they
' fought in Italy. In the battle for Germany he aided in the
'Rescue of the Lost Battalion.*

"Vftiile ray brother Cecil was in the European hot spots with his
' regiment, I was in the South Pacific with the Nisei Intelligence,
V/e both thought we were fighting to keep our family and home
safe. In Manila I helped draw up charges against the Japanese
■Jar Criminals.

"I caiae home and read the alien land law court summons to take
away my farm. I read the arguments for Proposition 15 to
strengthen the alien land law. They sound like criminal in-
dictments. Vifhy are we hounded like outlaws?

"Many in our outfits died to prove Americanism is in the heart;
looks and nationality don t co'ont. My folks have lived here
for 40 years under the present law which bars them from citizen-
ship. We were born in Fresno County, but because my folks happen
to come from Japan ray farm and home are being taken away from
rae,

"Why does California with its alien land law keep kicking us in
the teeth? Don't purple hearts and Presidential Unit Citations
mean anything? Maybe some of my Nisei buddies who died in
Italy, Germany, Okinawa, and other combat fronts might have

been the lucky guys. They're not home to face this kind of
pushing around.

"I thought gold stars, coimibat avfards, and official citations
meant something. Is California laughing at us Japanese
American veterans and our war honors? Then why is Proposition
15 on the November 5 ballot? I'm wondering."

In his letter, Akira Iwamura brought attention to one changed
factor in the California land problem, that citizen children of alien
Japanese parents have arrived at an age to farm in their own right,
and that in consequence, the full intent of the Alien Land Law now
rests on the citizen generation.

A second change was registered when, in the official election re-
turns on Proposition 15, 1,143,780 votes were tabulated against to
797,067 votes in favor of this measure designed to tighten the law ex-
cluding the Japanese from enjoyment of agriculture.

The Japanese American Citizens' League hailed these results. Mike
li. Kasaoka, executive secretary of the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee
was quoted by the November 9, 1946 issue of the Pacific Citizen;

"The election results prove that most Californians feel that
Japanese Americans and their Issei parents have earned the
right to justice and fair treatment. .. .They provide the first
real public opinion poll of California citizens on an issue in-
volving the state's residents of Japanese ancestry since 1920
. . . .The lesson of the vote on Proposition 15 is that the war
is over and the people of California will not approve dis-
criminatory and prejudiced treatment of persons of Japanese
ancestry."

iVhatever the ultimate meaning of the vote on Proposition 15, no
basic law had been changed. Within a few days of the election,
attorneys for Oyama petitioned the California Suprenie Court for a re-
hearing, listing among their arguments the rejection of Proposition 1$
at the polls. The petition for rehearing was denied.

Elsewhere in the petition for rehearing it was argued that:

"If a Caucasian alien, instead of a Japanese alien, transferred
real property to his son as a gift, and the deed thereto was
duly recorded, it seems clear that the Caucasian son would have
title to said property, as against the world, including his
Caucasian father. So should a Japanese American son, under the
foregoing federal statute, as well as by virtue of federal and
state constitutional guarantees."

45

It was further argued that:

"The statute, in its present form by prohibiting an ineligible
alien from even 'occupying* land, deprives him of the right to
live in his home - or any home . "/22

Elsewhere, legal representatives of Oyama were moved to comment:

"In its strict interpretation (the Alien Land Law) could mean
that Japanese Nationals could not even live on the same land,
or in the same home with their citizen child. This ruling
negates the public policy of any state to encourage gifts from
parents to their children (in return for) support and maintenance
of the aged parents."

It is not the purpose of this report to comment concerning the
issues which brought the California Alien Land Law into being or that
guided the nature of its amendment. Both the broad constitutional
issue and the legal technicalities of its application are the province
of the courts.

What has been important in an attempt to discuss the adjustments
being made by the evacuated Japanese Americans are the forces that
affect their security and the process of their resettlement. The
present effect of the Alien Land Law on that adjustment is large, since
a considerable proportion of these people have been and remain dependent
i^)on agriculture for their livelihood. In the preparation of this
report, no other problem facing the Japanese American people was found
to represent so serious an obstacle to adjustment.

The Oyama case has been accepted for review by the United States
Supreme Court. Unless that Court upsets the precedent of Terrance vs
Thompson, or there is a change or elimination of the statute, the
affirmation of the Alien Land Law in the Oyama case provides judicial
sanction for a stronger law than has heretofore been available to
"place the ownership of real property (in California) beyond the reach
of an alien ineligible to citizenship."

To quote the San Francisco Chronicle, the provisions of the
present law:

"Puts in jeopardy all parties to any transaction in and upon
which a single non-citizen Japanese might turn over a spadefxil
of earth or pluck a strawberry to his own benefit . "/23

46

d

Chapter III

ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT

The economic welfare of the Japanese Americans living in the \7est
Coast States before the war depended upon the prosperity of Japanese—
operated farms; the growing of crops end the marketing of farm products
engaged nearly two-thirds of the working force of Issei and Nisei.*
Except that the ultimate markets for fresh produce were large Ijr outside
the Japanese community, the basic means of livelihood were largely
mthin its control. In a situation where prejudice and discrimination
was not infrequent, such wi thin-group control was important.

The evacuation destroj/ed the economic stmacture of the prewar
Japanese communities of the west coast. The relocation program scat-
tered the people, and not more than six out of ten have returned. A
fourth of the prewar farm operators retained property to which they
could come back, but except for these and the few who left business
establishments with competent and trustworthy managers, most of the
evacuees returning to their former communities found it necessBry to
start from the beginning, much like those who settled in the Midwest
and East. The complex and far reaching structure built around the
growing, processing, and marketing of farm crops has not been revived.

^ (Pive years after evacuation, the most obvious economic effect of
1 that order is a change from dependence for livelihood on an economy
1 fxmdamentally within the control of the Japanese community to general
\dependence by the Japanese Americsn people everywhere upon employment
Wund in the general community^)

IJWith few exceptions, the able bodied have secured well paying em-
ployment, both in the East and on the west coast. In five years, public

*While it is true that Japanese American residents of San Francisco and
Seattle had other important sources of livelihood, the pattern of in-
group control of economic enterprise and employment was similar.

47

sentiment has changed from one of deep suspicion to that of favorable
acceptance in most sections of the coijntry. Without question, by the
end of 1946 more Japanese Americans 7;ere employed in work for which
they had been trained than ever had been the case before the war, and
those working in positions requiring less skill or training are as well
off in this period of full employment as other Americans.*)

The present emphasis on employment should not obscure the fact that
there has been some postwar business developm.ent on the west coast, or
that in new centers of Japanese American Dopulation such as Chicago,
Salt Lake City, and Denver, business activity began shortly after re-
settlem.ent got vinderway. However, the enterprises so far established
do not have the economic strength of those existing before the war, and
in terms of the whole group have been a minor source of livelihood.
Trade with Japan, which before the war T/as important to those living in

*Note should be taken that a number of difficulties are present in an
attempt to compare present employment opportunities of Japanese Ameri-
cans with those existing before the war. The evacuation came about be-
fore the full sweep of wartime employment had replaced the slack labor
market of the 1950* s, when well trained Caucasians were having great
difficulty in finding work. To a Nisei engineering graduate forced to
utilize his talents at a corner fruit stand, there were obvious diffi-
culties then in distinguishing between discrimination and the bleak
prospects of all job seekers. There is some feeling among Kisei also,
that if they had been permitted to remain at home, war man power short-
ages would have opened positions to them comparable to those later
found farther east.

Conversely, his present favorable employment situation has yet to
be tested by hard times, and not a few are fearful that in the event of
a depression, he will be the first fired. At this writing there can be
no certainty whether these fears have a basis in reality or not. It
can be stated with some assurance, however, that in the liidwest and
East many have achieved an excellent work record and that their accep-
tance in most shops and offices is much better than that of mere toler-
ance. It may also be noted that during the retrenchment period immedi-
ately following the end of hostilities the fear of widespread unemploy-
ment among Nisei did not materialize, few being affected by reconver-
sion of heavy industry. The fact that as lay-offs occurred, many left
Easteni and Midwestern cities without seeking new work may obscure the
evidence to some degree; however, few cases are known where persistent
search for employment was unsuccessful.

A8

Seattle, San Francisco, and New York, has not been resumed, (One new
factor in the postwar business situation has been a growing patronage
by Negroes, This grew from the fact that settlement in Eastern cities
was largely in "fringe areas" and that on the west coast, Negro popu-
lation largely replaced the Japanese after the latter were evacuated.
In a few cities, however, notably V.ashington, D, C, there is evidence
that Japanese enterprises have purposely located their stores in Negro
districts to secure trade from, that group,^

The people are working excessively hard, particularly in the Tv^est,
where they have had a shorter tirre in which to establish themselves, A
gardener who works near Palo Alto noted:

/

"Everybody I know around here is making money. Most people
are earning more than ever before. But there is practi-
cally no social life. People haven't the heart for it.
Everybody is still too unsettled. Not many expect to stay
where they are. They are saving so they can get into some-
thing else when the chance comes. So everybody just works-
evenings, Sundays, all of the time,"^l

His statement provides a basic insight for the vmderstanding of
the economic activity among Japanese Americans on the west coast,
(Everything is secondary to work. The people are driven by insecurity
and a sense of urgency. They must make up their losses, prepare for
futxare tincertainties, and get ready to take advantage of opportunities
that may come along* And these things must be done now while jobs are
abundcmt sind wages high^

Among other notable chsmges in the postwar adjustment of Japanese
Americans as compared with their prewar economic arrangements, mention
should be made of the very marked increase in ttie emplo3nnent of women,
both Issei and Nisei; of the decline in the relative economic impor-
tance of first generation men as compared v;ith Nisei, both in employ-
ment, farming, and business; and of the fact that many times more Japa -
nese Americans are now receiving public welfare assistance,

fSefore the war, the number of Japanese Americans receiving public
assistance was so negligible as to be the cause of widespread comment,
Many who stayed in the War Relocation Authority centers until late in
1945 were unable to reestablish themselves mthout help. Nearly all of
these returned to the west coast, with dependence on public assistance
most widespread immediately after the centers were closed, when several
thousand were on relief rolls. At the close of 1946, the number re-
ceiving relief in these three states was still well above a thousand,
primarily the old and feeble, but including also a number who had large

49

'ci-

families and were unable to find work and housing adequate for their
needs. The feeling of stigma attached to acceptance of public assis-
tance has been greatly weakened by the evacuation experience; ill for-
txme was caused by public action, they believe, and many have come to
accept the idea that assistance is a public responsibility properly to
be accepted* Furthermore, assistance from within the Japanese American
group, which before the war was made available through the various
Japeinese associations and prefectural societies, is no longer available,
since these organizations have not been revived, nor are group resources
sufficient to carry the present loed^

Cin addition there is little, if any, opportunity for the older
people to get into productive employment, and living costs in most in-
stances now prohibit children from assvmiing responsibility for the care
of their aged parents or other relatives^

(jEn spite of these difficulties, hovrever, the number on relief at
the end of 1945 had been more than halved by the close of 1946^ The
Director of the Bureau of Public Assistance in one of the larger west
coast cities noted:

"Many of the younger Japanese appear to be working out
their resettlement problems satisfactorily. For several
months the Bureau has employed four full time counsel-
lors, one of whom devoted most of her efforts toward de-
veloping employment opportunities and referring persons
to jobs. It was her experience that once the person got
started in private employment, much of his adjustment
took care of itself, V2

Elsewhere in the country there has been almost no need for public
assistance, a fact partly due to the general policy of returning in-
digents to the "county of original residence" and partly because those
who were worst off remained in the centers until the last. Late in
1946 a check with welfare authorities in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and
Detroit revealed only one known case where public help was being re-
ceived, from among an evacuee population of between 3,500 and 4,000,
An inquiry made of Chicago authorities in April of 1947 brought the re-
sponse that cases of indigency among Japanese Americans in that city
were so few in number as to have escape special notice. Likewise from
Denver, word was received that not more than six or seven individuals
had received help during the past year.

Prom the brief summary above it has been seen that the economic
experience of the evacuated Japanese Americans has been fsir from uniform*
In part this has resulted from individual differences of ability, train-
ing, outlook, and family responsibility among them, and in part by

50

differences in length of time since leaving the centers. It is now
considerably less than two years since the relocation centers were
closed, a period far too short for the working out of stable adjust-
ments following a disruption as catastrophic as that provided by evacu-
ation. Although many have reported high earnings in the post-evacuation
period, many retain doubts concerning a future which appears to bear
little relationship to prewar experience. Another five years, at least,
will be required before the full economic effect of the evacuation can
be measured.

The contrasts and uncertainties of economic adjustment, noted above,
have made the coherent presentation of the more detailed discussion of
this subject difficult. To at least partially solve this problem, the
remaining sections of this chapter are divided into separate discus-
sions of the particular localities covered, and to some extent accord-
ing to the kind of occupation. Brief notes on the prewar situation
will be found at the beginning of those oarts where such information is
pertinent to the discussion of present adjustment. Since agriculture
and related business activity provided the m.ost important source of
livelihood before the war, and agriculture remains the l6rgest single
type of enterprise, this will be given first attention. However, before
going into this detailed discussion, the matter of financial loss
attributable to the evacuation will be examined briefly, and an account
given of the nature and present status of legislation proposed to com-
pensate those who sxiffered such loss.

Evacuation Loss and Remedial Legislation

IWhile comprehensive and accurate information concerning losses
caused by the evacuation has not been available, logically, the heavi-
est individual losses could be expected to have been suffered by busi-
ness men and farmers. In the aggregate, however, dsunage to household
goods through vandalism and breach of trust, plus loss of income while
the people -were in relocation centers, may equal business and fann
losses. Because operation of business enterprises and farms was largely
in Issei hands, and relatively few Nisei were established in an inde-
pendent household, by far the greatest proportion of the total loss was
borne by the first generation Japanese Americans, However, those Nisei
who may have expected finemcial support in opening a business or a sub-
stantial inheritance, have been indirectly affected.

Information available to the War Relocation Authority at the time
that agency was liquidated has been summed up in a report entitled "The
Wartime Handling of Evacuee Property" which outlines governmental ef-
forts to minimize evacuation losses and provides a number of case ex-
amples, A series of brief quotations from that document follows:

51

K

^

"Although it is a recognized fact that few tenants lavish
such care on property as would the owner, the neglect and
destruction of evacuee property by substitute operators
during the period of the owner's exclusion from the west
coast far transcends the ordinajry carelessness of tenants.
Too, the fact that prejudice against the Japanese Ameri-
can minority was so strong on the west coast during a
considerable part of the war period that the public con-
science was highly insensitive to pilfering sind vandal-
ism committed against the stored possessions or buildings
of the exiled people, encouraged the lawless to commit
increasingly bold acts at the expense of the absent owners.
The full extent of damage and loss has come to light only
with the return of the evacuees to their former homes
since the recision of the military exclusion orders which
sent the evaouees into exile*

"It is too early yet for any sort of final estiirate to
be made of actual financial and property loaves sustained
by the Japanese Americans because of the enforced evacu-
ation, but it is recognized that their losses have been
heavy. Some lost everything they hadj many lost most of
what they had. Many lost their chance of income and se-
curity in their old age through inability to keep up pay-
ments on insurance policies. Others lost property through
inability to pay taxes. Individual losses vary in amount
from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars,

"According to an estimate made by Mr, Russell T. Robinson,
V»ar Relocation Authority Chief of Evacuee Property, in
1942, the evacuated people left behind them about
$200,000,000 worth of real, personal, and commercial prop-
erty. It ie known that losses have mounted to many mil-
lions of dollars,

"It is known that many evacuees who had leaseholds upon
farms have lost them by transfer to operators of other
races during the years of exclusion. It was estimated by
Ad on Poli and Warren M, Engstrand, of the Bureau of Agri-
cultural Economics, U, S, Department of Agriculture, in
the fall of 1945 that whereas » farm ownership by Japanese
amounted to about 30 percent of their total prewar farm
operations, ownership transfers to non-evacuees during and
after evacuation has probably reduced these farm ownership
interests to less than a fourth of the total prewar Japa-
nese land holdings, including leaseholds. This will amount
to roughly 60,000 acres, or less than 0,002 percent of all
of the land in all farms in the three states.' "^3

52

The attitude of Japanese Americans toward loss caused by evacuation
is seldom expressed in a display of bitterness; there is hope of re-
covery through federal action, but the people are not sitting back to
wait for a check from the government. The words of an Issei interviewed
in Santa Clara County sxzms up the attitude and spirit of the first gen-
eration who had retvirned to the west coast:

"Before war I had 20 acres in Berryessa. Good land, two
good houses, one big, 1943 in camp everybody say sell,
sell, sell. Maybe lose all. Lawyer write, he say sell,
I sell 1650 acre. Now the same land $1500 acre. I lose,
I cannot help. All gone. Not/ I live in hostel. Work
like when first come to this country. Pick cherries,
pick pears, pick apricots, pick tomatoes. Just like when
first come. Pretty soon, maybe one year, maybe two years,
find place. Pretty hard now. Now spend |15,000 just for
land. No good material for house. No get farm eqviipment,

"No use look back. Go crazy think about all lost. Have
to start all over again like when come from Japan, but
faster this time."/l

Like this man, most of the older generation have their eyes on the
future, T&ny are working desperately hard at unaccustomed tasks in an
effort to build up a small reserve for retirement or with which to
start a small business.

In recognition of responsibility on the part of the United States
Government for certain types of loss brought about by the evacuation,
the U, S, Department of the Interior in 1946 sponsored legislation in
the 79th Congress to establish an Evacuee Claims Commission empowered
to take evidence and to settle claims up to •*2,500, This legislation
was approved tmanimously by the Senate, but was blocked in the House of
Hepresentatives, when, during the last week of the session, unanimous
consent to its passage could not be secured. An identical bill was
placed before the 80th Congress during the spring of 1947,

The basis of this request by the Department of the Interior for leg-
islation to establish an evacuee clains commission, together with a de-
scription of its technical provisions is set out in detail in Secretary
Julius A, Krug' s letter of transmittal to -the Speaker of the House and
the President of the Senate, Pertinent sections of the letter follow:

"The chief military justification for the removal of
those 110,000 persons was the possibility of the existence
of a disloyal element in their midst, the critical mili-
tary situation in the Pacific which increased uneasiness

53

over the possibility of espionage or sabotage, and the lack
of time and facilities for individual loyalty screening.
The persons evacuated were not individually charged with
any crime or with disloyalty, and subsequent experience has
clearly demonstrated that the vast majority of them were
and are good Americans, This is convincingly indicated
by the outstanding record of our 23,000 Japanese Ameri-
cans who served in the armed forces in both the European
and Pacific theaters, and by the fact that the records of
the intelligence agencies show no case of sabotage or es-
pionage by Americans of Japanese ancestrj"- during the en-
tire war.

"The evacuation orders gave the persons affected desper-
ately little time in which to settle their affairs. The
government safe-guards that were designed to prevent undue
loss in these circumstances were somewhat tardily insti-
tuted, were not at once effectively publicized among the
evacuees, and were never entirely successful. Merchants
had to dispose of their stocks and businesses at sacrifice
prices. In a setting of confusion and hysteria, many
evacuees sold personal possessions for a small fraction
of their value. A large niimber had to accept totally in-
adequate arrangements for protection and management of
property. Valuable lease-hold interests had to be aban-
doned,

"Continued exclusion increased the losses. Private build-
ings in which evacuees stored their property were broken
into and vandalized, ^lysterious fires destroyed vacant
buildings. Property left yrith 'friends' unaccountably
disappeared; goods stored with the Government sometimes
were damaged or lost. Persons entrusted with the manage-
ment of evacuee real property mulcted the owners in di-
verse ways. Tenants failed to pay rent, converted prop-
erty to their own use, and committed waste. Prohibited
from returning to the evacuated areas even temporarily
to handle property matters, the evacuees were unable to
protect themselves adequately. Property management
assistance given by the War Relocation Authority on the
west coast, although it often mitigated and sometimes pre-
vented loss, could not completely solve the problem there,
complicated as it was by difficulties in communication
with absent owners and local -prejudice,

"In relocation centers the only income opportunities for
evacuees lay in ceater employment at wage rates of $12

54

to $19 per month, plus small clothing allo'wances. Many
felt compelled to discontinue payments of life insurance
premiijms. Some found themselves unable to make mortgage
or tax payments and lost substantial equities,

"All of the foregoing examples of tangible loss to the
evacuees are directly attributable to the evacuation and
continued exclusion of those persons from their homes*
Unlike otxt fighting men and their families, viho also made
financial and personal sacrifices in this war, this group
was given no statutory right to ameliorating benefits.
These persons have had to bear the losses occasioned by
the evacuation in addition to the 7rartime deprivations
they had shared vd-th the rest of the American people. For
the first time in our history, persons of Japanese ancestry
are appearing in substantial numbers on the relief rolls.
The least that this ooimtry can do, in simple justice, is
to afford some degree of compensation for the measurable
special losses that the evacuees have suffered,

"The only clear recourse which the evacuees now have,
through the passage of private relief bills, is totally
iii^raoti cable. The potential volume of evacuee claims,
if added to the load under which the congressional claims
committees are already laboring, might well produce a
virtually unmanageable burden. The obvious result would
be to postpone the settlement of most evacuee claims for
an indefinitely protracted period. To provide for adju-
dication of the claims by the Court of Claiirs would be an
imposition on that Court, because of the small individual
amounts involved and the potential volume of claims, and
unfair to the claimants, because of the expense of prose-
cuting a claim before the Court of Claims and the probable
delay in adjudication. The most economical and practical
solution — one which Congress had adopted on numerous oc-
casions in the past for the handling of case claims arising
out of a special subject matter — is the creation of a spe-
cial tribunal to hear and determine the claims,

"The enclosed bill would establish an Evacuation Claims
Commission as such a tribunal. In order to avoid increas-
ing the number of independent agencies and to benefit by
the experience which this Department has had with the en-
tire evacuation and relocation problem, the bill would
establish the Commission within this Department rather
than as a separate Federal agency.

55

"The Commission would have jurisdiction to adjudicate claims
by persons of Japanese ancestry for damage to or loss of
real or personal property, or other impairment of assets,
shat arose from or as a natural and reasonable consequence
of the evacuation and exclusion program. This standard
is sufficiently flexible to permit the Commission to con-
sider claims involving 'property' losses only in the broad
sense, such as the impairment of going-concern values.
At the time the standard excludes claims that are largely
speculative and less deinitely apnrai sable, such as claims
for anticipated wages or profits that might have accrued
had not the evacuation occurred, for deterioration of
skills and earning capacity, and for physical hardships
or mental suffering,

"In determining the amount of relief to be granted, the
Commission would be required to consider other existing
or intervening factors that affected the loss. Thus some
losses, as in the case of businesses specializing in im-
port or sale of Japanese goods, would have occurred even
if there had been no evacuation. Likewise, damage may
have been aggravated in some cases by failure of the evacuee
to take steps which they reasonably should have taken,
even in the abnormal ciroiimstances, to protect themselves.
On the other hand, there are numerous instances in which
intervening factors immediately causing the loss, such as
arson, theft, mortgage foreclosure, loss of goods while in
Government possession, or breach of trust, should not af-
fect recovery, because the situation giving rise to the
loss would not have occurred had the owners been permitted
to remain in possession,

"Among the types of claims excluded by the bill from con-
sideration by the Commission are claims of persons -who
were voluntarily or involuntarily deported to Japan after
December 7, 1941, or who are resident in a foreign country.
Several hundred evacuees voluntarily repatriated to Japan
during the war. Since termination of hostilities approxi-
mately 7,500 persons, most of them evacuees, have at gov-
ernment expense voluntarily gone to Japan, chiefly from
internment camps and the TUle Lake Segregation Center, In
addition, the Department of Justice has been determining
who among the aliens (including persons who renounced their
American citizenship) should be deported to Japan, This
processing is the culmination of the loyalty screening pro-
cedure to which the evacuees have been subjected since the
evacuation, I do not believe that these repatriates and

56

deportees have any moral claim upon this Government,
Similarly, I believe that persons who before the war
went to Japan or elsewhere to establish residence have
no claim for compensation that ve need reoognize.

"The remaining provisions of the bill are largely self-
explematory and I shall merely mention the more impor-
tant. All olaime would have to be filed within 18 months
following enactment, and the Commission would be required
to complete its work within three and one-half years
thereafter. The Commission would have broad investiga-
tory authority, including the power of subpoena, and
each claimant would be entitled to a hearing. Assistance
in preparing claims for filing could be extended by the
Commission to needy claiimnts. The Commission's adjudi-
cation would be conclusive and a bar to further recovery.
Awards would be paid in the same manner as are final
judgements of the Court of Claims, except that the Com-
mission would be authorized to pay small awards, not ex-
ceeding $2,500 in amount, in order to afford more ex-
peditious relief to those whose need may be acute,

"As a matter of fairness and good conscience, and because
these particular American citizens and law-abiding aliens
have borne with patience and undefeated loyalty the unique
burdens which this Government has thrown upon them, I
strongly urge that the proposed legislation be enacted
into law,"

Adjustment in Agriculture and Related Business Activity

Prewar west coast agriculture. In 1940, 45 percent of the gain-
fully employed among the 112,353 persons of Japanese descent living in
the three TIest Coast States were engaged in growing crops. Another 18
percent were employed in the wholesaling, retailing, and transportation
of food products. Nearly two- thirds of the total working force was
directly dependent on agriculture, A considerable proportion of the re-
mainder was in a service relationship to farmers smd produce hsindlers,

A prewar description of the Los Angeles Japanese community provided
by Fumiko Pukuoka, a University of Southern California graduate student,
stated:

"Little Tokyo, the business center of the Japanese communi-
ties, depends upon the farmers of Southern California, Its
business reflects the economic conditions of the farmers.

57

In it a fsuniliar sight is entire households of Japanese
farmers walking up and down the street. They shop at
the stores and eat at the Japanese restaurants, or chop
suey cafes, and later go to Fuji Theater to see Japa-
nese films, Fuji Theater has 300 seats, and all of them
are filled on Saturday and Sunday,

"A good illustration of the dependence of 'Little Tokyo'
upon the farmers was furnished during the farm-laborers'
strike in Los Angeles county from April to Jvme 1935,
For two months while the strike lasted, the economic
condition of the Japanese farmers was critical. Finally
they stopped coming to the Japanese town,"/l

The contribution of Japanese immigrant fairmers to the development
of agriculture in the three Vfest Coast States was considerable.

They had transformed the poor clay land in Florin, California, into
crop producing fields. Beginning about 1898, George Shima, the "Potato
King" reclaimed the delta region of the San Joaquin River and made it
one of the best potato and onion fields in the country. By 1911, the
pioneering of Ikuta had transformed the alkali flats of Colusa, Glenn,
Butte, Yolo, Yuba, and Sutter counties into productive rice fields,
which, in 1918, added more than a million sacks of rice to the food
supplies of the Allied Nations, Starting in 1913 in Walnut Grove, Japa-
nese reclaimed the deltas of this area; and by 1919 had produced a crop
of asparagus valued at $1,800,000 from 10,000 acres. In the Imperial
Valley, the Japanese cleared tracts of desert land and planted canta-
loupe, then in an experimental stage; and by 1919 were farming 13,481
acres which bore a crop worth $2,822,150, while all other farmers com-
bined had only 7,989 acres under cultivation. In 1910 they moved into
Livingston, near Merced and began to reclaim strips of wilderness* by
1920 Livingston had* become the most important shipping station in Merced
County.

In Oregon, similar contributions were being made. In Hood River ,
County the Japanese engaged first in the raising of strawberries, and
by 1920 were producing 75 percent of the total groiira in the valley. In
1923 they developed the asparagus industry which had been commenced
earlier by John Koberg; and by 1928, they were shipping 50,000 crates
annually to all narts of the country. Just before evacuation Hood River
County Jananese produced an annual crop of ^5,000,000, which included
90 oercent of the county's asparagus, 80 percent of the strawberries,
35 nercent of the pears and 30 percent of the apples. Near Salem the
Japanese played an important part in the development of the Lake Labish
area into the richest farmland in the world. By 1940, they were pro-
ducing annually 200,000 crates of celery, 30,000 sacks of onions, 25,000

58

crates of lettuce and 5,000 crates of carrots. In Trashington County,
in 1939, the "Japanese farmers cultivated about 1,400 acres, on 7/hich
they grew 2,800 tons of berries which were sold for $250,000, largely
to eastern markets. Near Gaston, after repeated failures, the Japanese
reclaimed 500 acres of the bottom lands of Lake '^ITapato -which in 1939
produced 80,000 sacks of onions. Before evacuation 75 percent of the
vegetables sold on the Portland market -were produced by Japanese in
Multnomah and Clackamas Counties, In the two counties, 4,500 acres pro-
ducing an annual crop of $2,000,000 were being operated by Japanese,

Similarly, in the State of Washington, isuch of the land had to be
cleared of stumps and undergrowth following logging operations, or re-
claimed from marshland before crops could be raised. In many instances,
Japanese undertook clearing operations on a share basis, thus securing
a lease on a part of the land reclaimed. Although, by the time of evacu-
ation, 60 percent of the Japanese American population of the State of
Washington lived in cities, principally Seattle, they operated 706 farms
with a total acreage of 20,326, These farms in the main produced spe-
cialty crops: cherries, berries, potatoes, and fresh produce valued at
an estiinated $4,000,000 annually.

As noted in the previous chapter, it was partly this success that
produced the anti-Japanese agitation out of idiich the Alien Land Laws
eventuated. While we have seen that these laws were relatively in-
effective in driving the Japanese from agriculture before the war, they
did serve to some extent to inhibit continued expansion, and were at
least partially responsible for an increasing degree of urbanization
among Japanese Americans between 1920 and Pearl Harbor,

By 1940, it was estimated bj' the U, S, Department of Agricultxjre
that in the three West Coast States, the total \aluation of the 6,118
JaiDanese operated farms, comprised of 258,074 acres, was .f 72, 600,000 in
land and farm buildings, with S6, 000, 000 worth of equipment in use.
The Department's figures, available only for California show that of
the 17,452 persons comprising the Japanese American labor force attached
to agriculture in that State, 5,806 were fana operators or managers,
3,954 were unpaid family workers, and 7,692 were paid farmworkers. No
data is given to indicate the extent to which the paid workers were em-
ployed by other Japanese, but it is known that a considerable proportion
worked on Caucasian ranches. Of the f anns listed by the Department of
Agriculture one-foiirth were part or fully owned, with the remaining oper-
ations conducted on leased land. They represented 2,2 percent of the
number and value of all feirms in iiiese three states, but only ,4 per-
cent of all land in farms, and 1,6 percent of all crop land hai-vested.
The average size was about 42 acres. Most of ihe farms, about 84 per-
cent, were located in California.

749181 O - 47 - 5 59

The small proportion of Japanese farms did not accurately measure
the importance of their contribution to the market, since Japanese farm-
ing operations were specialized in certain crops. Thus annual valuation
of Japanese produced truck crops in California was placed at |35,00O,0OO
just prior to the war, which represented betv/een 30 and 35 percent of
the total. Although the Japanese operated only 3»9 percent of all fanas
in the state and harvested but 2.7 percent of all cropland harvested,
just prior to evacuation they were producing r

90 percent or more: Snap beans for marketing; celery, spring and

summer; peppers; strawberries*

50 to 90 percent: Artichokes; snap beans for canning; cauli-
flower; celery, fall and winter; cucumbers;
fall peas; spinach; tomatoes*

25 to 50 percent: Asparagus j cabbage; cantaloupes; carrots;

lettuce; onions; watermelons.

Further, the Japanese farmers of Los Angeles County, who comprised
about 30 percent of all Japanese farmers in the state, raised 64 percent
of the truck crops for processing, and 87 percent of the vegetables for
fresh marketing which appeared on the Los Angeles wholesale market*

Japanese Americans operating in the Los Angeles wholesale market
had been doing an annual business of more than |!26,000,000, Of the 167
fruit and vegetable wholesalers in three Los Angeles markets, 29 were
JapEinese, and of the 232 permanent stall operators in the open market,
134 were Japanese* They handled an estimated 37 percent of the staple
fruits and vegetables and 75 percent of the green vegetables consumed
locally, and employed 2,000 Issei and Nisei, Japanese controlled mar-
kets, similar to but smaller than that in Los Angeles, existed in a num-
ber of other west coast localities*

Not only did -Uie market provide an in^ortant outlet for produce,
but these establishments provided loans in return for crop contracts,
and maintained a market information service* It was the custom of Japa-
nese farmers in almost all crops to borrow money annually to finance
each year's principal crop, if not the entire production* The produce
grown by Japanese fovmd outlets primarily through this market structure,
much of it going to the 1,000 or more Japanese operated fruit end vege-
table stands in Los Angeles Coxmty*

The fact that competition vras within a narrow range of products,
and successful vdthin that range may account for the severity of the
prejudice against the Japanese in agriculture. To the Caucasian farmer
whose production paralleled that of the Japanese farmer the competitive
threat of the latter was important beyond his relation to all production.
The primary virtues of the Japanese farmers — willingness to take infinite

60

pains, to work v/ith great diligence to bring low value land to oroduc-
tion, to live soberly and with finigality — became the faults -which caused
alarm; because the Issei farmer was a part of a visible minority, his
ability to compete could be attacked by oolitical as well as economic
means. The setting up of markets within control of his own group pro-
vided the Issei farmer with security, but also sei-ved to increase re-
sentment and prejudice.*

Postwar west coast agriculture^ During and inmiediately following
the evacuation, all but a very few leaseholds were given up, and land
ownership decreased by about 11,000 acres. Wholesale and retail es-
tablishments passed into other hands, or were closed. Nearly three-
fourths of the farm acreage, including that leased, was lost and the
entire market organization was destroyed.

Late in 1946, a check of the wholesale markets in Los Angeles indi-
cated that one fully Japanese owned commission house and only 14 produce
companies had been reestablished, of which 11 were yard operators and
three were merchant houses in partnership with Caucasian operators. Be-
tween 150 and 160 Japanese Americans were employed.

Among problems which made return to the wholesale market difficult
were the lack of Japanese farmers who could be depended upon for pro-
duce, the lack of Japanese controlled retail outlets, and difficulty in
securing leases which had been sold cheaply at the outset of the war,
but ■»4iich could now be repurchased only at double and treble their pre-
war value.

The present condition of the market was described by one of the
Japanese operators whose prewar experience extended back for 20 years:

"The Issei can't lease land. Farm equipment is high, and
even if they can get land, there is often no house avail-
able. The Issei who control the money want to hang onto it.
There are quite a few former market big shots who smoked
cigars and wore white collars now doing gardening work.
They want that fast money, and after a couple of years
they'll take it easy. The Nisei don't want to go back

*In a few places along the west coast, where competition v/as less direct,
it has been noted that prejudice was less articulate. Thus, in the
Santa Clara Valley where postv/ar reception was better than elsewhere
most Caucasian farmers produced tree fruits, ■vrtiile the Japanese spe-
cialized in berries and vegetables which in the main were marketed
through non-Japanese channels,

61

on the farm»«,Tt took the Japanese 40 years to build up
to where they were; then there were also farmers to back
up the wholesale niarkets.t.It will take time to get back ■ .
in, but eventually we might get back in. The retail
stores will have a tough time competing against these big
markets that have learned how to display, and sell vege-
tables and fruit. It is no longer a monopoly of the Japa-
nese*

'*When the Caucasians began to get those big supermarkets,
they owned everything in them. The vegetables were the
least of their money making items. If they lost money
in vegetables, they made money in their other departments.
Instead of buying three crates of vegetables, and push-
ing sales, they buy only one. You take the price of ro-
maine, we sell it for 50 cents a crate, but you buy it
in the market for 15 cents a head,"/l

Before the war 1,000 Japanese operated retail outlets constituted
approximately 75 percent of such stores in Los Angeles County. Only 50
had returned to operation by the end of 1946. According to an Issei
produce operator of long experience r

"It took 20 years to build up a chain of Japanese retail
fruit stands. It was easy to start the retail distri-
bution centers then because there was control of the
wholesale market for about 40 years, and back of that
the farmers supported the commission merchants."/!

The number of Japanese Americans who returned to the evacuated
area to resume operation of farms is not more than one-fourth of those
who operated farms before the war, and with minor exception are those
who previously owned land. Opposition to return was greatest in rural
areas. In central California, shots were fired into at least 20 homes
of returned evacuees and several homes were destroyed by arson, (3^©ry
early in the return, boycotts against Japanese American produce were
threatened along the entire coast. In spite of vocal and frequently
violent saitagonism, there was no personal injury done to any of those
who returned, and nearly all who owned land were able to reclaim their
property^ By the time produce was ready for the market, established
CaucasiMi produce houses were hand ling Japanese farm production through-
out California, and in the Northwest means of disposing of produce were
found after initial difficulty, ^ery few, however, were able to secure
leases, in large part because established landovmers found it more prof-
itable to operate land themselves in the strong market which has existed
since the war.

62

\A1 though interest both of friends and opponents has centered upon
the independent farm operator, as we have seen, persons in this categojry
made up only about one-third of the prewar Japanese American agricul-
tural labor force, and many former farm tenants have since returned to
the status of paid farm laborer^/

Those who returned to farm work and were physically capable of
strenuous exertion found very little difficulty in finding work that
paid well, either in 1945 or 1946, Hourly wages ranged from 85 cents
to $1.00, and piecework earnings ran higher.

A considerable proportion of the prewar paid farm labor force (con-
sisted of older men who had never married, the "Issei bachelors" whose
lack of stability contributed much to the problems of relocation center
life. Many of these men had lived a roving life, and prewar California
was dotted with "Japanese rooming houses" where these men lived during
the harvest season, and sometimes engaged in sake drinking bouts over
week ends and during the off season*

After the war many of these men came back to the harvest fields too
old for productive labor, and today one may find a few in coiinty farms,
a few being cared for by religious workers, both Buddhist and Christian,
and a larger number tucked away here and there on the farms of Japanese
friends, doing what work they can, receiving enough money to buy tobacco
and other small necessities, but maintained largely by generosity. Some
are to be found in cities like Los Angeles, working as dishwashers,
occasionally making excursions into iiie country during the harvest.

The success of the first year of farm operations has been varied
and not a few formerly independent farm families are working together as
laborers, pooling their income for a time when farms can be purchased at
lower prices, Japanese landowners who leased out their farms during the
war fovind much of their first year's profits going into repairs and pur-
chase of farm machinery, and the rebuilding of soil depleted by wartime
tenants, A few instances of high return as well as of loss have come to
light. General indications are that most farmers are about breaking
even.

As noted earlier, land owners are finding their most serious con-
cern in the legal question of land ownership, Issei who have developed
and controlled most of the land held by Japanese Americans, are becom-
ing old, and in the natxiral course of events would now be passing con-
trol to their children. However, under the terms of the Alien Land Laws,
the burden of proof of legal ownership is placed on the individual hold-
ing land, and either operation or inheritance by citizen children is
placed in jeopardy xmless title is confirmed by court action.

63

Between the opening of the west coast to evacuees on January 1,
1945 eind March 1947, approximately 75 cases charging violation of the
Alien Land Laws have been filed in the courts of California. During
this time, 12 cases have been settled in one of three ways: three by
escheat to -tiie state, three by clearance of title, and six by settle-
ment -with the State. The case most important to the group, that of
Oyama, et al, which has been certified by the United States Supreme
Court for presentation during its 1947 fall term, has already been dis-
cus sed«/3

One of the first pieces of farmland to be escheated to the State
was ^at of Yeizo Ikeda of Monterey County. Superior Court Judge H. G.
Jorgenson ruled on August 28, 1946 that the Alien Land Law had been vio-
lated and escheated 72 Acres to the State. Over a year elapsed before
the second case came up. It was also decided in favor of the State.
Mr. and Mrs. Pujita, who had purchased land in Fresno County in the name
of their daughter in 1917, had their land confiscated on December 13,
1946.

In June 1946, however, Tafcumi Sunada, Nisei veteran, won the right
to hold his 40 acre vineyard in Fresno County free of any confiscation
proceedings when the State of California filed a disclaimer to escheat
action. In September, another suit in the same county involving 320
acres against William Shiba was dismissed because of lack of evidence.
In February 1947, the Asakawa brothers of San Diego County won clear
title to property following a suit filed by them against the State of
California to have their property adjudged free of any escheat claims.

In the meantime, settlements were being accepted to quiet titles
of those cases -v^iich were adjudged to have violated the Alien Land Law.
On September 16, 1946, Mrs, Pumiko Mitsuuohi, citizen, agreed to pay
|75,000 to the State of California for 71 acres of truck garden land
located near Sawtelle, California, for vihich she had paid $88,562.50 in
1938a In January 1947, the State accepted settlements to quiet titles
in five Fresno escheat cases for the svmi of ^68,415,

The largest settlement in the Fresno cases came in two suits against
Takei and Natsuye Iwamura and their children amounting to §29,625 cover-
ing title to 100 acres of farming land in the Selma-Sanger area. In
another proceeding, the State compromised its suit against Tamigoro and
Chisato Chiamori and their children upon payment of |24,502,50 and
quieted their title to 62 acres in the Reedley-Parlier area. The title
to more than 40 acres was given to Yosushi Chiamori while Akira Chiamori,
another son and his wife Toyoko, were given title to 26 acres. In the
settlement of the fburthsuit brought by the State for alleged Alien Land
Law violations. Kanaka Ishii Teraoka received the rights to a 40-acre
farm in the Reedley district from Keijiro end Mary Nakashima for a

64

I

consideration of ^10,400, The fifth suit involved a payment of $3,887,50
to quiet title to land in the Reedley area in the name of Pumiko Helen
Akahort, daughter of ffitsuo and Umeji Akahori, defendants.

Although the number of farms so far involved in escheat proceed-
ings is relatively small — about five percent of the total number of
farms owned— the sense of insecurity caused by the threat of escheat
action is greatly disturbing to all Japanese American farm operators,
and resources have been pooled for legal action in the Oyama case and
to support the Anti -discrimination Committee of the Japanese American
Citizens League, The latter organization has been active both in seek-
ing repeal of the Alien Land Lavjs in the various states which have a
statute of this kind, and in developing supoort for legislation in the
United States Congress to make aliens of Japanese origin eligible for
American citizenship,

I^etum to specific west coast localities,* The movement of the e-
vacuee population at the close of the centers v.-as greatest to areas
which offered least resistance. The Santa Clara Valley was one of them,
and to this area came, in addition to the old residents, families from
the Imperial Valley, the central coastal valleys, and other less receo-
tive places, Ihe number of Japanese Americans increased from a prewar
population of 3,773 to an estimated 6,250 by midsummer of 1946, Only
in a few other areas such as Sacramento and Fresno Counties had the Japa-
nese American population come close to reaching its pre-evacuation fig-
ure.

In the Santa Clara Valley, and elsewhere, few v/hose prewar fann
operations depended on leased land were able to resume farming. Owners,
hovrever, had no great difficulty in getting back their land, A very few
managed to get land they leased before the war. One such Nisei stated
of the land owner:

"He was really glad to see me. He had been having an awful
time trying to run the place himself with the kind of labor
he could get during the war. First thing he wanted to know

♦Field investigation of adjustment in the agricultural areas of the west
coast olannsd for the late winter of 1947 had to be abandoned because
of unforeseen limitations on budg'^t. Coverage of farming areas in
other sections of the country has been more thorough than for the more
important areas of ihe west coast. Because of lack of speci^'ic infor-
mation, the description that follows, while accurate, will be of a gen-
eral nature and relatively brief.

65

if I could corae back and take over the place so that he
wouldn't have to think of it anymore."/!

Some, as another 32 year old Nisei, felt that it would be at least
two more years before they could get back to independent farming. He
said:

'HVe can't take a chance right now, even if we could get a
piece of lando Everything costs so much. It vrould be all
right if the price of berries would stay the way it is
now. But if the price should slip a little, with produc-
tion costs the way they are, we could lose .153,000 to
^4,000 easily. Then our capital would be gone,"/l

As previously stated, in many cases whole families were working as
laborers, pooling their income for the ti:Te when farms can be purchased
at lower prices. In one such case, a family of five vras netting close
to a thousand dollars a month during the five months or so of the har-
vesting season when Diece work brought in high returns.

In other counties and valleys, the adjustment varied only in de-
gree from that in the Santa Clara Valley which was more favorable than
in any other section of the west.

The Imperial Valley and the Central Coast Valleys including Salinas
and Santa Maria were hostile to the retvirn of the 'Japanese and few went
back. Thus a farmer who returned on short term leave to Lomooc, in the
Santa Maria Valley, found his small farm completely stripped of every-
thing both inside and out. The final report for the district compiled
by the Ylar Relocation Aui±iority revealed that:

"Furniture and fixtures were removed from the home, farm
tools, implements, and equipment had been stolen; perhaps
as much as three thousand dollars worth. Even the water
pump had been demolished and the irrigation pipe pried
out of the ground to rust. This impoverished Issei now
found himself with just a bare frame shelter and the grossly
neglected field, but no implements, no water, no oash."/4

In the Inperial Valley where tenancy was high, community sentiment
essentially anti- Japanese, and the weather extreme, about 25 farm oper-
ators had returned of the pre-evacuation total of 212. The 25 included
all but one of the prewar land owners, but only a few tenant farmers.

Farther north in the smaller Coachella Valley, located in Riverside
County, a greater percentage of the prewar niunber had returned, nearly
400 individuals as compared with a prewar 552, In this Valley^ community

66

sentiment was favorable, and in many ways the oeople helped the relocated
farmers get started. Paper for plant protection and other equipment
were sold to the Japanese before being put on the open market. The
first year's crops gave hetvy returns to a few, but for most, it was a
matter of breaking even.

Information is largely lacking concerning the return of farm people
to the interior valleys of California, the Sacramento and the San Joa-
quin, It is known that in 1940, 205 of the 416 Japanese farm operators
of Sacramento County were owners, and that only 37 had disposed of their
property prior to 1945* Since there was considerable farm property to
which to retxim, and there have been no reports of widespread difficul-
ty from this section of California, it may be assumed that adjustment
there has conformed to the general pattern. That this patteni has not
been a simple matter of taking up lAiere they left off at the time of
evacuation is indicated by a VfRA report concerning Florin:

"At the time of evacuation the Farm Security Administration
attempted to secure substitute operators for the ranches
and met with little success. It was almost impossible to
secure operators to farm these ranches in the way that the
Japanese had done. Consequently, the strawberry acreage
dropped from approximately 1,600 acres to probably less
than 200 acres. "^5

Anti-Japanese sentiment in the San Joaquin Valley was bitter, but
here too there was a comparatively large number of farm owners and they
were able to resume operations. The orchards and vinej-ards of the val-
ley require large ntmbeis of workers during the harvest season and after
some initial hesitation, Japanese Americans were freely hired. As a
result, the Boanbersof Japanese Americans residing in this valley is close
to the prewar figure. Although during the spring and early summer of
1945 all but a few of the serious incidents against the returned evacuees
took place within a fifty mile radius of Fresno, by the late summer and
fall of that year buyers for local, Los Angeles, and San Francisco prod-
uce houses were actively soliciting business from returned evacuees.

In Los Angeles and surrounding counties, little farming activity
has been resumed, tbioh of the land fonnerly farmed is now either sub-
divided for residential purposes or is the site of newly developed in-
dustiry. Corporations doing large scale farming are reluctant to lease
land to the Japanese farmers. In 1940 Los Angeles Coimty contained
nearly one-fourth of all Japanese operated farms in the West Coast States.
However, of the 1477 Los Angeles County farms, only 113 were owned and
1,364 were leased. Moreover, the relationship between the production
of these farms and the Japanese wholesale produce operations in the city

67

of Los Angeles was close, and the lack of support formerly given by the
■wholesale structure has provided en additional handicap.

In Oremge County -where 95 percent of the prewar Japanese American
population of 1,800 were rural people, about 70 percent have returned.
In contrast to some 12,000 acres farmed before the war, however, only
about 10 percent of that total is now under cultivation by the Japanese
American fanners. Of 245 prewar farm operators, 48 were owners of ap-
proximfltely 500 acres. The acreage of owned property is about the same
now, but leased land has fallen from 11,500 to about 700 acres.

Before the war the Japanese operated farms were scattered through-
out the county and there was no concentration of Japanese in any par-
ticular area. In 1946, however, 10 to 15 families were concentrated
in each of three hostels and an abandoned dehydrating plant. These
people were commuting to neighboring farms as laborers.

While farm operators have indicated that more money is passing
through their hands than did before the war, their net return is much
lovfer. High operating costs as well as the changed iMirket conditions
in Los Angeles are said to be the reasons. Taxes are high, and farm
laborers are receiving 75 cents to .*1,00 an hour in contrast to their
prewar scale of 40 cents an hour.

The great majority of the families in Orange County are closely
knit, with family members working on individual or joint pieces of land.
The number of graduates from agricultural colleges in this area is high,
and techniques of farm management and operation on Japanese farms are
advanced.

The first year after their return found a nvimber leasing land; in
1946 fewer leases were available. This has been attributed to the high
prices on lima beans the past year. The Caucasian farmers who have coma
up during the war feel that they can still make more money growing beans
than they can by leasing land.

Although the acreage and nvimber of farm operators is still limited,
the Japanese residents feel that Orange County will again be eui area of
high garden crop productivity. Since there are only a few large Cau-
casian farm interests in comparison to other agricultural areas such as
Santa Maria and Imperial Valley, the Japanese feel that they will not be
frozen out. For this and other reasons, they believe that many Japanese
farmers from those areas will drift into Orange County,

In the Vihite 4iver Valley of V^ashington, another center of agita-
tion against return, only a few as yet are back. Many of those who
formerly farmed in this area have remained in Eastern Oregon and Western

68

Idaho where they had located farms during the exclusion period, A Nisei
resident of the White River Valley stated returning farmers who had no
farms had great trouble in securing land, and as a result very few of
the leading; orewar farmers are even now to he found among those who have
returned. Although the nrohlom of securing leases has been somewhat
alleviated, the difficulty is now that most of the farms ud for lease
are too large to handle. Another hnndicap was the serious shortage of
farm equipment, much of which had been sold during the war,

Althoup-h the attitude toward Japanese Americans is unsettled in

O

this section, a number of land owners have expressed preference for Japa-
nese tenants, in large part because of wartime experience with tenants
during the absence of the Japanese, Thus an advertisement of March 11,
1947 carried a direct appeal for Nisei tenure by virtue of the fact that
it was published in The Nortlwest Times, a Japanese American English
Language newspaper of Seattle :

"For sale or rent: Hvindred- fifty acres planting of year-
old strawberries. For rent or sale. All or any part.
Sprinkler' irrigation furnished. Weed free. Thousand
acres tillable land for expansion available. Reasonable
terms, Olympia, V.'ashington,"

Marketing in this area has not been a problem, because the farmers
signed contracts with canneries and packing houses, and none have ship-
ped produce to the city.

In Hood River, Oregon, a hotbed of anti-Japanese sentiirent, the
Japanese Americans, most of whom owned their farms, were making good
adjustments. However, forty years of anti- Japanese sentiment cannot be
wiped out in a few months' time. Part of what has happened is well ex-
pressed in the words of one farmer who said:

"I don't like those lousy Japs, but I'm not doing any-
thing about it because I'm mixed up in a lot of farm
deals with them,"

Yet in spite of the undertone of racial antagonism and economic
rivalry, returning servicemen and a considerable number of friendly
residents quieted the opposition and made Hood River Valley a receptive
place for returning evacuees,

A letter written late in 1946 to the Pacific Citizen by a Caucasian
resident of the Valley stated:

"A few of the Caucasian growers hire a crew of pruners
and get the job out of the way as soon as possible, but

69

most of the Japanese growers take care of this job alone* ••
They have handled entirely alone their first crop since
evacuation in an orderly efficient manner and have ex-
perienced no unpleasant treatment, nor have they been
pushed back for the benefit of the Caucasian growers,,,
Yie found more Caucasian workers than any others in the
Japanese -owned orchards, and sometimes a Japanese worker
helping a Caucasian neighbor... One fruit company had a
young Nisei in their office as typist and receptionist.
It is doubtful that a position of this kind could have
been found here by a yo\ing lady before the war,"/6

Some considerations relating; to the future of Japanese Americans
in west coast agriculture. Whatever the future of the Japanese in west
coast agriculture may be, it will be the future of the Nisei farmer,. A
few Issei see themselves as beginning over again, but their contribu-
tion in subjugating and reclaiming thousands of acres of waste land
throughout the Pacific Coast States cannot be repeated because of their
advanced age, and because they lack knowledge of modern technological
methods which now replace the plodding hand work of earliar days. The
evacuation brought their turbulent day in west coast agriculture to a
virtual close*

The future of the Nisei can be seen only faintly at this time. In
dim outline, probable developments appear familiar to the student of
American agriculture.

The history of fsurming in the United States is full of exsunples of
immigrant farmers who have driven themselves and their families hard,
who developed new land into valuable property in the expectation of
passing along to a succeeding generation their own love of the soil and
a willingness to work, and who saw their sons go off to become doctors,
lawyers, and mechanics in an American city where hours were less exact-
ing and returns less dependent on the vagaries of weather and the mar-
ket.

As noted earlier, there were signs that something of the same pro-
cess was taking place among Japanese Americans before Pearl Harbor, A
study of the Japanese at the Rohwer Relocation Center, who had come
orincipally from the farm districts of Los Anp;eles County and the San
Joaquin Valley, indicated that urtiile 81 percent of the Rohwer Issei had
come from farming districts of Japan, at the time of evacuation only 53
percent lived in rural areas of the United States, 41 percent lived in
cities of more than 2,500 population, and five percent lived in villages
of less than 2,500,/?

70

The person making this study noted a similar trend among the Nisei;

"As for the estimated 4,000 impaid family laborers in
agriculture, objective Japanese insist that many young
people were trying to leave the farm, and the census
figures indicate a continuing drift into the cities,..
However,, .a certain number of young people, denied a
range of opportunity in the professions and in Cau-
casian urban business firms, and under constant pressure
from their parents to take over the fann, get married
and settle down. The Nisei preferred to be second rate
engineers to being first rate farmers, but since they
could not be the former, they would be the latter.
These, and others who had purchased land with the help
of their parents were determined to make a career of
farming, and felt that their future lay in the 80il,"/8

Field observations, while not conclusive, indicate that the fann
operations of these Nisei even if not disturbed by escheat proceedings,
will differ materially from those of their parents. As with other
American young people who have decided to stay with the soil. Nisei are
spending more for housing, are using improved scientific techniques,
are having smaller families, and depend much less on family labor.
These Nisei will continue to be serious competitors, but their competi-
tion will not be based, even remotely, on a depressed standard of living,

If the Alien Land Laws of the IVest Coast States do not drive the
Nisei from the land, it is reasonably safe to predict that their fanns
will again produce a sizable proportion of the fruit and vegetable crop
of the l"%st Coast States, but that the Nisei will not achieve the pre-
war status of their parents in the agriculture of those States,

Evacuees in agriculture away from "the west coast, Colorado, A
number of the farmers relocated to other Western States before the re-
opening of the west coast, and a very few settled in the Midwest and
Bast*

The first agricultural workers to leave the centers were those who
went on seasonal leave into the intermountain sugar beet fields in the
fall of 1942, Some stayed on to farm, and more joined them after the
season of 1943 when nearly 14,000 left centers on temporary leave for
farm work. As time went on, others relocated to farms without first go-
ing out as seasonal workers,

Colorado was one of the areas selected early by evacuees as a place
to go. This State, in 1940, had a Japanese population of 2,734, of
which all but about 400 lived in rural areas. Aside from being a state
already having a Japanese population, Colorado was strategically located

71

for those who later might wish to go further East, and still near enough
to the west coast for those who wished to return to their former homes
when permitted.

The oeak population for people of Japanese ancestry was about
11,700 in 1945. During the course of the following year, approximately
5,500 had returned to their former homes on the west coast. V'ith ap-
proximately 3,000 left in Denver, an estimated 3,200 still remained in
the rural regions of the state, half of whom were evacuees.

After Pearl Harbor, but before the evacuation was ordered, 15 fami-
lies relocated to Greeley. These were the vanguard of several hundreds
of voliintary evacuees who settled on Colorado farms. After the evacu-
ation, additional hvindreds of farmers located in Colorado. Although the
weather was new to them, some of the crops and methods of fanning were
not totally xmfamiliar. The war years found many doing well. Losses
due to hail and other climatic conditions bothered the evac^atjos in 19^5,
but it vras not until the follov.lng year that a number of farmers lost
their entire crop from this cause. In this, many evacuee fanners suf-
fered more than the native farmers; they had plunged, and in the good
weather of 1943 and 1944, they profited in crops mth which they were
familiar in California. Their losses in 1945 and 1946, together with
increasing labor shortages, decided many to return to the west coast.

A large farm operator, formerly of Santa Maria, California, stated:

"Farming in Colora'fo is bad. During the war, it was all
right, for there were German prisoners of war who could
be used as farm laborers. New this year, there are no
prisoners of war available for farm v.'ork,,,8rd the weather
is so unpredictable, ,,2'ou take this year; it has been bad.
You just can't compete with the local farmers, as they
have been fanning for a long time, and they have become
familiar vdth Colorado's weather,"/!

This family exnects to leave shortly for California.

The head of another farm family, which forinerlj^ had lived in
Stockton, California, stated:

"Colorado is no place for small farm operators.,. if
you are going to farm here, you have to farm big.,,
but farming is not bad, except for the weather. On
days like this (it had snowed over three feet a week
ago and there was a severe wind and rain storm blow-
ing outside) we evacuees want to go back to California
all the more."/!

72

The Japanese Americans who have been fanning in Colorado over the
past twenty and thirty years see the matter in a somewhat different
light, as the statement of an Issei of Oreeley indicates:

"There is a great difference between the Colorado and
the California farmer. There is a big difference in
their character, spirit, e.nd motives. The California
farmer is extremely money conscious. If he doesn't
make a big killing in one year he is disappointed. He
is terribly upset if his crops are destroyed one year
by hail or bad weather. He figiires he must be making
money every year,,,

"Now you take the Colorado farmer, he is different. He
farms from year to year, but he doesn't expect to make
a huge fortune in one year. If he loses his crops this
year from hail or frost,,, all right he is not going to
get disappointed and quit farming entirely, but will
hope that next year conditions will be better. He is
contented to be able to make a living for his family.
You might say he is easy going,

"Yes, it is true that in California one can farm the
year around while here, one can farm only during the
sumrrier season. Put I've heard that most of the Japanese
farmers were just able to provide their livelihood while
they worked right through the year. Here the farmers
are just able to provide their livelihood throughout
the year, but they don' t have to work during the winter
months. In other words, we Coloradoans are able to en-
joy about three months of vacation in the vrinter, and
still maintain a livelihood, while the Califomians who
farm the year around are just able to maintain a liveli-
hood without any vacation, I don't see why the Califor-
nians think they're better off just because they can farm
the year arovmd,

"You know, what really got me was what the evacuee farm-
ers told us Colorado fanners. They said we were crazy
to continue farming in Colorado, that California was so
much a better place, that they v/ouldn't consider farm-
ing continuously in Colorado, I resent very much their
saying we're crazy here in Colorado, "/l

An Issei connected with a Denver wholesale produce company was less
partisan:

73

"I guess it's human nature for one to prefer living in a
place where one lived most of his life. One gets used to
the surroundings and environment. The Californiens are
used to California and are strangers to Colorado, end it's
natural for them to want to go back. The Colorado farmers,
on the other hand, would prefer to continue farming here,
as this is the only place they know. They like it here,
and orefer to remain. They have no other nlace to go.
The Calif omians have a place to go,"/l

However, it is by no means true that all evacuee farmers intend to
leave the state. An Issei farming near Greeley gave as his reasons for
staying;

"I guess I'll be farming in Colorado for the next few
years. It's not bad here in Colorado, I went to Cali-
fornia some time ago to survey farm prospects there.
Housing is so bad there I don't want to go back right
now. Because of housing we just can't go back there even
if we want to. The winter here in Colorado is too cold.
That's one of the things I don't like about it,"/l

Pred M,, a 25 year old Nisei fanaer, also located near Greeley,
hopes to stay for reasons which have weight vdth a good many of those
remaining. As reported by the field interviewer:

"Fred is somewhat opposed to returning to California,
He believes that returning would only mean being thrown
into the old JapanePe community and facing worse dis-
crimination than elsewhere. He believes in dispersal
of the Nisei throughout the country, even at the expense
of some hardship on the family. However he is very un-
certain about his own future, whether he wants to continue
farming or go into some other kind of work. He is toy-
ing with the idea of going to college and taking advantage
of the GI Bill of Rights, He is interested in business,
but at present he is very uncertain as to the advisability
of his going to college and leaving his parents alone. He
is also uncertain as to what job optjortunities there will
be for Nisei in the future. If he decided to enroll at
some college, he prefers to stay out here in Colorado and
not return to California, However, because of his own
personal indecision concerning his education, he is all
the more uncertain as to returning to California,

"Vftien I asked his father what his desires were concern-
ing returning to California, he shyly pointed to Fred

n

emd stated in Japanese, 'It all depends on my son, whether
he Yfants to go back or not.'

"He refused to express his own desire. However, through
previous meetings with Fred, it vfas learned that his par-
ents were inclined toward return to California.

"There is a great deal of evidence pointing to the fact
that of those evacuees remaining in Colors do, the de-
cision to return or not rests largely with the Nisei
children and not with the Issei parents. "/l

The varied experience of a California business man who has farmed
near Granada, Colorado since 1943 provides some indication of the possi-
bill ties open to Issei in Colorado, even though he neither had previous
farming experience nor can the individual himself be called typical.

Mr, and Mrs, T. lived in Pan Francisco for many years prior to the
war. By profession, he was an inventor, holding patents for such di-
verse inventions as a paper milk bottle, caps for pop bottles, a double
valve engine cylinder and a sod remover from tractor or plows. Early
in the 1920' s he manufactured and marketed an oriental bamboo fruit
basket, and later manufactured bamboo rakes, claiming an income of
$50,000 a year at this time, and spending most of it on his inventions
and in litigation in connection vath his patents.

He and his wife were placed in the Oranada Relocation Center in
1942, from which he was one of the first to leave. In 1943 he leased
300 acres of land nearby, in 1944 about 500 acres, in 1945 this was in-
creased to 700 and in 1946 to 1,000 acres. He has been raising sugar
beets, onions, and melons principally. His labor force is large, and
drawn from memy elements in "tiie connxmity.

When asked how he has fared in farming in Colorado, Mr, T, stated:

"It has been pretty good during the imr and it has been
pretty good this year. Farming in Colorado is good. The
soil here is very good, better than California.

"I've never farmed in my life before 1943 when I begsin
here. i>ome friends and I talked about what we ought to
do, about leaving camp and about what we ought to go
into, la decided to go into farming in this region as
it was not profiteble to just waste time away in camp."/l

Judging from his previous record, which includes the dropping of
more than one successful enterprise, this aggressive and ingenious in-
ventor-business man turned farmer will find yet another outlet for his

749181 O - 47 - 6

75

talents and drive, probably (from hints dropped during the interview) in
the import-export trade v.'hen business relations with Japan are resumed.

The question of the mobility of the evacuees has already been dis-
cussed. It should be noted here however, that while the wartime farm-
ing conditions in Colorado were generally favorable, end several hun-
dreds of evacuee farm families did well during that period, the larger
proportion returned to their original homes when the opportunity came.
Those remaining still numbered between 1,000 and 1,500,

Utah, This state which had 2,210 persons of Japanese descent in
1940, likewise attracted several hundred evacuee farmers. Here too,
there was the pull of irrigated faming and a somev/hat familiar farm
technique, plus already settled Japanese oeople. During the peak years
from 1943 to 1945, the numoer of Japanese Americans in urban and rural
Utah reached nearly 10,000, ¥<hen the west coast was reopened, they were
among; those closest to their old homes, and movement back to the coast
developed quickly. Present estimates are that not more than 4,500 per-
sons of Japanese descent remain in the state. A large proportion of
those leaving have been farmers who either had farms on the coast to re-
turn to, or were dissatisfied -wdth climate and methods of farming.

In the Corrine and f^arland districts, for example, of 14 evacuee
families totaling 76 t>ersons, only thrse families with a total of 14
people remain. In the 'Rrigham City area, where 270 persons of Japa-
nese descent lived before the war, only about 50 evacuees remained, of
nearly 700 who at one time were residents, and of these more than half
are expected to leave. In this area most of the early relocatees were
predominantly male Nisei and younger Issei, They came out from the
relocation centers to work in the cannery as laborers. After they had
been able to make contacts and find places to live many sent for their
families, and either rented land, or farmed on a share-crop basis.

Because a number of the newcomers were better able financially to
buy new machinery and to manipulate other factors necessary in fanning
operations than the old Japanese American residents, relations betvjeen
the new and old Japanese population became strained. Another factor
making for ill feeling between the two groups was an unwillingness on
the part of the newcor.ers to "take the advice of the old residents as
to what to raise, how to farm, and what to do in order to get along in
the Caucasian community," As one older Nisei, a native of the Eoney-
ville area, put it:

"After all, we had becom.e well established in our com-
munity, we were accepted, people knew us and respected
us. The Californians moved in and they soon outnumbered
us two to one. They did not know how to act. They
thought they were better than we were, ''.^e didn't like

76

it. After they v;ere here for a short time they began to
understand, and along; toward the end of their stay, they
began to be better able to make the rifht kind of adjust-
ment s.'yl

Economically, most were able to compete favorably with the other
members of the community, and many of them made "good money" during tho
war years. They aided materially in building up some of the fruit and
vegetable industries in the area*

In another section of Utah, in the vicinity of Layton, Kaysville,
and Syracuse, the proportion that remained is considerably greater.
The present population of Japanese Americans is about 1,400, as compared
with 950 before the war and 2,300 at the peak. Farming conditions in
this section are similar to that of the west coast, acceptance is good
both in the Caucasian and old resident Japanese communities, and the
evacuees remaining have become well established. It is felt that most
of the evacuees who intend to leave have already gone.

With the exception of one family which runs a small store in Layton,
all families in this area are engaged in agricvilture. Most of the farm-
ers are sharecroppers or renters operating an average of about 30 to 50
acres of irrigated land. A great majority have modern farm equipment
and all have modern transportation facilities,

A renort from this area concludes: •

"The TJersons of Japanese ancestry during the war period
definitely contributed to the economic well being of the
communities where they settled, V-ithout the Japanese
farm labor the area would have been hard put for man-
pov/er to carry out the agricultural demands placed upon
it. The Caucasians recognized this, and still do for
that matter. This may be one of the basic reasons why
social and economic discrimination in this area has been
one of the lowest of any region in the state. The old
Japanese population has always had positive relations
in the communities in this area. During the early years
of the Yfar there was an attempt to close the Japanese
store near Layton, but the Federal courts upheld the
right of the Issei to continue his business. At present
both Japanese and Caucasians do business with this Issei. "/l

Eastern Oregon - Idaho, In addition to Colorado and Utah, a third
important area of farm resettlement was to be found in Eastern Oregon
and Western Idaho, principally along the Snake River, which provides the
boundary betv^-een these states along part of its length, and in the Boise
Valley of Idaho,

77

In Idaho, before Pearl Harbor, there had been a group of about 150
Japanese farm families whioh had remained stable over the past decade.
Of 1,191 persons of Japanese descent, only 189 were listed in the census
of 1940 as living in Idaho cities.

The Japanese were primarily specialty fanners, the main crops be-
ing onions, potatoes, sugar beets, peas, lettuce, and carrots. All
farming is by irrigation. One or two specialized in growing seeds, but
most produced directly for the market. In Malheur County, Oregon, the
important crops are onions, potatoes, and sugar beets. Before the war,
the nvunber of Japanese in this county numbered 137, almost all rural.

The group consisted of 25 farm families and several dozen Issei
bachelors. While the group wss small, some Japanese community life had
develoned in the TIeiser-Payette area, and a Japanese community hall was
owned on the outskirts of Ontario.

The evacuation from the west coast and the eventual relocation pro-
gram of the Yfar Relocation Authority changed the scene. In the three
years between 1943 and 1946, thousands streamed into the region. At
the peak, it is esti-nated that as many as 5,000 individuals were there.

The greatest nvunber were seasonal workers who came as harvest hands
during the sugar beet and potato harvest. In the fall of 1943 the Idaho
sugar beet and potato harvest was in danger of being lost through lack
of labor and it is generally recognized that the efforts of the evacuees
saved the harvest for that year. The majority stayed in the area only
through the harvest season, and then returned to their relocation center.

After another season, some of the harvest hands stayed on as year
around laborers; others worked in the vegetable packing sheds. As the
war progressed and the closing of the centers became more and more im?-
minent, farmers began to resettle in the area on a share-crop or lease
arrsmgement. A few bought land.

By early 1946, it was estimated that at least 2,000 if not more re-
settlers had moved to the Idaho section of this area. For many of these,
the area was first thought of as a convenient resting place before final
return to the west coast. Today the overall Japanese American popula-
tion in the Idaho part of the Snake ^iver Valley and in the Boise Valley
is somewhere around 1,500, a sharp contrast with the nvmiber living here
before the evacuation.

It is the young married Msei with families and unmarried older
Nisei, both men and women, who have gone back to the west coast. A con-
siderable percentage of the Issei parents with young Nisei children are
electing to stay in the region at least for the present. Two factors
seem to be involved. Housing for large family units is very scarce on

78

the T/est coast. Secondly, Issei have heard or hove seen for themselves
that Northwest Coast Jobs for Issei, men or women, are of a domestic
and service type where income is not too great. In short, for this
Issei eroun, their present status is better than they can anticipate back
in their old home area.

The Caldwell Lpbor Camp, originally established by the U, S, De-
partment of Agriculture to house migrant farm labor, located two miles
east of the town of that name, still housed 260 Japanese Americans in
the fall of 1946, out of a total population of 550 of all races. The
majority of the Japanese are in family groups, and live in family cot-
tages, a contrast from the war years when most of the Japanese were
single men. Expenses are very lowj rent for a shelter room is 35 cents
a week, and for a cottage, #2.25 a week, with an extra charge of 25
cents if an electrtc refrigerator is furnished,

Svumner and fall are the big harvest seasons, and good workers were
averaging $12 to $15 a day. On piece work, exceptional workers vrere
earning as high as $25 in a 10 or 11 hour day, packing lettuce, sacking
potatoes, and the like. One family of eight members had seven workers
in the field in September of 1946, and claimed to have averaged f500 to
$1,000 a week since June. Such unusually high returns resulted from
dawn to dusk work for the harvest season at a pace that could be main-
tained only for short periods bj' exceptional workers. The operator of
the Caldwell Camp store, a Japanese, estimated that the income of the
average Japanese family group at the labor camp from January through
September was between $3,000 and |3,500,

The Japanese workers are highly regarded in the vicinity, and there
is a year-around demand for them. In spring and early summer they are
wanted for planting and weeding work. During the winter months the de-
mand is for odd farm Jobs, for semi-skilled labor in the seed factories
and for turkey picking, with wages ranging from 80 to 85 cents per hour.
Most of the Japanese work in crews of from 8 to 10, with their own crew
boss*

Pew of those at the Caldwell ceunp are discussing a return to their
old homes. Most of them do not have anything to go back to, for the few
who may have possessed property long ago disposed of it. The families
living in the cottages appear fairly comfortable, and most of this
group is as well or better off than they had even been on the coast.
The family as a unit is making more money, and most of them are setting
aside a small stake. Although the work is gruelling, especially dvir-
ing the harvest' season, high earnings so far have had greater weight,

A number of the present Japanese residents of the Caldrrell camp
were among those who chose segregation at the Tule Lake Cgonp, This
segment of the group has not been too favorably received. Several of

79

them are living in shelters with small children under very unsatisfao-
tory conditions. One such family, having been promised a cottage, found
his ap-oli cation cancelled. It vras apparent that the Japanese whose
loyalty to the United States in wartime had not deviated, were being
given first consideration in securing housing, a condition agreed to by
the Japanese members of the self-government council,

A few who had returned to the Northwest have come back to Idaho.
Of one crew of eight members, five had been in Seattle since the war.
They report that the only jobs open are dishwashing or other unskilled
service jobs where the pay is low. The only good jobs, from a wage
standpoint, were in foundries, too heavy for most of the Issei and Nisei,
One Nisei girl who had divorced a pro-Japan Kibei husband at Tule Lake,
returned by herself to Seattle where she could only find work as a do-
mestic. She worked for a few months, and then returned to Idaho where
during the harvest period she had been making above average earnings of
as much as |24 a day in the fields.

On the Oregon side of the Snake River at least 700 evacuees remain,
the great majority are farmers or farm laboers. Very early in the war,
the Ontario Chamber of Commerce went on record as opposing any anti-
Japsmese propaganda, and this city has benefited by much Japanese trade.
Before the war there were about eight Japanese operated farms in the
vicinity of Ontario; the figure today stands at about 50. Most of these
started on a share-crop or lease arrangement, and about half still con-
tinue on this basis; about half have bought land. The average size of
the farms is about 50 acres, although a few rvin to 100 and 125 acres.

The returns secured by these fanners have not been uniform. Some
have scraped through the past two years, and many anticipated a loss
for 1946, A few cashed in heavily during the war years, an outstsmd-
ing success being that of a partnership which netted over $50,000 on
their first wartime crop of onions. In 1946, the market for onions was
slack, and many fanners who went heavily into this crop will lose or do
no better than break even.

In addition to the Japanese farmers who have been farming indepen-
dently, there have been hundreds of evacuees working as farm laborers,
iBsei bachelors have worked as farm hands for other Japanese and for
Caucasian farmers. Couples and family groups have worked for other
fanners on a monthly wage basis. This type of arrangement has been
very popular for it included housing and part subsistence for family
groups, A large feunily group could thus afford to work for a smaller
wage. Several hundred family groups have v/orked in this area on this
arrangement.

Just why the war-induced Japanese farm communities of the Oregon-
Idaho area should have attained greater postweur stability than those of

80

Utah and Colorado is something of a mystery. Possibly the climate of
the Snake River Valley presented less contrast to those from the North-
west them did that of Colorado and Utah to those from California, Pos-
sibly earnings may have remained higher, V'Tiatever the reason, the pro-
portion of evacuees who have stayed on is much greater thsui in the other
states*

Eastern Washington, In the Spokane district, which lies outside of
the evacuated area of Viashington, it has been estimated that farm hold-
ings have increased about 60 percent since 1941, There ere now 55 or
60 farm families, whereas before the war the number was in the 20' s.
About 40 percent of the farms are owned, the rest are leased. These
farms average five acres in size and are all vegetable gardens. The
local vegetable produce market is controlled about 90 percent or more
by the Japanese farmers. The Japanese vegetable associations supply
vegetables to all the big hotels and big grocery and fruit and vege-
table stores, as well as to small local merchants. The large Caucasian
operators specialize in cabbage or other vegetables which are shipped
to the Northwest Coast or to the Middle V^est, The Japanese farmers do
not grow cabbage for they cannot compete even in the local market with
these large growers.

Southern and Easteni States, Those who have relocated to the south,
few as they were, found the climatic conditions more to their liking.
Although Japanese were prohibited from buying and owning land in the
State of Arkansas, a total of 147 had settled there when the centers
were closed at the end of 1945* Most of this ntimber were in the east-
em part of the State on the Wilson plsmtation, which had hoped to at-
tract several hundred farm families through its rental and share-crop-
ping plans. In Texas about 300 evacuees remain of over 500 who had re-
located early in the program.

Although few independent farmers settled in the Midwest or East-,
the Seabrook Farms in New Jersey is perhaps the largest single employer
of Japanese Americans in the United States, There are approximately
400 families and bachelors totaling some 2,300 individuals now living
there. Most of these people are from California, About 800 are em-
ployed the year around in the fields while another 700 work in the proc-
essing plants where vegetables are frozen or canned, Japanese Americans
are also employed in the general store where they staff the barber shops,
beauty salons, watch and repair shops, and the shoe repair shop.

During the slack season the social and educational groups take up
much of the employees' time. About 400 children are attending the
schools in the nearby town of Bridgeton, with some making outstanding
achievements. For example, the second highest student and commencement
speaker at the Bridgeton High School last June vras a Nisei girl from

81

Seabrook Farms. A few of the Seabrook resettlers went back to the west
coast, but the majority remained*

A handful did find places in iniral Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan.
One Nisei who went to a fruit and fresh vegetable section of eastern
Michigan had after three years acquired an equity in some $17,000 worth
of maohinei^ and equijanent, compared Tdth the |:400 he had in pocket on
arrival. During his second year, this man produced lettuce grossing
^200 an acre from swamp land rented for 40 cents an acre. His credit
relations with the local bank were of the best, and his acceptance in
the conmrunity sound. Through his influence about 50 persons have lo-
cated in this community.

This completes the information available concerning the postwar
farm experience of the evacuated Japsmese Americans. The following
sections deal with their economic adjustment in urban situations.

Urban Economic Adjustment

California. As noted earlier, approximately 60 percent of the
nearly 94,000 Japanese Americans evacuated from California had returned
to that state by the end of 1946. The prewar center of this population
was Los Angeles County, where it is now estimated 25,000 to 28,000 are
living as compared to about 37,000 before the war. Because of this con-
centration, which centers in the city of Los Angeles, the description
of urban economic adjustment in California will deal most fully with the
situation there.*

♦Field work in California was limited to Los Angeles and rural Santa
Clara Valley; in consequence most of the material available concerning
non-farm economic experience elsewhere has been gathered from secondary
sources. Aside from such larger cities as San Francisco, Oakland,
Sacramento, and Fresno, there is general evidence that the livelihood
of returned Japanese Americans is gained principally from fann opera-
tions or farm labor. However, in many small communities, as for example,
Parlier near Fresno, Japanese Americans have set up small sei-vice es-
tablishments, particularly groceries. There has been no specific in-
formation of hardship among these tradesmen, and it may be assumed that
they are either moderately successful or at least breaking even. As
already noted, plans to secure more detailed information concerning the
range of enterprise in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys had to be
abandoned because of curtailment of field activities.

82

In discussing agricultural adjustment, note was taken of the in-
timate relationship between the prewar Southern California farm economy
and the business economy of Los Angeles, As we have seen, the Japanese
farming community has recovered but a small proportion of its prewar
strength. It is a fact of major importance to Japanese American busi-
nessmen in Los Anpeles that the large scale marketing of truck and fresh
vegetable crops produced by Japanese farmers has not been resumed, nor
no longer can they expect the weekly influx of farm customers so much a
part of Little Tokyo's prewar trade.

As a direct result, the economic pattern of the Japanese community '
in Los Angeles has undergone a marked change— from one where livelihood
depended largely on independent enterprise and paid or family employ-
ment in Japanese controlled business to widespread dependence on the
larger community for employment and livelihood.

By far the greatest concentration of prewar Japanese American work-
ers was in the 1,000 fruit said vegetable markets controlled by Japanese,
but scattered throughout Los Angeles County where patronage was largely
from the general community. Approximately 5,000 Nisei and Issei owners
and employees were estimated to be working in these stores. Other Japa-
nese operated independent grocery and dairy product stores employed an
additional 3,000, including owners. Another 2,000 were to be fovmd in
the two wholesale markets through -vriiich the fresh produce of the Japa-
nese farmers was distributed. About 2,000 were in the contract garden-
ing trade, servicing the estates in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and Pasa-
dena,

These enterprises catered primarily to the larger community, but
economic control, including that over employment remained vdthin the
Japanese American group. In addition to these widespread enterprises,
there were nianerous small businesses v/hich were almost wholly dependent
upon the Japanese community for patronage. The latter type of enter-
prise was of questionable economic soundness before the war, A progres-
sive Issei businessman, who before evacuation had established a success-
ful variety store entirely away from the confines of Little Tokyo, ana-
lyzed the prewar situation thus:

"With the decline of the Issei population the business in
Little Tokyo was heading down grade. The n'unber of Nisei
increased, but they spoke English as fluently as any other
American and their mode of living was completely Ameri-
cauoized with the possible exception that they liked to
eat rice often and occasionally ate with chop sticks.
They didn't bother to go out of their way to shop at Little
Tokyo as their less Americanized parents had been accus-
tomed, "^1

83

Unlike the major prewar enterprises — the wholesale produce market,
the retail fruit stores, most of the grocery and dairy stores, and the
contract gardeners which served the larger cominunity~the business en-
terprises of Little Tokyo had been based on what Mark Twain called "tak-
ing in each others washing". Social solidarity in the Japanese coinrau-
nity had not been sufficiently strong to vathstand the lure of lower
prices and a greater selection of goods in chain and department stores
outside the Japanese community. In prewar Los Angeles~and elsewhere,
as well-- the security of self employment in service to the Japanese
community had become illusory. To a degree, therefore, the destruction
of this type of enterprise by the evacuation merely accelerated a proc-
ess already undenmy.

Among women a number were employed as domestics, but most spent
their time and energies taking care of their children and helping out
in small family businesses. Girls found little opportxmity as secre-
taries in downtown offices, or in the garment shops in spite of the
increasing number of graduates from dressmaking schools in Little Tokyo,

Although it would be inaccurate to say no Nisei or Issei men had
found employment in white collar and professional lines outside the Japa-
nese community, such employment was rare.

Since the opening of the west coast on Jsmuary 1, 1945, approxi-
inately 500 business and professional men have become established in
LoB Angeles, Most of these are located in Little Tokyo on First and
San Pedro Street with a few in other areas of Japanese concentration,
including Boyle Heights, West Jefferson, and in the "skid row" section
only a few blocks away from Little Tokyo, Wien compared to the numbers
listed in the Rafu Shimpo in 1940, the present business emd professional
activi-ty represents a little less than a 25 percent comeback.

Similarly, the extent of financial recovery is minute compared to
the millions of dollars worth of business lost in the evacuation. The
$26,000,000 a year wholesale produce business is practically untouched;
the retail fruit markets which did $25,000,000 worth of business an-
nually, and the several million dollar fishing industry are practically
extinct. Returned evacuees must now depend primarily on sources of
livelihood outside the control of the Japanes.e community.

In terms of importance to the group as a whole, therefore, a dis-
cussion of employment in Los Angeles should logically follow at this
noint. However, as a means of providing a basis of comparison with the
prewar economic situation, the extent of recovery of business enterprise
will be presented first, followed by a resume concerning employment.

84

Business recovery in Los Angeles« After the Japanese left, Little
Tokyo became a ghost tovm. filth, the influx of war v^orkers, Los Angeles
became one of tiie critical housing areas in the United States, and in
1944 this/Tooation was opened for occupancy. Little Tokyo became
BronzevilleT' providing living space for thousands of in migrant workers,
a majority of them Negroes. A number of small shops as well as hotels
were opened up by these nev/comers. Physically run down before the war,
deterioration continued.

When the exclusion was rescinded by the Army early in 1945 the
Japanese were cautious in returning to the west coast, and it was not
until the last four months of 1945 that great numbers came to Lob
Angeles. For these, housinj and employment were the most immediate
needs, and during the first six months of 1946, Japanese business ac-
tivity was slow to pick up. Yihat there was— restaurants, food stores,
and hotels—directly served these needs.

As the people became more settled, additional shops were opened
and gradually the wartime businessmen were displaced by Japanese mer-
chants. Predictions of widespread conflict between the returning Japa-
nese and the Negroes who had taken over Little Tokyo proved false. A
Kegro upholsterer living in the West Jefferson area voiced an attitude
which appeared to be widely held among his people generally:

"Now, when the Japanese have moved back, it is no better
than right that they should get back their places, be-
cause this is their home."

He continued:

"I have a lot of work that I've done for the Japanese,
I've got five pieces right here this minute. And Henry
S. who has his cleaning shop just a fern doors away is
doing a fine business. He gets most of the colored
trade, and he gives them good service."^!

Ovmers of property were far from unwilling to see the Japanese re-
turn. Apart from inflated rentals, they could anticipate a general
brightening of the area. Thus the Nisei proprietor of an appliance
shop stated:

"The owner was anxious to have the Japanese come back
because it would mean that the place would be cleaned
up and the building kept up better,,, The owner liked
me because of the kind of business I was thinking of
opening up, and also because he knew that I had a brother
in the Army, Other Japanese put up higher bids on the

85

lease, but because I was in good vdth the o-vmer, I got
the place •"/!

As businessmen opened up shops in Little Tokyo, competition for
space became keen and Japsinese businessmen began outbidding each other
for prized locations*

This practice was described by a professional man in Little Tokyo
as follows:

"Japanese psychology is a fxuiny thing. They hate to see
anybody get ahead. As soon as somebody starts making a
little money, others soon tear him apart. They did that
before evacuation and they are merciless now, V/hat hap-
pens is this: One man buys a lease and starts a business.
He does well and begins to make a little money. Then
another mem seeing his success starts talking to the
owner (of the building) and tells him that he will pay
him more for the lease when it expires, and also that he
will give him more rent. So the owner goes to the present
occupant and tells him about it, and says that since he
is already in business, he should get first chance. The
present occupant, in order not to lose his lease consents
to paying the increased rent to match his competitor."/l

The initial cost of opening business has been high. In all cases,
the tenants have had to clean and remodel stores under lease at their
own expense. The Japanese have done a remarkable job of giving a better
physical appearance to an area of deterioration, but such remodeling has
been expensive and difficult.

Only a few of the hardest hit by the evacuation — those who oiimed
their businesses or were otherwise self employed before the war— have
ret\imed to resume their former business, A former bookkeeper now
operator of a service agency in' Little Tokyo remarked that:

"The businesses owned now are operated by people who were
engaged in something else before the war, Msmy are out-
of-towners, sind many were gardeners, or something else,
and got established here. They don't know how to keep
books, and can't hire full-time bookkeepers, so they get
their high school daughters or sons to keep books, and have
us supervise them,"/l

The experience of an Issei waiter in a Japanese restaurant located
near the wholesale produce market is illustrative of what happened to
many of the former businessmen:

86

"I owned the restaurant next door (before evacuation).
Just about five months before evacuation I remodeled the
entire restaurant. I had put in about $8,000, I bought
two new ice boxes, an ice cream freezer, a coca cola box,
new waffle irons, toasters, tables, and finished the wall
over the brick. , .''fhen evacuation time came, I was offered
$700, I sold it because there was nothing else to do.
There were other things too, T^'e had enough food stored
away for a year's business, I bought a truck a short
time before that to buy vegetables directly from the
farmers. All of these things were also sold at a loss,"

Another businessmsm also felt that:

"It is the big businessmen of prewar days who are the ones
who are not on their feet, Mr, H, for instance, had one
of the biggest department stores in Little Tokyo, He
lost everything because one of his brothers was in Japan
hemdling the import-export end. Other stores like the
A Company will probably not be reopened. They will never
come baok, because Broadway is too close by. People would
just as soon travel a few minutes more to get into the
center of town as to stop off here at a Japanese dry goods
store,"^l

Of the types of small businesses coming into existence in Los
Angeles, hotels seem to be the most profitable. To those returning, it
solved both the housing problem and employment problem. Before the war,
hotels, apartments, and rooming houses numbered some 360, It was esti-
mated that 75 percent of these prewar Japanese operated hotels and apart-
ments were of transient type catering to the American public with 90 per-
cent of the total located in metropolitan Los Angeles, Present estimates
are that 200 hotels and apartment houses are owned or under the control
of Japanese, Except for those exclusively housing homeless Japanese,
the pattern now is the same as that set before the war. For the most
part these hotels are located in the skid row section of town, or in
other areas where clientele is mainly from transient groups. Although
prices on leases have been high, income has also been high. Competition
has been keen for hotels and apartments and owners have taken advantage
of the demand, A hotel proprietor remarked of an available hotel a few
blocks from his own place of business:

"I don't know if you remember the "Benjamin Hotel" a couple
of blocks from here, but when the Japanese who owned it
left for camp, he got $8,000 for the lease. It is held
at $32,000 now. We paid $3,700 for this hotel before the
war, but we can get $12,000 for it today if we wanted to
sell it.yi

87

That income has been good ie attested to by an Issei who bought a
hotel for |;12,000 just off Hill Street near Third Street:

"The profits are now Just about double what they were
when I first oame in, I owned five hotels before the
war and I know just how much money they bring in peace
time. If this condition lasts for another three years,
I'll be pretty secure economically, "/l

Not a little criticism, however, has been brought against hotel
owners, Wifcn tenants are all Japanese, exploitation has been especially
common t

"Mr, S» opened up a place, smd charges up to $90 for an
apai^anent. Of course, it may be the best one, but even
for a smaller place, you have to pay -^45 or so* He is
making all kinds of money and his nose is stuck pretty
high in the air.Vl

Another person saysj

"Talking about making money, the hotel8,»,are all making
money off of the Japsmese, Of course they have to get
their investment back, but sometimes it gets pretty
hard. For instance, -Uiere is one case where a man makes
|200 a month and lives in a hostel where he pays S80 a
month for one room. This one room houses his wife, hiii>-
self, and five children. "/l

Another Japanese was less restrained:

"Some of these Japanese hotel owners ought to be pub-
licly horsewhipped. They charge families ?2 and |3 a
night for a room when the OPA sets the price around *1,
They know that the Japanese have to have a place to
live, and the Japanese don't complain to the OPA, Among
Japemese, they will not report because they will be
booted out, and another Japanese family will move in,"^l

The future of the hotel business is uncertain, and much depends
upon the type of tenants. Those housing only Japanese are shaky, for
tenants will move out as they find permanent quarters. In non-segre-
gated transient areas, with the general housing shortage remaining ex-
tremely acute in Los Angeles, hotels with a general clientele should do
good business for a number of years.

Before the war there were approximately 350 Japanese operated res-
taurants and cafes. About 80 percent of these were located near general

88

employment centers and catered almost exclusively to American trade.
At the present time the estimated number of restaurants and cafes is
between 35 and 50. Although most of them are still located in Little
Tokyo and its immediate neighborhood, the number of restaurants there
has reached an apparent saturation point, and the trend if not station-
ary is toward decrease or movement away from that section. During the
early stages of the relocation program, this was a particularly success-
ful enterprtse. Thus, it was noted:

"Among the more prosperous businesses during the early
days of resettlement Yfere the restaurants, both American
and Japanese style, and the cafes. For many who lived
in hostels and hotels and in temporary trailer quarters,
it was easier to 'eat out'— these taverns were patron-
ized three times a day by many,,, there are 30 within a
four block square that comprise Li'l Tokyo, "A

As the people moved out of the congested area, business declined.
In the fall of 1946 an accountant close to the business scene of Little
Tokyo indicated:

"I feel safe in saying that of all of the restaurants in
Little Tokyo, only two of them are making money. Help
costs so much that many of the people would rather be
employees than owners ."/l

The grocery stores are few in number and have nothing like their
prewar employment, While getting their beginning in Little Tokyo, they
also have a tendency to branch out into the wider community. Those lo-
cated in Little Tokyo sell general types of food st\iffs, but specialize
in Japanese processed foods, with patronage largely Japanese, As the
Japanese population disperses, there will be a lesser dependence on
Little Tokyo stores. Neighborhood markets and chain stores offer a
wider selection at lower prices, and these will b« more regularly pa-
tronized.

The fruit and vegetable staids, of primary importance before the
war, have been slow in coming back, T«4th not more them 25 to 30 in
operation at the end of 1946, According to one experienced retailert

"The Caucasians have learned much about fruit and
vegetable markets. Before the 7»ar -tiie Japanese had
a virtual monopoly. When the evacuation came along,
they lost all this and are having a difficult time
getting back in. When leases are available in the
large chain stores, they are pretty high, and only
one man, so far, has been making good,"/l

89

As noted earlier, the fruit and vegetable stands also lack the sup-
port of a Japanese controlled wholesale produce market, which before the
war was backed in turn by a prosperous and •well organized group of Japa-
nese farmers. The recovery of this enterprise to its prewar proportions
remains highly questionable.

The flower market of Los Angeles is the one major business field
where the Japanese enterpriser has been able to reestablish himself in
a strong competitive position* Before the war there were three large
flower markets in Los Angeles, of which the Japanese owned Southern
California Flower Market Association located on TTall Street between
Seventh and Eighth Streets was the largest of its kind in California,
It did between two and three million dollars worth of business annually.

This market was exclusively -wholesale, operated by the growers
themselves. Although the building was large enough to accommodate 200
tables, the membership was limited to 159, and only members were per-
mitted to sell. Aside from owning the building, the Association main-
tained two parking lots for growers and customers.

During the war the building and parking lots were leased to Cau-
casian operators and it was well along in 1946 before the Japanese
growers again took over. At present, 65 active members supplemented by
66 additional Japanese and 28 Caucasian growers are using the building,
?Jhile the privileges of the Association are restricted to members, space
is rented to non-members until such time as the organization can build
up its roster.

During the war more growers came into production, and additional
flower markets came into existence, "VOien the Japanese returned, there-
fore, they had open competition not only from existing flower markets
but with large Caucasian growers. The Japanese who had maintained 10
smd 20 acre establishments foxaid themselves faced with growers who had
40 and 50 acres producing flowers.

In the face of this competition, the Japanese also were troubled
by boycotts from growers and seed stores. Credit was slow in being ex-
tended, and the stores that sold seed and insecticides to Japanese were
boycotted by Caucasian farmers. This was broken down to a large extent
by the determination of the Japanese to stay, and when there was real-
ization on the part of Caucasians in the retail field that the Japanese
would be a source of profitable business. Most of the earnings of the
first year of postwar operation had to be plowed back into the business.
It was still too early, at the end of 1946, to Judge whether the enter-
prise will emerge to its ooirraanding position of before the war.

The experience of the Nisei manager of a smaller independent flower
market, who was the first in this field to return after the west coast

90

was reopened, is of interest* This market was kept open during the war
by a Caucasian manager who '•epresented the owners, a Japanese family of
a father and three sons*

"I oame back in January, the 11th, to be exact, Just about
11 days after the west coast was opened up, Joe S« (one
of the Nisei ovners) wanted me to come back to look the
situation over. The manager said that it was too early,

"I went to work on the morning of February 17, and there
were signs all over posted 'Wo Japs allowed between 7th
and 8th Street on Fall' , I stayed inside the building,
not daring to stick my head out, I went home that day,
ready to give up, I was staying with Dr, ^fexler. Chair-
man of the Methodist Board of Southern California, He
saw ny long face, and asked what the matter was, I told
him and he immediately made arrangements to see the Mayor,
Protection was promised, and the next day, Tuesday, there
were policemen inside and outside of our store, A radio
oar stood outside. The police told me that I had nothing
to fear, and that I would be given every protection pos-
sible,

"A couple of months later Peter (another Nisei partner)
oame back. At that time they broke our windows, Yfe
don't know who did it to this day,

"You see, I figured that four out of ten were for us,
and six were against us. Out of a hiindred, there were
forty. In a thousand there sire fovir hundred. And there
are about 1,000 people or more out here on the busy days,

"The thing that is funny is that those boys that I used
to go fishing and hunting with, those boys that I used
to invite over to my house for dinner, and they would
also, invite me over to their house, were some of iiie
worst. The funny part is, we didn't lose any business.
Only one person took away his account because I came
back, and his business wasn't worth much anyway. To
counteract that, there were many of our old customers
who did not buy from us during the war because we were
away, came back and brought their business to us. So we
have more business than we had during the war,

"One of the funniest things was a man who came in one
day and shouted in front of everyone, 'I wouldn't spend
a dime in a store run by Japs I' He runs a flower shop
that is ootineoted with a fimeral home. He has to have

749181 0-47-7

91

flowers. One day he called up and asked for some flowers,
and I said all right, we would provide him with anything
we had. The other boys in the store didn't want his busi-
ness and told me to tell him to go to hell. But I said
that I would handle it, and now his account runs over
tl,400 a montho Just a couple of months ago he called up
and said he yranted to see me, and we went over to the
restaurant for a cup of coffee. He says to me ' I made a
fool of myself, saying those things in front of those
people. I'm sorry I did it,' I said, 'forget it, it
doesn't matter,' But he said over and over again, and
wanted to know if we were on good terms, I said 'sure.'
Well, just a little while ago, he wanted to know if I
would go fishing with him, so his wife, and my wife, and
I went out, and aftenimrds he took us out to dinner.
You see, that's the way it 6oes."^l

The greenhouse operators and nursei*ymen, who before the war formed
an important segment of the business oomraunity, likewise were making a
fair start but had encounterod many difficulties. Concerning his prob-
lems, a greenhouse operator of nearby Gardena offered the following:

"At the tine of evacuation we were offered 5 cents on
the dollar for our potted plants, Rather than doing
that, we took a heavy loss by dimping our plants,,, the
reason why we took such a loss wes because it takes about
14 months to grow the type of plant we grow. At that
time there was still six or seven months to gb and we
had already put in 75 cents worth of labor and material
in each plant,,. our equipment depreciated, and rust set
in. We have had to spend quite a bit of money to put
them back in shape,"

As for hie present outlook:

"Ity investment is long term. I planted my first crop in
July 1946, and they will be ready for market next October
1947, All of these things you see on the counter we can
put out in four months, but there is no money in them,
I put them out so that we can have pocket money, ,, Labor,
seeds, fertilizer, and all are oaid out in cash. Everything
goes out, and nothing comes in. As I have been out of
the market since evacuation, methods have changed and I
don't know what to expect. I am making a gamble just like
the rest of these growers."/!

Another, who returned to his greenhouse at Venice foimd his equip-
ment scattered, his glass in need of repair and his steam equipment

92

unusable* It was by mid-1946 before he again had his physical plant in
working order, A returned neighbor found a similar problem which had
resulted from the induction into the Army of the employee to whom he
had leased at the time of evacuation, A second neighbor who had leased
to his former salesman returned to find the plant in excellent working
order, and he was able almost immediately to get back into the market
with his "mystery gardenia", in which he had specialized before the war»

In addition to the problems of getting started, the greenhouse and
nvurserymen have had some difficulty in selling their merchandise because
of boycotts hy a number of retail outlets. However, the threat of boy-
cott has had mixed results, as indicated by a Nisei nursery broker:

"When a Caucasian buys from us, and is boycotted by other
Caucasians, that means we have less competition. For
eveiy Caucasian retail nursery they boycott for buying
from us, it means that all of that firm's trade will ooane
to us. Most of the Cauoasiems know the quality of mer-
chandise grown by the Japanese, emd because of this, our
business will continue to grow while those of the Cau-
casians will continue to decline. Right now, there is not
enough stuff that the Japanese have to supply the demand,

"Here, however, it is not entirely a question of race and
boycotting. It is entirely an economic consideration.
As the same person illustrates, the consumer demands
quality, and they will buy from whoever sells the best
merchandise, "Riey were afraid that the Japanese would
take away their business, and therefore wanted to keep
them out. It is not a question of race, it is business,"/!

For most of the nvirserymen, the first year or two is expected to
be the most difficult. Their merchandise is purchased and then resold.
Their margin of profit is small. As time goes by, they will be able to
sell their own cuttings, and realize a greater margin of profit.

The future looks bright because of the rapid expansion of residen-
tial areas. All of these will have to be landscaped, and as the Japa-
nese regain their position in the field, they should profit.

Contract gardening is difficult to classify either as a business
enterprise or as straight employment. As a means of livelihood, the
source of income lies altogether in the Caucasian community, but control
of the work lies with the contractor. Accordingly, the following dis-
cussion arbitrarily has been placed in the section dealing with busi-
ness recovery.

93

Before the war, approximately 2,000 gardeners were averaging |125
a month. In 1946 there were 3,000 or more and earnings of |400 to $600
were not unusual* In addition to prewar professional gardeners, this
work has draym the returning Japsuiese from all sections of the Japanese
eommunity including former businessmen, produce operators, veterans,
teen-age boys, older Issei farmers and young Nisei trained for pro-
fessional work. The popularity of contract gardening, as explained by
a Los Angeles Nisei, is to be found in the extraordinary earnings pos-
sible*

"After all, a man, no matter what race, is going to get
into something that gives him the best return for his
labor. Take a friend of mine who workod in the fruit
market before the war. He studied engineering in college
€Uid wanted to get a job as a draftsman, but none was
available to the Japanese before the war. He went to
Chicago and worked there as a draftsman. He returned
to Los Angeles and got a similar type of a job. But he
quit suid went to work as a gardener. Why? Because gar-
dening paid him twice as much as he was getting paid as
a draftsman, "^1

Another important fact in the drawing power of gardening has been
the small initial investment neoaaasiry in getting started. In some
oases, work has been exchanged for equipment as in the experience of a
former outstanding leader in the Gardeners Association of Southern
California, He returned to California in late March 1945, His daughter
had come a few weeks earlier to take over their home from tenants,
■When he arrived, he foxmd his garage had been broken into and all his
gardening equipment tsdcen. His pick-up truck had been stripped so
thoroughly he had to buy a new one. He had many questions as to the
reaction of would-be customers to an Issei; he inquired around somewhat
cautiously and soon found people who were willing to hire him. The
first jobs were for places that had plenty of equipment. He worked by
the hour. After a tiire he approached one of his customers, who owned
about everything a gardener would wish for, with a proposition. He
offered to take care of this man's grounds for a year, free of charge,
in exchange for his equipment. The man made a counter proposition. Mr.
N, could have the equipment in exchange for taking care of the grounds
for four months, provided Mr. N. would continue thereafter to be his
gardener on contract at the prevailing rate, N, now has three garden-
ers working for him, and is prospering,

Exoept in detail, the experience of others who took up gardening
in Los Angeles was similar and the first to get back into business were
able to secure lucrative contracts. In further illustration:

94

"When I returned here "back in January of 1945, over a
year and a half ago, the war was still going on, but
reception was very good* A few had returned, and some
of the larger estates were pretty well run-down, and
they wanted gardeucjrs. Some of the braver estate own-
ers called on gardeners, then the neighbors seeing that
nothing went wrong, would whisper over to the gardener
to take care of his property. In this way, the early
ones found themselves taking care of six or seven
estates all located in the same block. He saved time
in his work; he could turn on the water in one estate
while he trimmed the other places... Then they would do
what gardeners call •clean up'. It is a dirty job and
no one wants to do it. So they charge about tSO and
two fellows can do it in one day."/l

Of work and earnings, a Nisei gardener stated:

"Before the war a guy had to go around to each place
three times a week for half of vAiat we get now. Now •
we go only twice a week and get twice as much money
for it. There is all kinds of gardening work to be
done emd we can just about get what we demand. Of
course I know all the ropes, but even those who have
just gotten started have no trouble making $400 a
month, "^1

The solution to a problem which bothered many of the old line gar-
deners—that of raising prices in keeping with demand—was described in
an interview with another of the Issei who returned early to Los Angeles i

"The gardeners here are all inixed up. Almost none of
them are working for their old customers. You see, the
prices are higher now. Vie don't like to ask our old
customers for more money. We know they would be willing
to pay it, but we just don't like to bring up the matter
with them. So we go to work for people we didn't know
before. It is all right to give them the new price, I
do this way nyself. Often I meet a man who asks me if
I know where so and so is. He would like to have his old
gardener back again. Maybe I know where the man lives.
But usually I don't tell the old customer anyway, I
tell the man, so if he wants to, he could go around to
visit,

"Some men are making very good money. For instance, Mr,
N, has three helpers. His net income is $500 or t.600 a
month, A lot of the fellows are getting $300 and |400 a
month, "^1

95

The increase in the nvrai'bers of gardeners in Los Angeles was so
great during the summer of 1946, that a vernacular columnist pointed out
that some sort of regulatory organization had become essential:

"Competition, fierce novf, threatens to become vforse as
charges of cut- throating and price-cutting are being
bruited about in the best non-union manner. Disgruntled
Nisei gardeners, fearing that unfair price slashing and
underselling of labor will inevitably force them out of
business and deprive them of a livelihood, charge the
Issei element vrLth practices inimical to their welfare.
Almost Indefensible, the Issei can only point to their
distinct handicap in language, in rebuttal, and blithely
go on working for less—unless something is done to set
prices.

"The need for organization is essential. Both factions
should get together for mutual benefit and arrive at a
working agreement based on recognition of each other's
rights and needs. And sooner, the better,"/9

TVhile keen competition continued and some price cutting was becom-
ing apparent, as of December 1946 no organization had come into being,
nor had the rate of earnings shown sign of slackening.

To many, gardening is a temporary expedient by which to build capi-
tal against the time they can invest in a small business or retire. For
the older Issei, especially those lacking experience, gardening is heavy
and difficult work, end some have been forced to drop out because of the
physical strain. A Los Angeles Issei physician commented on this:

"The three or four years that the Issei have spent loaf-
ing in camp is not doing them any good now. Most of them
are in their 60' s sind although they should be able to
work yet, their bodies are not holding up because it is
difficult for them to get adjusted again. If they con-
tinue straight through, it would be a different story.
The old line gardeners are not having too difficult
e time because they know just how much to exert them-
selves. But it is twice as hard for those who are not
acquainted Tfith the work,"/l

Not a few Nisei feel that unless the Japanese are reestablished in
business or in more stable employment, the first sign of depression will
see many of them suffering greatly, A young man surveying the situation
remarked:

96

"The days that people made money -were vihen they first
came back. I think gardening will alyrays earn a man a
living, but -vAat the heck, not everyone before the war
was a gardener ».,TTnless the Japanese get back on their
feet into other lines of work within the next two years
when there is a demand for workers, they'll never re-
establish themselves. It will be sad."/l

As with the gardeners, the professional men are difficult to clas-
sify in occupational terms within the framework of this report. Since
they too have independent control over their enterprise, an outline of
the experience of this group of Japanese Americans has been fitted into
this section*

The professionals have had little difficulty in resuming operation.
Doctors, lawyers, dentists, and optometrists have seized upon the op-
portunity for sei-vioe to the Japanese population. Legal difficulties
over housing, restrictive covenants, real estate, violation of alien
lemd laws, and other legal aspects of resettlement have kept the law-
yers busy* The age of the Issei, neglect of health, and dental troubles
developed in the relocation centers have occupied much of the doctors'
and dentists' time* Wsmy Issei women who found jobs in clothing fac-
tories have been fitted with glasses. Of the professions mentioned
above, the dentists and optometrists are perhaps the ones whose clientele
has expanded most into the wider community. One dentist has an almost
exclusive non- Japanese clientele, and several others draw a considerable
proportion from the wider community. The extent of business expsinsion
among optometrists is indicated by an Issei practitioner:

"VJhen I got back this place was still full of Negroes
and there were only a few Japanese. But niy business
was good from the beginning because many of the people
had neglected their eyes in camp, I also have a lot
of colored trade.,,They have the money and spend it
freely... We now have more business than we ever did,
Uany of the people who work in this neighborhood come
in for small check-ups, and then when they find out
that we give small services for a nominal sum, they
come back for examinations and new glasses."/!

In addition, this informant had touched upon an aspect of the pres-
ent Little Tokyo business situation which is significantly different
from that of the pre-Pearl Harbor period; that in segregated Little
Tokyo there is no longer oomplete dependence on Japanese trade. Many
businessmen look to Negro trade to postpone the otherwise inevitable
decline of business in this section for lack of customers. The extent
to which this trade is important to the Japanese merchants is indicated
by the following statement made by a Japanese businessman:

97

"Before the war, this place was beginning to look pretty
rtm-doirai even for Japanese, because business was poor,
and the tenants didn' t know v/hen they would be moving
out*. .For a couple of years at least, I think there will
be an improvement in this district. If the Negroes don't
move out wholesale, then we will have the trade to keep
us going,

"There has never been any friction between racial groups,
and indications are that they will continue that vray.
More than 50 percent of our business is with the Negroes,
as a matter of fact, I think it is closer to 60 or 70
percent, "/l

The process of racial accoTranodation in Little Tokyo vms described
by a Negro social v.'orker as follows:

"As the Japanese came back, property values went up,
and rentals went up with it. The Negro shops cater to
the Negroes only, while the Japanese shops cater to
Negroes, Whites, and Japanese, In other words, when
a Japanese comes into town, they go to a Japanese store
or restaurant. The Negro will go into either Japanese
or Negro owned shops. The whites working in the vicinity
patronize the Japanese restaurants, stores, end ice cream
parlors. Gradually, as the Negroes move out, the Negro
stores will close down,"/l

In the future relationship between the two groups, that much will
depend upon the attitude of the Japanese merchants, is brought out by
the same social worker:

"I don't think the total population of Little Tokyo has
gone down much, and I don' t think it will decrease much
more. Since the Japanese were relocated back on the
coast, the Negroes in their travel throughout the coun-
try would deliberately look up Japanese places to eat
their meals, and for rooms, and they did this because
they felt and knew that the Japanese were not discrimi-
natory in their business practices, I think of all races,
the Japanese will do business with anyone who brings it
to them. But as I've said before, they have a way of
'unobjectionable infiltration' that may eventually put
the Negroes out. In other words, I feel that the next
move is up to the Japanese, "/l

The Japanese businessman who qualified his prediction of continued
prosperity by adding, "if the Negroes don't move out" was in actuality

98

asking a question rather than stating a fact. Aside from generally-
favorable relationships between the two groups, there is little evidence
at this time whioh can be used to answer this question.

Nevertheless, optimism concerning the business future was expressed
by the Los Angeles vernacular newspaper in a summary of experience up
to January 1947:

"Businessmen continued to set a high pace in their come-
back march* Competition is much keener. More stores and
more customers aided in the impetus. While there was
only one store selling a particular type of commodity a
year ago, there are two or three of the same today. The
barbers, shoe repairers, jewelers, soda jerkers—all have
increased in n\aiiber."/lO

It can be granted that the Little Tokyo business come-back has been
remarkable considering evacuation losses, but the total of Japanese
controlled business remains far below prevrar levels. If it has gained
a Negro clientele in partial compensation for the loss of customers from
among the prosperous prewar Japanese farmers of the Los Angeles trading
area, it still rests on the economic base of a circumscribed and deteri-
orating area. Increased activity also means increased competition, and
not a few are dubious that business in this section can withstand the
rigors of a recession which many expect.

One result of the doubts caused by these factors has been a re-
svmiption of the prewar trend toward business expansion in the larger
community. The most important of the prewar enterprises catering to
the total population of Los Angeles~the retailing of fruit and vege-
tables—has come baok only on minute scale, but a beginning has been
made in other lines.

Dry cleaning shops, food stores, hotels, florists, and nurseries
predominate in businesses being established outside Little Tokyo, Self-
consciousness and fear of being discriminated against have been the
greatest source of anxiety in opening up stores away from Little Tokyo,
But the experience of Nisei who have made such a move have proved that
community sentiment is good. After a period of tenseness they have be-
come a part of the routine of commvinity living:

"The economic picture Iooks bright if the people will
branch out in business in the wider community,.. for the
first two weeks they may wonder about you being a Japa-
nese, but after that, you are an individual, judged
according to your merits,"/!

99

That this is not an exceptional statement is indicated by the ex-
perience of a young lady who operates a dry cleaning shop in a suburban
community:

"At first, he (her cousin) said that treating the cus-
tomers as nicely as I do wss bad business, but it is
paying. The customers come back and new ones come in.
At first it was bad because many would try to take ad-
vantage of us, but as I got to know them, and they me,
we got along fine., .this district is expanding, and I
think there is a good future here,"^l

A proprietor of a service station also remarked that:

••when I first opened up last October (1945), almost a
year ago, ny first Caucasian customers would drive up,
then they would see that I was a Japanese and they
would drive away, I didn't blame them at that tine,,.
But now, and from about three or four months after I
got started, a few of the Caucasians began stopping
smd found that I gave prewar service. Once they cam©
in, they became regular customers,"/!

As the pressure of wartima sentiment continues to ease, the trend
away from Little Tokyo will continue. The financial losses incurred in
the evacuation has led a number of Japanese to take work at the high
wages now obtainable in gardening and in the factories. As soon as
family capital is built up sufficiently, additional small business en-
terprises will be developed, and most of these will be designed to serve
the larger community.

Employment in Los Angeles. The extent of employment in Japanese
controlled private enterprise has been indicated in the previous section.
As we have seen, such opportunities are scant, aside from contract gar-
dening, and the primary means of livelihood must now be found outside
Japanese economic control. Fortunately, in the postwar situation, pos-
sibilities for such employment of Japanese Americans have been more nu-
merous, pay has been higher and prospects for advancement better than
ever was the case before Pearl Harbor.

The most noteirorthy departure from the prewar economic pattern in
the Los Angeles Japanese American comm\inity— after the fact of dimin-
ished dependence of Japanese controlled enterprises for livelihood—is
the vastly increased number of Japanese American women, both Issei and
Nisei, who are now employed in Los Angeles.

100

As will be shown later, employment discrimination against Nisei
and Issei men, especially in white collar work, was a problem in Los
Angeles after return was authorized. WMle this has progressively
cleared up, Japanese American women have been in high demand from the
very beginning. In particular, competition for Msei girls as secre-
taries and stenographers has been keen. They have been abl^ to get
jobs, not only in the Civil Service, but in private firms. If the wo-
men did not have office skill, the demand for garment workers drained
the Japanese female labor market. The process of acceptance of the
Japanese women in office jobs end in gannent factories is of interest.
The manager of the Nisei Employment Ar;ency, largely responsible for gar-
ment factory jobs related the following:

"It was through domestic jobs that I was able to contact
people in various manufacturing work, Greer, one of the
clothiers, had Japanese help in his home, and I asked
him if he could use any Japanese girls in his factory.
He said that he would be glad to try them. Pretty soon
there were girls working in every one of the factories
on Los Angeles Street between First Street and Pico, I
have placed about 1,000 women, and for each one, many
more have gone without my placement •"/l

That his claim is not without support is seen in a statement made
by a minister of one of the Japanese churches:

"The girls and women can get jobs anywhere they want.
In stores on Broadway, in Beverly Hills, in the County
and City offices. It is remarkable. They are in de-
mand, I placed several in an exclusive dress shop in
Beverly Hills where they earn about |10 a day, and on
Saturday, when they work, they make fl5,"/l

The experience of a Nisei girl working in a clothing factory in
Hollywood further substantiates the statement:

"On La Brea and Beverly around quitting time, it is almost
like Japanese town with so many Japanese women boarding
the buses,..\\Tienever a vacancy occurs in our factory, the
foremen asks us if we know of some Japanese girl who
might like a job. They don't ask the others, I think
it is beoaus6 they weint Japanese women to work there, "/l

That opportunities in clothing factories have not been limited to
Nisei is seen in the statement of an optometrist in Little Tokyo:

"An amazing thing is that there are all kinds of open-
ings for Issei women. Many of the older Issei women

101

oame in for glasses so that they can get jobs operating
po-vrer machines in clothing factories, VOien I first oame
into town, I applied for such a job in Boyle Heights,
but was turned down because they did not know what the
reception of the fellow workers would be. But now there
is such a demand for Japanese workers that there are not
enough to fill them."/l

■While perhaps not as spectacular as in the clothing factories, the
Nisei office workers have had an equally good experience. An employee
of the California Employment Division told the field worker covering
Los Angeles:

"If you know of any Nisei girl looking for a secretarial
job, let me know because I can place her without diffi-
culty. Jobs are available for immediate placement, "/l

An Issei whose interest has long been in the activities of Nisei
states;

*L, went to the USES and they referred her to the City
Attoniey' s office. She was asked if she could steirt
work that day starting at |185 a month with opportuni-
ties for advancement, "^1

Domestic jobs have been available not only to girls but to oouples<
Though this type of job was popular with Japanese when they first re-
turned to Los Angeles, they have been leaving it as they found housing,
Hie manager of an employment agency felt one of the reasons lay in the
nature of the Nisei:

'*We can place people in vsirious places where they are
willing to pay up to ."5375 to $400 a month. But the
Japanese are not suited to this type of work. The Issei
and Kibei girls may be fitted, but the Nisei, brought
up in this country where they are independent, don't
last. The Englishman can serve as a butler, the German
can serve as a house-woman and be happy because of their
training. But anyone brought up in this country just
can't fit into that type of work. So even if there are
good domestic jobs open, I don't place the Nisei, "/l

However, some who have gone into domestic work have found working
conditions very good. Members of the film colony and others have in
their employ both Issei and Nisei,

102

Among men, light industrial work, a field employing few Nisei be-
fore the war, oomes next to gardening in utilizing the services of Japa-
nese Americans in Los Angeles, The estimated number working in these
plants is 2,900 and earnings average about $1 an hour. Although such
routine work is looked upon with some distaste Msei believe there is
possibility for advancement, and as tine goes on, there are indications
they may become adjusted to it»

Reception in the phonograph record companies such as Columbia,
Deoca, Capital, and Modern has been good. Approximately 250 are now
working in tiiese companies and in some cases, except for a few Cau-
casians, the entire crew is made up of Nisei, Wage levels are depen-
dent upon the skill of the individual, but within a few weeks it is
possible even for the slower workers to earn about |70 a week, A Uni-
versity graduate working in the Decca factory spoke of the work and
possibilities for advancement as follows;

"The first two weeks we just stand around watching the
pressors in action, learning how to run the presses.
The minimum pay is 85|- cents an hour for the day shift.
For the night shift it is 95 cents an hour. So the
minimum one makes during the first two weeks is not
less than 95 cents an hour. Then when we actually begin
the pressing of records, if we can make more than our
base pay, they pay us by ryiece work, I can press out
between 125 and 140 records an hour, but out of that,
I feel that if we can press 100 good records, we do well.
You see, they pay tl»25 for one hundred perfect records.
Then there are different unavoidable situations that
arise, For instance, when the master plate warps, or
is scratched, or when there is no stock, it is neither
the fault of the management or the workers, so we get
paid either our average pay, or the minimum, according
to the circumstances,

"'Ihe work is hard, and during the summer it gets espe-
cially difficult to withstand the pressure of heat in
the factory, Ivlsiny Nisei came to work, and dropped off
as soon as they found they had to go through the train-
ing period, at low wages. Some of us older men felt
that it created a bad in5>ression, and now we have set
em unwritten policy that no Nisei is to work xuiless he
will stick. For most employees it is still a matter of
six months employment because of the nature of the work,
but we feel that in that length of time we will be able
to work ourselves into foremen jobs requiring less ar-
duous work, and more pay. If we maintain the reputation

103

we are now building, there is no reason to believe that
we Yfill not get there, "/l

In small assembly plants, the Nisei have done equally well. In a
factory assembling steel springs for mattresses, a 21 year old Nisei
states:

"In about three weeks we got the knack of it and from
then we were able to work pretty fast,,,Fe do piece
work. We get 29 cents for a small spring and I average
about $1,35 an hour Aiihile my brother makes about .'1^1,50
an hour» Hamada, another Nisei, makes about $100 a
week. He is the fastest worker in the factory,"/l

TVhile these boys are members of large Caucasian crews, a few blocks
away is the Moody Ifcittress Factory, a place of employment for over 100
Issei and Nisei, A policy of non-discrimination has brought together
employees of nine different racial or cultural groups. Although minor
difficulties did airise, no great issue arose in the hiring of the first
Nisei, The significant development following the initial hiring of a
Nisei, as in many other early ceses of employment in Caucasian firms,
is the fact that new openings followed in other related types of work.
As told by the owner, the experience of the first Nisei to be hired re-
sulted in further demands for Nisei:

"Aki S, came to work and soon found a place for himself.
Because of his friendly nature, he was quickly accepted
as a co-workei , It was not long afterwards that a secre-
tary was hired, and other firms visiting Moody saw her
fine personal appearance, and efficiency, and this opened
the way for other private firms in hiring Nisei girls.
The truck drivers paved the way for the hiring of Nisei
in other furniture shops, "/l

Several Nisei have been able to get jobs in old line factories such
as the (joodyear and Firestone Rubber plants, but a greater niimber have
gone into a great variety of the shops that have grown up since the war.
They are employed mainly as assemblers of small items such as poker chip
racks, electric etchers, aluminum pots and pans, toys, and bedsprings.

Cafeterias and restaurants have also drawn upon a large number of
Japanese Americans, They work in the better establishments such as the
Boos Brothers, Cliftons, Van de Camp, Ciros, and others including those
in the Wilshire district as well as those in Little Tokyo and the Skid
Row area. About 2,500 is the estimated number working in these estab-
lishments. Wages ITAH from 65 cents an hour in the transition area es-
tablishments to $300 a month or more in the better places. However,
except for chefs, the less skilled dishwashers and busboys have considered

104

these jobs only a means of immediate employment and income, A number
of Issei as well as Nisei are employed. An Issei working in a better
neighborhood made this comment:

"I EOT working at the Richlor's restaurant at La Ciengage
and Wilshire Boulevard, I sun a bus boy, ..there are about
15 or 16 other dishwashers, bus boys, and stockroom clerks.
We are the lowest paid on the staff, but we make "^l an
hour with meals, so it is not bad. However, most of us
are looking for other jobs, so as soon as we get some-
thing better, we take it, "/I

While no accurate estimate can be made, the number of college edu-
cated Nisei who have returned to Los Angeles is evidently not very large.
The greater majority are to be found in the Midwest or East, Although
white collar employment with Caucasian firms was almost non-existent
for men before the war, a few on their return have been able to get em-
ployment in Civil Service, dental, and other laboratories, or have
opened up their own professional offices. Several have found employment
with advertising firms.

More than a few veterans have been bewildered by the employment
situation. In this respect their experience is perhaps not entirely out
of line with that of Caucasian veterans. But with the Nisei, there is
still an element of discrimination which prevents them from getting jobs
requiring face to face contacts with customers, or where they would be
reqiiired to work with Caucasians who may be prejudiced, A discouraged
veteran of the 442nd related hie dilemma:

"I wish I were back in Italy, It was pretty soft there.
Didn't have to worry about anything. Out here a guy
has to look out for himself and try to get a good job,
I was out in Milwaukee where I got one year of experi-
ence working in the shop of the Yellow Cab Company, I
tried to get a job out here in the same line, but they
all tell me that I have to have at least three years
experience. But I think they gave me the same kind of
run-around -tiiey give to all Nisei, because a friend of
mine who recently opened up a garage on 36th and Norman-
die told me of the same kind of experience. He is a good
mechanic, and could get a job any place he wanted to back
East, He is qualified. When he first came back here, he
tried about two dozen places, and was told each time that
the job was just filled. He got suspicious and went to
the back to see a meohanio and asked whether someone had
Just been employed. The answer vreis no. He knew he was
being given the run-around ."/l

105

The pattern of discrimination was more widespread when exclusion
was first lifted, but the employment situation recently has been de-
scribed as being better. Many Nisei place the blame on themselves where
there has been difficulty in securing suitable employment. This atti-
tude was expressed in an interview with a progressive young Nisei:

"Japanese are now qtiite dependent upon the majority
oommunity economically and find excellent as well as
ordinary employment in Caucasian employ. Nisei with
a skill can find adequate placement, but ihey have
to push and sell themselves. There are eleotricisins,
plumbers, etc., all working for Caucasians, and there
is no reason for qualified Japanese not being able to
find those jobs. He has to primarily sell himself. "/l

A similar conclusion had been reached by Tosh T. who before the
evacuation had operated a soft drink stand in San Jose, and had worked
as salesman for a creamery. His relocation experience, while not typi-
cal in terms of occupation, illuminates many of the problems of those
returning, as well as the possibilities open to the more mature and
aggressive Nisei. Following is his account as given to a field worker:

"I came back from the East in February 1945, T^fhen I got
home, T went into my house and somebody threw a brick
through my window. I called the Dolice and they said
that the next thing they would probably do was to shoot
bullets into the house so the best thing was to barricade
the door with mattresses and the like. They said they
couldn't watch the place all the time. Yfe slept in the
back without lights for a couple of weeks. The house
was in a mess and we could hardly stand the odor of the
place. The furniture w© had was replaced with shabby
stuff. The man that was taking care of the place, rent-
ing it out to different people, didn't watch it too care-
fully, and every time somebody moved out, they took some-
thing with them. We found the basement ransacked, and
except for a few fixtures, there wasn't much left.

"People were constantly wanting to buy the place while
we were gone, but we hung on to it, and now we are
plenty glad. When I got back, I went to the Loan Com-
pany to pay off the $1,200 mortgage out of the 1^1,400
that we had, and tried to get a loan to improve the
place. I wanted to remodel it so that I could get some
income out of it. But they wouldn't give it to me.
The insxirance that I had on the building was still in
force, and I wanted to take out another policy, but the
company wouldn't give it to me. Later, after I got the

106

plaoe remodeled, the agent came around to sell me insurance
but I 8aid nothing doing,

"In the meantime, my boy got appendicitis, I had to take
him to the hospital, and that was more exjwnse. We had
to cash in our bonds to pay for it* We were really down
and out*

"The lawyer wanted to know what I was going to do. He
said I couldn't get a Job anyplace, and called up a
packing shed to see if they would give me a job. They
said no, but I told the man that I would get a Job some-
how, even if I had to wash dishes. I went to the USES
and they referred me to a hotel as a dishwasher. But
when I got there, the fellows gave me a dirty look, and
I knew I wasn' t wanted,

"Then I met a fellow from the Council for Civic Unity,
who told me that he knew someone who wanted a machinist,
and asked if I knew anything about it, I told him I
didn't, but was willing to learn. So for about five
months I worked at a place making artificial limbs. In
December, after the war was over, the work fell down,
and I knew I had to get something else. So in the mean-
time I had contacted my former boss, and tried to sell
him the idea of putting me back on the payroll. He was
leery because he didn't know what the reception would
be. In the meantime, the company was bought out by one
of the large creameries,

"In January 1946, the boss told the company president
that I wanted a Job, and that I had worked for the com-
pany before. The president told him to give me a Job,
I wanted to look around a little more, so I went on the
road in the company' s car and made a survey, I came
back and told them that there was a future in the Japa-
nese business, and talked him into it, I told him that
I wanted to be fair, so that I would start at |i200 a
month, plus expenses. Then if I made good, I would ask
for a raise,

"They were afraid at first, but I told them I would prove
to them I was right. The other employees wondered why
I was being hired again when there wouldn't be any use
of it. Of course they talked behind my back. But that
attitude has changed, and they are saying that the presi-
dent was smart in hiring me, that he knew what he was

749181 0-47-8

107

doing. Of course, what they don't know is that I had
to sell him the idea*

"At first, of covirse, I had to confine my work to the
Japanese. In Sacramento, one person wanted to start
a soft drink place, but he had never operated one be-
fore. He had heard that the products of a rival fii^
were the best, and 1 had to sell him differently.
Since he had no experience, he thought all he had to
do was to put a scoop of ice cream in a dish and put
it out. I taught him all about the fountain work, and
everytime I go to his place, he treats me like a man
sent from heaven. He opened up last March and put
$5,000 in, and he has already paid for it. From now
on it will be gravy. I worked the same thing in San
Francisco with a colored lady.

"In that way, by helping out new customers, I have been
able to maintain the highest sales. And I have new
customers that I took away from other companies. When
I went out to see if I could get some of the Caucasian
and Chinese business, the company was surprised that
nothing happened, except that I got their business,"/l

Tosh related a n\anber of similar incidents. He has put himself in
a position where the president and the vice president of the firm have
much respect for his judgment and rely on his decisions. He has already
been given two raises, the first $50 and the second $25, and he hopes
before long to reach the $500 — $600 bracket promised if he continues to
produce. In a oontest for a $1,000 prize for each division, he is at
the top of the sales division, partly, he admits, because all his sales
are new and the others have to sell over and above their previous years'
average.

In speaking of possibilities for other Nisei in Caucasian companies,
he felt there was growing opportunity, but that they must go after it.
The GIs, especially, he feels, should push themselves because they can
show they are veterans.

"The trouble with most Nisei is that they don't half try.
One rebuff, and they don't try again. Up to the time of
the war, things for the Nisei were getting darker and
darker. Now, they will get brighter and brighter be-
cause they are known all over the Nation, and have proven
themse Ive s . "/l

V/hile the employment situation is recognized to be getting progres-
sively better, there is still great concern for the future. Many

108

Japanese Americans exoect that an economic recession will have an esoe-
cially adverse effect on themselves. The fury vdth which the Japanese
are working is partly to counteract the period of depression which they
feel will surely follow, as well as to offset the losses of evacuation.
iind although there are numerous plans for purchasing small businesses
sind homes when capital accumulates, nevertheless, there is grave concern
on the oart of a great number who feel themselves economically secure
only for the oresent. Pessiirists consider emoloyment to be temporary,
the Issei too old to work much longer and business competition in Little
Tokyo becoming ruinous. One remarked:

"The Japanese are in a bad situation. The first depres-
sion that comes along will find many of them without
their shirts. The jobs they have are of a temporary
nature and they work off and on. I hate to think of
what might happen. The Issei are too old, they can't
get around anymore and they don't have a reserve. The
businesses on First Ktreet are all cutting each other' s
throats, A few years of this and eveiryone will go
broke, "/l

And from another Nisei:

"Although the wages are high out here, the cost of liv-
ing is also way up. You take for instance, it used to
cost only $30 a month for room and board in a boarding
house, and now it cos;ts $70. Everything else is the
same way. The trouble with people is that they measure
money, not according to what it will buy, but with what
they vjere making before the war,"/l

Pessimists are not in the majority, but their fears do call atten-
tion sharply to the fact that the economic rehabilitation of the evacu-
ated Japanese Americans is far from complete in Los Angeles.

Notes on employment in smaller cities and towns of California.
That the experience of those returning has varied greatly even in the
same general locality, is illustrated by the return to the to-wTis of the
Imperial Valley. Before the war. El Centre had a Japanese population
of about 448, and Brav/ley 247. From present information, 12 or 15 have
returned to the first tOTftOi but only two have returned to the latter.
Similarly, before the war. El Centre and Rrawley each had about a dozen
Japanese owned business establishments. Today there are no business
establishments in Brawley, where sentiment has been extreme, but in El
Centre a drug store, a pool hall, and a grocery have been opened, all
three relying on non- Japanese trade, A probable explanation for the
difference in sentiment between the two towns has been the activities

109

of a young Caucasian El Centre serviceman who, although interned through-
out the war by the Japanese, has been outspoken in demanding fair treat-
ment for the Nisei,

In nearby Coachella Valley, where there were no prewar Japanese
owned shops, a Nisei mechanic who started out after his return as a re-
pairman of farm machinery has established a garage, the first and only
Japanese business venture in that locality. He has been most success-
ful:

'*vrhen people heard I was opening up, work began to pile
up. Several months ago work was slack and several of
the garages in town had no business, but I always had a
dozen or more cars waiting to be fixed, and had to work
from 8 a.m. until nearly midnight every day."/l

In spite of the fact that his garage is located two miles out of
town, he gets all the city business, When he came to purchase hea"7y
equipment, he was given priority of delivery over the other garages.
An acetylene torch outfit had been ordered by several, and when the first
to arrive was sent him, owners of the other garages expressed the feel-
ing they were being discriminated against, A recapping service in the
town gives him 24 hour seirvice. All this has led him to feel that no
better sentiment exists anywhere.

In San Jose, the economic center of the fruitful ^:anta Clara Valley,
the general resettlement picture is optimistic. Approximately 100 fami-
lies have settled in this city, the great majority within three blocks
of the intersection of North Fifth and Jackson Streets, While not the
most favorable residential area of the city, it is not badly run down.

There are about three-fourths as many business establishments in
San Jose as there were before the war; 40 as against 53, The reestab-
lishment of Japanese businesses has been surprisingly swift, probably
because of the notable increase in the total Japanese American popula-
tion of Santa Clara County. Professionals in the reemerged Japanese
section are more numerous than before the war, A life insurance agent
reported:

"Ity business is pratty good. A lot of people gave up
their insurance at the time of evacuation or when they
were in camp. They want protection again. Besides,
people have more cash money than they used to have,"/l

With the exception of large families having only one breadwinner,
and families handicapped by age and illness, most resettlers are well
paid and are accvimulating savings.

110

Of those working in San Jose, the greatest number ere in packing
sheds and factories. There was a period in 1945 when resettlers found
such employment hard to obtain. Now, all packing sheds hire Japanese
and qxiite a few factories accept them. Unskilled and semi-skilled jobs
are plentiful. Labor in the packing sheds, of course, follows the pre-
evacuation pattern, with the difference that none of the sheds is run
by Japanese and few resettlers have attained supervisory positions.
Factory employment, in contrast, is a new development. There was vei^
little before the war,

yjhite-collar positions, outside of the Japanese community, used to
be and still are rare. There has been an increase but a very slight
one—nothing comparable to what is reported from Los Angeles or San
Francisco, Probably no more than 20 out of the Valley' s 6,000 resettlers
hold white-collar jobs in the offices and stores of the larger community.
An extremely competent stenographer finds it necessary to commute from
San Jose to San Francisco in order to do secretarial work,

Resettlers have had no great amount of trouble with labor unions
since early in the period of return, CIO groups generally opened their
doors rather readily. Of the leading unions, only the Teamsters were
categorically excluding Japanese late last summer. The situation was
not satisfactory with reference to the Cleaners and Dyers, but a work-
ing arrangement of a sort has been arrived at.

Notes on San Francisco, Of the three centers of prewar Japanese
population, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco, the latter has more
nearly regained its prewar numbers, but has been slowest in its postwar
development. The 1940 census indicates that 5,280 persons of Japanese
descent resided in San Francisco prior to the war; the present estimate
is that between 4,500 and 5,000 are now there, of which ntanber about 30
percent formerly lived elsewhere. The heaviest concentration of Japa-
nese in San Francisco before the war was in the Fillmore district.
About 60 percent of the returned Japanese population are living in this
district adding to the overcrowded condition created by a heavy influx
of workers during the war. Another 20 percent is scattered throughout
the oi-ly or are concentrated in -the Presidio district or at the Federal
housing project at Hunter's Point, The remaining 20 percent are living
in as domestics,

Japanese business recovei^ has not been as rapid as it has in Los
Angeles and Seattle, Lack of recovery can be traced partially to the
fact that prewar business centered in the export-import trade, with con-
trol of such trade being held largely by alien Japanese merchants. Of
about equal prewar in^jortance to the economic base of the San Francisco
Japanese were 140 dry cleaning and laundry establishments scattered
throughout the city, about 50 art goods stores, and approximately 250

111

small stores and service centers located -within 20 blocks in the Fill-
more district.

Before evacuation, obtaining employment outside of Japanese oper-
ated businesses was alv/ays difficult. If Japanese Americanswere unable
to find employment in art good stores or import-export firms, or did
not own and operate their own business enterprise, both Issei and llisei
foxmd work as domestics. It was estimated that 20 percent of the Japa-
nese adult population in 1940 were full tine domestic workers and another
20 percent were part time domestics. White collar jobs were almost al-
together in Japanese firms and little inroad had been made in manufac-
turing concerns. Other sources of employment were scattered in Japa-
nese operated hotels, restaurants, cleaners, goldfish and bird stores,
and food products establishments. About 150 Nisei and Issei men wei*e
employed on fishing boats operating from the San Francisco fish harbor.

Since the reoision of exclusion about 150 stores and other business
enterprises have been started. In comparison with principal prewar
types of business, there are three art goods stores, seven import-export
houses, seven dry cleaners, and four laundries. Business depending upon
foreign trade has been negligible. Not only has trade with Japan been
lacking, but the assets of prewar firms have largely remained frozen.
Not a few of the returned Japanese, however, look to the eventual open-
ing of trade between Japan and the United States, and are working iit
whatever employment is available until that time.

The cleaners and laundries present a somev/hat different situation.
At the time of evacuation, a number of plants and stores sold out their
business, and after the return, equipment has been difficult to secure.
In addition, city licenses are issued only upon passing an examination,
a fact which has eliminated many of the Issei who cannot read English,

Hotels, 21 in number, have been established, almost all of them
located in the Fillmore district. Other businesses include pool halls,
grooei^r stores, a gold fish and bird store, and a number of restaurants.

Aside from its slow development in San Francisco, it is worth not-
ing that Nisei have a proportionately stronger position in the business
of that city, A Nisei who checked Japanese operated business in the
sprtng of 1947 noted:

"There is a decided trend showing that the Nisei are be-
ginning to teJce over business, Issei ceuanot buy, and
the Issei population is beginning to fall off. There were
540 business enterprises among the Japanese in San
Francisco before the war. Nisei owned 56 of these,,, At
present there are 150, and Nisei own 58, In all these
businesses, neighborhood patronage is more important than

112

special trade, with the exception of a few stores that
deal in Japanese food products. y 11

As employees, the Japsuaese in San Francisco generally follow the
pattern noted elsewhere, except that a much higher proportion are in
domestic service. It is estimated that as many as 1,500 are employed
as either full or part time domestics, or about as many as before the
war. The wartime lack of domestic workers has created a strong demand,
which, with the increased rate of pay has attracted a large proportion
of the employables among the Issei, both men and women. A number of
Nisei girls working in offices have also taken part time work of this
kind in return for lodging.

In San Francisco, as elsewhere, other employment is found primarily
in the wider comniimity. About 700 persons, equally divided between of-
fice and factory workers are found outside the domestic field. By far
the largest employer of Japanese Americans is the Simmons Mattress Com-
peaiy which has 150, The remainder in the manufacturing field is scat-
tered throughout the city, Betvreen them. Federal, State, and City Civil
Service eii5)loy about 90 Nisei. The remainder of the viiite collar workers
sure girls working as secretaries or stenographers in private firms,
Tfhite collar jobs have been primarily open to girls, end with the ex-
ception of civil service jobs, employment in this field has been diffi-
cult for men.

Early in 1947 it was noted that Japanese Americans v/ere having
greater difficulty in securing employment. As nearly as can be deter-
mined, this has been the result of a general loosening of the labor
market in the city rather than from any specific objection to employ-
ment of Japanese Americans.

Adjustment in Seattle.* The historic migration of the Jananese to
the west coast and five decades of slow development evolved in Seattle
a stable community of about 7,000 persons. As in other sections of the
military area, this population suffered a major dislocation v.dth its

♦Note: This section concerning economic sdjustment in Seattle ivas pre-
pared by S» Frank Myamoto and Robert W. O'Brien of the University of
Washington, As mentioned in the foreword of this report, their find-
ings are based on a random sample of the Japanese American population
in Seattle, A note on the methods used in selecting and enumerating
this sample will be foimd in Appendix A, which provides additional ma-
terial concerning the composition of the Japanese American population
of that city.

113

evacuation in the spring of 1942, By the late winter of 1947, approxi-
mately 4,700 were again in residence in Seattle, but of these, slightly
more than 600 had lived elsewhere before the evacuation. As noted in
the introductory chapter, the age distribution now corresponds closely
to that of all persons of Japanese descent in the United States, with a
high concentration eimong those above 50 and among those between the ages
of 20 and 30,

The community is located roughly in the same districts as before
the war, but there have been some minor shifts mainly due to the hous-
ing shortage and the displacement from former residences caused by con-
siderable increase of the Negro population. Population concentration
is, in some respects, more marked today than before. Due to the hous-
ing shortage and high rentals, there has been some tendency toward
doubling-up of families in smaller dwelling units and of congregating
in a number of multiple dwelling units. At the same time, the housing
shortage has functioned toward dispersal, as home buyers have had to
extend their search for desirable vacancies into areas T;hich members of
the Japanese minority did not previously occupy.

Business locations on lower Jackson and Main Streets which were
taken over mostly by the Negroes during the war gradually returned to
the hands of the Japanese, and the center of the small Japanese busi-
ness district is again at Sixth Avenue South and Main Street, The resi-
dential area is scattered widely in all directions from this point.

The picture of the economic status of the Seattle Japanese commvmity
is essentially an ambiguous one. On the one hand there is evidence
that the community has rebounded from the economic dislocation of the
evacuation with surprising resilience, and that economic conditions
among the population are remarkably good considering the losses incurred
dxiring the vre.r. Indeed, despite the high cost of living few families
seem to be in serious want and many shov/ signs of ease and affluence
that vrere certainly not expected when the people vrere still in the cen-
ters. On the other hand, deeper analysis of the economic situation
yielas indications of a fundamental instability which could lead to con-
siderable distress given certain turns in the general economy. These
conditions of instability are to be traced to the changes resulting from
the evacuation.

The labor force. The age groups from 15 to 65 are generally re-
garded as constituting the potentially employable population. The data
on the age structure of the population indicate that a high percentage
of the total population is in the employable age range, but it is to be
noted that there is a concentration mthin this age range at 20 to 30
years as vrell as at 50 to 65 years. For its immediate needs, the Seattle
Japanese population is relatively well favored in the ratio of the

lU

number of employable persons to the total population, but this advan-
tage is someivhat diminished by the concentration of the employable popu-
lation at the ages where they are either just beginning, or ending,
their eii5>loyability«

In terms of the actual number that is gainfully employed, the per-
centage of the Seattle Japanese who ere in the labor force is surpris-
ingly close to the national figure, Asstzming 60 millions in the total

Nvmiber and Percentage of Seattle Japanese TI\fho Are
Gainfully Employed, Unemployed, or Otherwise
Occupied

Employment Status

Nvimber

Percent

Gainfully employed

1
2030

43.2

Unemployed

464

: 10.0

Others (students, housewives.

children, dependents, etc.)

2198

46.8

Total

4692

100.0

United States population of 140 millions as being gainfully occupied,
about 43 percent of the nation' s population are gainfully occupied,
which corresponds closely with the percentage for the Seattle Japanese,
It is in the large numbers of Seattle Japanese who are unemployed that
a difference appears between their figures and those for the national
population. Comparable percentages of unemployed for the national popu-
lation would require 13 to 14 millions of unemployed in the total popu-
lation, a condition that has existed only in the depth of a major de-
pression. More will be said later of the unemployment situation in the
local oommuniiy. The notable fact to observe here is that while the
Seattle Japanese have a potentially large labor force, the full possi-
bilities of their employable population are not at present being real-
ised.

The foregoing figures throw some light upon the frequently made
observation that the community has shown a remarkable recuperative power
considering the extent of their economic dislocation following evacua-
tion. Less than two years ago when the evacuees were still in the cen-
ters in large numbers, they were viewing their "forced" relocation and
return to Seattle with considerable pessimism, but in the short space
of tiD» since their return they have reestablished their employment
status to an extent where bhey are as well off as the American popula-
tion generally. This, to many in the community, has been a source of
pleasant surprise as well as of optimism for the future, the instabil-
ity in the circumstance, previously remarked upon, rests in the fact
that the full potentiality of the working force is not being realized.

U5

and that the unemployment figures reflect a failure on the part of a
significant minority in the local Japanese American populace to make a
satisfactory economic adjustment.

In comparing the present working force vrith that before the war,
two facts of outstanding interest are (a) the number of Nisei who were
previously still in school who are now employed, and, correspondingly,
the number of Issei -who were formerly employed who are now unemployed,
dependents or pensioners, and (b) the comparatively large number of
females iwho are now employed by contrast with prewar conditions.

Although tabulations of the labor force by age have not been made,
the age distribution in the population is such that the employed Nisei
are necessarily very yoxmg, being mostly around 20 to 30 years of age,
while the Issei are necessarily quite old and close to an age where
they osun no longer be economically very active. To the extent that a
large percentage of the en?)loyable Nisei are young, the working force
must be seen to include many -who are relatively inexperienced and who
do not have the financial means to strike out independently. Lack of
experience means not only a lack of an important qualification in get-
ting and holding jobs, but it also has bearing upon the skill of an in-
dividual in getting a job, the amount of realism with which he views
job opportunities, the confidence with which he launches upon new eco-
nomic ventures, and the persistence with which he maintains himself at
a job. There is a noticeable instability and ferment among the Nisei,
a condition probably attributable in no small part to their inexperience.

Similarly the relatively advanced age of Issei workers has proved
a decided disadveintage in their efforts to reestablish themselves eco-
nomically. Not only are there fewer work opportunities open to people
of this age class, but these limitations dispose the people toward a
"defeatism" that weakens their efforts at rehabilitation. To be sure,
a surprising amoimt of hope and vigor still remains among many Issei,
It is the least independent members of the group who become affected by
their misgivings and fears, who fail in overcoming their difficulties,
and who give way to passive resignation as their final adjustment. Not
a few of the unemployed or pensioned Issei are those still capable of
pursuing occupational functions, but who have resigned themselves to a
state of dependency rather than struggle against subjective inertia and
the external odds.

The evidence suggests that it is the Issei without Nisei children
who are the most subject to the weakening of their struggle. Family
life sm.d the presence of younger members seems to act like a tonic upon
the morale of these older people, A vivid case of this point is offered
in the instance of an Issei of 57 years, living with his wife {I'd
years his junior) in limited quarters at the Hunt Hostel, whose 17
year old son accidentally shot and killed himself while cleaning

116

a rifle. Externally this man gives every evidenoe of the physical vigor
necessary for employment, but he complains of illness, has been unem-
ployed since his son' s death, and at present is uncertain of what he
should do. He remarked;

"I worked as a gardener for eight months, but the work
was too hard and I had to quit because of ill health.
I operated the Rainier Dye Works for 23 years—
you remember it was on Jackson Street. I am not ac-
customed to heavy outdoor work, and gardening was too
strenuous for me. I am uncertain now of what I should
do. I'm too old to start something new all over again.
Tifhen my son was alive, I had hoped that we might start
some kind of business together. As long as he was a-
live, there was some reason for building for the future,
but I'm too old now to do anything by myself. It took
years to establish ourselves before.

"I believe there are a lot of opportunities for the
Nisei in Japan, People say that Japan has been de-
feated and that one would only starve there, but the
stories on that are contradictory, and, in any case, I
resernre my judgment on the question. If the Nisei hope
to seek a future in this ooxintry, their only chance
lies in organizing. Their failure to realize this
point is their weakness. They will always be discrimi-
nated against, and their status will always be poor un-
less they utilize their group strength, "/l2a

Although the Issei males no longer dominate the economy of the
Japanese community as they did before the war, they still remain a po-
tent factor in the labor for-ce of the community. For instance, as
shown below, there sire more of them in the labor force, despite the

Number and Percent of Gainfully Occupied,
by Place of Birth, and Sex

!

Nxun.be r :

Percent

Male

Female

Male i

Female

Native Born
Foreign Bom

Total

690
605

! 1195

537
298

835

29,0
. 30,0

! 59,0

26,5
, 14,5

i 41,0

!

fact that the Nisei males of employable age now actually out number them
by a distinct margin. Among the latter, many are still in school and

117

henoe are not contributing at present to family incomes. Woreover, the
capital wealth of the population also still remains largely concentrated
in the hands of the Issei to whom the Nisei are thus economically sub-
ordinated, ^yfhen these facts are placed beside the consideration that
the Issei men, because of their high median age, will soon disappear
from the occupational fields, the full import of the transition in the
economy of the community which is now under way may be appreciated.
There can be no doubt that the Issei are still important in leadership
and in contributing to the economic security of the community, but their
leadership is steadily diminishing and they are becoming unemployable s.
The question arises as to how rapidly the Nisei can assimilate the new
responsibilities, and fill in the gaps which necessarily will appear as
the Issei retire from economic activity. Should a serious economic re-
cession occur during the critical stages of this transition, it is pos-
sible that serious economic problems might appear in the community,

Vfhile no comparable figures of the amount of employment among Japa-
nese Amerio«in women before the war is available, it is exceedingly doubt-
ful that anywhere near 40 percent of the labor force before the war were
women. The most significant increase of women employees has occurred
among the Nisei girls who before the war were still in school, or in
any case had no such occupational opportunities as they now enjoy. Data
will later be presented to show the nature of the increased opportuni-
ties now open to the Nisei women. Moreover, many Issei women who were
not previously gainfully employed but now feel the need to contribute
to depleted family savings or are no longer bound to their homes by
adolescent children l^ave taken employment since retuniing. Industrial
opportTinities, especially in the garment making industries, have greatly
increased for this class of population, a condition which has abetted
their employment seeking tendency.

Types of occupation. The findings with respect to the occupations
in which the present population 15 years of age and over are found,
follows the occupational breakdown of the United States Census classifi-
cation. The distribution is striking for the fact of its contrast with
the relative percentages of the majority group working population which
would be found in the various occupational classes. Outstanding in
such as comparison is the unusually high percentage of the Japanese
American workers who are engaged as service workers (except domestic
and protective) proprietors and managers, and clerical or kindred work-
ers. On the other hand, there is a smaller percentage of the various
classes of industrial workers, including the skilled, semi-skilled, and
the unskilled, than in the general Seattle population. One other note-
worthy point is the small number of domestic workers among the Japanese
Americans in Seattle*

U8

Types of Occupation of the Gainfully Employed Japanese
Americans in Seattle, 1947. (15 Years and Over)/l2c

Type of Occupation

J T^Iumber : Percent

Professional & Semi-professional
Proprietors, Managers & Officials
Clerical, Sale & Kindred Workers
Craftsmen, Foremen & Kindred Wnra»
Operatives & Kindred TiTorkers
Domestic Service
Protective Service Workers
Sei^rioe except Domestic & Protective
Laborers

Total

100.0

Were data for the Seattle Japanese workers before the war available,
it is certain that comparison would show a notable increase in the per-
centage of those engaged in "Services except Domestic and Protootive",
This increase has been almost entirely due to the great numbers, espe-
cially of Issei men, who since retvirning to Seattle have found employ-
ment in building services as porters and janitors. Chief among the
establishments which now hire the Japanese American building service
workers are some of the best hotels in the city, and the hospitals,
chiefly the Columbus and Providence inhich are Catholic institutions.
The Catholics, particularly of the llaiyknoll group, have been fairly
active in arranging placements in their own enterprises for the return-
ees, and there is every reason to believe that the hiring at the Catho-
lic hospitals was due principally to their effort, but the opening of
positions at the downtown hotels, as well as in the building services
union, is said to have been the product of WRA effort. Hovrever, the
first openings were made, once placements in this work were started the
activity was something of a "natural" for the returnees to enter. In
late 1945 and early 1946, there was still considerable demand for this
type of worker, and the hotels and hospitals were willing to take almost
anybody who was willing to accept such work. Die work requires little
s^ll, and language difficulties constitute no handicap especially where
the men work as teams. Local 7, the AF of L Building Seirvices Union,
was one of the few unions in the city which maintained no barriers to
the entry of persons of Japanese ancestry. Into this field have thus
been drawn Issei who in prewar days were engaged in widely diverse
occupations; who frequently failed in their efforts to return to their
old activities and reluoteintly turned to porter and janitorial work as
a means of livelihood*

119

In much the same way, large numbers of Nisei who were formerly en-
gaged in other occupations have been attracted to the "clerical, sales,
and kindred workers" activities, A certain number of these are the
stock clerks and messengers employed by department stores and other re-
tail shops in the downtown area, A far more impressive number, however,
may be accounted for by those now employed by various Civil Service
Agencies as file clerks, stock clerks, typists, stenographers, and other
similar activities. Of the federal agencies, the Veteran's Administra-
tion is oerhaps the heaviest employer of Japanese Americans, especially
of those with veteran status, while the other federal employees are
mostly concentrated in the few war agencies which are still operative.

Civil Service work was open to Nisei before the war as it is today,
but there were scarcely more than a hsuadful engaged in such work before
the war. The reasons for the sudden increase of Nisei workers in this
field are to be found in the increased niunber of such opportunities open
to them during and following the war emergency. Girls who fonnerly had
but limited opportunity to use secretarial and stenographic training were
able to get office positions in the OPA, War Assets, Federal Housing,
and the Navy Pier, Another source of Nisei civil service workers has
been the rettiming veterans who, generally disappointed by the lack of
opportunities in private industry, have taken advantage of their veter-
an's status to gain appointments particularly in the Veteran's Adminis-
tration, Considering the relatively high average educational back-
ground of the Nisei which fits them for office work, the fact that fed-
eral agencies practice less employment discrimination than private en-
terprises, that desirable positions in private industry will probably
tend to remain closed to Nisei, and that Nisei are now increasingly
looking to federal agencies for white-collar Jobs, the likelihood is
that civil service positions will hereafter always be looked upon as an
important source of employment among the Nisei.

Although it was previously remarked upon that the percentage of the
Japanese minority engaged in the manufacturing industries is smaller
than in the general Seattle population, even in this field there has
been a notable increase that stands in contrast to the prewar situation.
Two industries, the garment fabricators and the foundries, account for
the majority of this increase. Before the war a fair nvmiber of women,
mostly Issei, were employed by one glove making factory and a few sack
companies, but the leirge numbers who are today working as power machine
operators and pressors in the garment industry is a development since
the weir, A familiar sight in the early morning of a work day are the
groups of Issei and some Nisei women standing at bus stop corners await-
ing transportation to the factories most of which are located in the
lower business district, A number of Issei men also have found work in
this industry mainly as pressing machine operators, and not infrequently
husband and wife work at the same place. As for the foundries, it is in

120

one shop, the Olympic, where some 40 Nisei are employed, that the ma-
jority of these workers are located.

By comparison with the huge masses in the majority group popula-
tion who go to make up our industrial labor force such encroachment of
the Seattle Japanese into the fabrication field seems indeed puny, but
when it is remembered that there were scarcely any Japanese Americans
in these fields before the Tror, the change must be regarded as signifi-
cant* Apart from the particular factories mentioned, the Japanese
minority workers are now present in small numbers in the shipbuilding
industiy, boiler works, and similar occupations in which the Japanese
Americans were not previously engaged. Unlike the prewar circumstance
where the industrial workers in the population were largely concentrated
in the liimber mills and railroad section gangs in scattered parts of
the Northwest, they are no longer as limited in industrial opportuni-
ties and may be found in semi-skilled or unskilled industrial activities
which were previously closed to them. Seattle is mainly a comTiercial
center and industrial opportunities will necessarily be quite limited,
but there is nevertheless the observable trend that members of the Japa-
nese minority are increasingly becoming a part of the manufacturing
economy of the city.

In the long mm, however, it will be the privately operated small
enterprises which may be expected to dominate the econor^ of the Seattle
Japanese. This was the case before the war; and the fact that 21 per-
cent of the gainfully employed are now clessed as "Proprietors, Managers
and Officials" indicates that many are already back in this line of en-
deavor. It is now estimated that some two hundred hotels, apartment
houses, and rooming houses are today owned and operated by returned
Japanese, which is only a little short of the number listed by the Japa-
nese Hotel Association before the war. Groceries and cleaners, which
Tdth the hotels constituted the three major types of enterprises, have
been much slower in reestablishment, and the circumstances of this re-
tarded development will require explajaation later, but even here there
are indications that Japanese American enterprisers will not long re-
main out of this field. Restaurants, serving both Japanese and Ameri-
can dishes, are again flourishing, and there is a remarkable outcrop-
ping of florists shops that may we 11 give rise to concern among the
Caucasian distributors of a "Jap inundation" of their field. One glance
at the Nor thwe s t Time s or the North American Post, the two local Japa-
nese American news sheets, is sufficient to assure one of the wide
variety of merchsmdise, professional service, and other service enter-
prises in which the people are entering.

Two types of enterprises need to be distinguished: (a) those
which arwe aimed prirfirily "or Japanese community patronage, and (b)
those which are ained primarily for non- Japanese patronage. This classi-
fication is, to be sure, inadequate in its failure to include the marginal

121

enterprises which are dependent on neither the Japanese nor non-
Japanese customers alone for their sustenance, but the twofold classi-
fication has the advantage of pointing to the fact that the businessmen
tend to form business policies in conformance mth one type of customers
and clientele or the other. By and large there is a direct correlation
between the nearness to the center of the Japanese business district,
at Sixth and Main Streets, and the degree of dependence on Japanese pa-
tronage; that is, the businesses most dependent on the Japanese are
closest to Sixth and Main Street,

Before the war a considerable diffusion of hotels, groceries, dye
works, and cleaners, produce houses, and markets, and, to a lesser de-
gree, restaurants, had occurred, and Japanese operated business enter-
prises were becoming increasingly less dependent on their own community
for their continued operation. Today, the situation is reversed, for
the majority of the enterprises first established have presupposed Japa-
nese community support, while the prewar cleaners and groceries which
dotted scattered areas of the city are no longer as prominently present.
This is vmderstandable, for as the evacuees returned and settled princi-
pally in a belt on either side of Jackson Street, the most prominent
economic need was for businesses which would seirve their requirements.
Moreover, business within the community entailed less risk than those
which had to seek support from non-Japanese, Finally, favorable business
locations have been far more readily available in the area where Japa-
nese residences are most heavily concentrated, whereas in outlying areas
they have been more difficult to get.

If there is a continued increase of Japanese Americans in private
enterprises, however, the future expansion will undoubtedly be into the
Caucasian communities. The niimber of enterprises which the Japanese com-
munity can support is now nearing satiation, and this is so despite the
fact that the number of such enterprises is far less numerous than be-
fore the war. Not only is the population smaller today than before, but
certain community needs which existed before have not been revived, and
the businesses which served those needs likewise are not being revived,

"Biis, then, is one of the major sources of the economic instability
of the Jananese community which vms noted in the prefactory statement.
By contrast with prewar conditions, a large percentage of the gainfully
employed in the Japanese community today are in the employ of Caucasian
companies, end are engaged in semi-skilled or unskilled work which give
the least assurance of security in the event of economic recessions, At
the sane time, the people have not yet reestablished themselves in pri-
vate enterprises of the type which were able to survive even the depth
of the last deprossion, Those who have reentered business are in large
part limited to the narrow base of the Japanese community econoniy which
at the moment is profitable but which in the long run will necessarily
give evidence of its limitations,

122

Patterns of economic adjustment—finding employment^ To the ex-
tent that the working population of the Seattle Japanese has stabilized
itself at the jobs in which the people are now engaged, the following
discussion is more of historical than of practical interest. However,
there still remains a fair amount of job mobility, and it is noteworthy
that the pattern of getting jobs developed in 1945 and 1946 tends to be
the pattern employed by those who seek new positions.

Tihen the local VJRA office closed in May 1946, their file of office
visitors' cards included over 2,300 names the bulk of which was derived
from personal applications for jobs. As in every other resettlement
center where a WRA office was located, the Seattle office was widely
used by those returning to this section, and for the early returnees
was the first point of contact generally sought out in beginning any
search for employment. In line with the accepted policy, the T^TRA usu-
ally referred employment cases to the USES. Even as the people used
these services, however, there was widespread dissatisfaction 7d.th the
opportvinities offered them by these agencies. The characteristic view
of these agencies as a channel through which to gain employment was
expressed by a non-college Nisei who said;

"I went down to the WRA, and they sent me down to the
USES. I didn't care what kind of a job they gave me as
long as it had a future in it, but all they had were
domestic jobs or porter's positions and I wasn't inter-
ested in them. I asked about office jobs, and I knew
they had jobs like that because the white guys were get-
ting referrals like that, but they practically told me
that I was wasting my time looking for an office position.
They wanted to send me out on one of those porter' s
deals, but I told them I wasn't interested. I went back
there a couple of times, but I quit going back because
I knew it wasn't any use.'/lZd

SaMlarly, a Nisei college graduate who had majored in foreign trade
and accouiiting related;

"I left my name down at the WRA office and told them I
was looking for an accountant' s position, or even a
bookkeeping job, end they told me they'd let me know if
anything turned up. I went back there once or twice,
but they never had anything and I never heard from them.
The USES was the same way. They did give me a couple of
job referrals to bookkeeping positions, but both times
the employer told me the job was already filled, I
wasn't sure, but I felt that was their way of getting rid
of me. I wasn't getting anywhere with the leads from the
USES, so 1 tried folloYdng up the ads for bookkeepers and

749181 0-47-9

123

accountants in the newspapers, I didn't have any luck
with that, so I finally gave up and went to work as
porter at the Olympic Hotel," /l2e

Placements were made by the USES and the TTRA of those who v/ere will-
ing to accept positions as porters, domestics, and garment factory work-
ers, and the Issei especially profited from this assistance. But be-
cause most of those who have sought employment through the USES have not
gained satisfaction, the agency is held in poor esteem as a means of
finding jobs. The import of this is that members of the coraraunity re-
gard the job finding function as thrown back upon themselves or upon
those friends who have information about openings.

Occasionally one encovmters a story of how an individual success-
fully opened a new place for himself, A Nisei now working at one of the
bigger haberdashery stores in the main shopping district of Seattle
gives the following account of the way in which he found his present
position,

"Wo, I didn't get it through the WRA or anytMng, I
heard they needed men there, so I just went in one day
and asked for a job. At first they weren't sure they
coxild use a Japanese because they had never employed
one before. They took my application anyway, and said
they'd let me know, I didn't expect anything to turn up,
but one day the office called me up and said they'd tiry
me out, so I started out as a shipping clerk,

"I guess my boss was a little uncertain at first as to
whether I would work out, but now he's all for me, I
get along all right there, I've had two raises since
I started working,

"It isn't much of a job, but I like it all right. And
there is a chance for advancement. You have a chance
to learn a lot at a job like this, I think the boss
talked to some people who hired Japanese before he took
me on, and heard they were all right. That' s how I got
on,"/l2f

Those who do thus make openings for themselves incline toward the
"go-getter" theory of getting employment, and explain the failure of
the Nisei to have greater success in gaining employment from Caucasians
in terms of their timidity in aggressively pursuing their interests. An
older Nisei who succeeded in getting into the exclusive AF of L lino-
typists union and a position at the Seattle Times, one of the two major
Seattle papers, expressed this view when he declared:

124

"The trouble T/ith the Nisei is that they are afraid to
speak up for themselves. You got to keep after them in
order to get anywhere. Sure, these unions "will give
the Nisei the "brush-off" as long as the Nisei don't
kick and that's an easy way to get rid of them. But as
long as you prove to them that you're as good, and maybe
better, than the next man, why, they' re not going to
turn you down. The trouble with the Nisei is that they
haven't tried. But, hell, the Nisei have to get out
there and sell themselves| there's no use just sitting
back and crying about it just because the Caucasians
don't hand you a job on a silver platter. "/l2g

But such success stories apoear relatively infrequently, and the
more common view is that even with aggressive effort the Nisei, except
for the sheerest luck, is tjnlikely to meet with welcome from Caucasian
employers. Even in the cases cited above, while the men succeeded in
getting positions for themselves from Caucasieoi emplojrers as a result
of their initiative, there were limitations in their jobs. The stock
clerk admitted that his wages T/eren't good, and the linotypist had only
a part time job. Furthermore the latter was able to gain membership in
the union mainly because of his membership in the linotypiste' union in
Milwaukee.

"Hie more common view is that definite limitations exist in seeking
emplojnnent frcmi Caucasian employers, or through the unions which in
Seattle are regarded as holding the key to a large proportion of the
better jobs. Accounts like the following have gained some currency in
the oommunity and have given basis to the belief that the Nisei are con-
fronted with overwhelming odds in finding jobs in the larger community.
Describing hie efforts to get a position as a welder, a Nisei related:

"I gave that up because I found I couldn't get anywhere
with the welders. I went down to the Welders' Union and
applied for a card, but they just absolutely ignored me.
I caught on before long, and I decided it wasn't smy use
trying for a welder's job. There's another welders'
union in town, but they're just a small outfit and have
contracts with only a few minor companies. At least 99
percent of the welding work is handled by this other
union, so I decided it wasn't any use.''/l2h

Compared with the East and the Vidwest, Seattle is evidently a
poorer place to seek the better types of employment under Caucasian em-
ployers. Except for those in civil service there are scarcely more
than a half dozen men in office positions of Caucasian owned compemiesj
emd except for the Olyu^jic Foundry and the garment factories, very few
Japanese Americans were employed in Caucasian operated industries. One

125

reason for this condition is that the return of the Japanese Americans
to this area was quite late in the war, at a tinie when wartime industries
were being curtailed and opportunities were falling off. A second fac-
tor has been the ironclad control of the unions upon many of the most
desirable positions in the community* But probably not the least im-
portant of the reasons is the persistence of the prevrar tradition of
this locality of regarding persons of ortental background as being dif-
ferent and therefore not suitable employees in Caucasian companies.

The existence of these barriers to many areas of employment in this
city has led to the channelizing of the job hunt into a threefold direc-
tion. One outlet has been those fields such as the garment industry and
civil service which are among the few that have been opened to the Japa-
nese Americans by Caucasian employers. In addition, it is recognized
that opportunities are available as porters, dishwashers, stock clerks,
and messengers in Caucasian operated companies, A second area of em-
ployment is that offered by Japanese enterprisers as hotel workers, gar-
deners, restaurant helpers, and clerks in various shops. And a final
outlet has been the possibility of opening one's own enterprise.

Because of the limitations of opportunity elsewhere, the desire to
enter into private business is one of the major impulses in the com-
munity. The impulse has a basis in tradition for the desire to establish
one' 8 own shop was a characteristic motivation in those areas of Japan
from which most of the Japanese immigrants were drawn. But of greater
significance is the fact that private enterprise constitutes the readi-
est means by which the Japsinese minority may avoid those restrictions
of opportunity which result from racial discrtmination when in the em-
ployment of Caucasians, At the same time, private business seems to
offer the opportvinities for advancement of personal interests which are
denied them when they are in the employ of others*

The limitations of opportunity also help to explain a characteris-
tic feature of job hunting practices among the Japanese minority. That
tendency is the inclination to specialize in certain types of employ-
ment such as the operation of hotels, florist shops, groceries, and gar-
dening contractorships, or in such work as porters, gannent making, or
foundry work. There were those who criticized the weaknesses of the pre-
war economy of the Japanese on the west coast, and pointed to the spe-
cialization of economic interests as one of the major reasons for this
weakness. That specialization existed cannot be denied, but it should
now be evident that this tendency of the Japanese minority to special-
ize in certain functions of the econony was not something that was so
much voluntarily sought as it was involuntarily imposed on them. Be-
cause their opportunities are relatively narrow, when a line of activity
suddenly opens which seems to offer a likelihood of profit, large sec-
tions of the Japanese community tend to become interested and to rush
in before the best opportunities are taken up by others. The exceptional

126

numbers who are at present moTdng into the hotel and the florists busi-
nesses are to be explained, at least in part, in terms of the absence of
alternative satisfactory functions into which the people might enter.

Income and job satisfaction» Since income is generally regarded as
a personal matter not subject to questioning, the available information
about the incomes of the people in the community is somewhat sketchy*
However, it is possible to indicate the kind of wages which are being
paid various categories of workers, especially in those lines in trtiich
Japanese Americans are concentrated, and thus to give some picture of
the income situation.

Among the Issei, the major forms of employment in which they are
engaged are work as porters, dishwashers, kitchen help, janitors, gar-
deners, cooks, maintenance men, pressors, seamstresses, sorters, and
finishers, plus, of course, the management of private businesses. On
the whole, the average rate of income for the Issei males is fairly uni-
form for all types of jobs, with the maximum rate somewhat less than $200
a month. At ttie Olympic Hotel, for example, where there are an esti-
mated 40 or 50 workers most of whom are Issei, porters and vegetable men
are at present earning 92^ cents an hour. Since union conditions pre-
vail, workers are restricted to a 40 hour week, and do not earn more
than $170 per month. Dishwashers, on the other hand, are earning only
85 cents an hour, but on a six-day week. In non-unionized institutions,
such as at the Catholic hosoitals, the hourly rate is less, but the work^
ing hours per week are longer^ and the earnings come to about the same
level, Somevdiat more skilled workers, such as the pressers in the gsir-
ment factories, may earn as much as a dollar an hour, and the same is
true for the gardeners who are engaged in a more strenuous and seasonal
type of job. These types of emplojnnent generally set the standard of
expected wages among Issei who are employed by others, and it may there-
fore be said that most Issei have gross earnings amounting to about |160
to $170 a month,

Issei women are largely engaged as seamstresses and finishers in
garment factories, chambermaids in hotels, gind laundry women in hospi-
tals. It is said that some power machine operators working on a piece
rate basis make as much as eight to ten dollars per day, but this must
surely be exceptional. Generally speaking, their earnings are less than
that of the men, and few make in excess of $150 a month. Nevertheless,
conqoared to pi^war circumstances in which most of the women who were
working worked for family enterprises and had no regular wages, or worked
for Japanese operated businesses and received extremely low wages, the
Income at present is regarded as munificent.

Nisei men regard themselves as receiving a fair wage if they get
more than ^200 a month, and the majority of workers probably do not get

127

more than this amount. At the Olympic foundry, the largest shop in the
city where some 40 Nisei and Kibei are at present working, the lowest
wages start at about fl.05 an hour, and rise at the upper limit to
about *1,32 an hour. Some of these workers, by supolementing vdth over-
time pay, have been able to get as much as f230 to *250 a month, but the
present decline of business has made itself felt with a corresponding
decline of wages as the number of working hours is cut down* The fairly
high turnover of workers that has been observed at ttiis shop is indica-
tive of some job dissatisfaction among the workers there, the discontent
arising primarily from the strenuousness of the work, the comparatively
better jobs which are allotted the Caucasian workers, and the feeling
that this work has limitations of future opportunities,

A few veterans holding civil service positions as assistant account- .\
ants, accountant clerks, and technicians of all kinds, receive fair |||
ratings, but these are among the better positions. Janitors, porters,
dishwashers, bus boys, gardeners, stock clerks, and general factory work-
ers make up the bulk of the remaining workers. The bulk of these latter
workers probably earn between $175 to |225 a month, the latter amovint
being made by gardeners and general factory workers through putting in
extra hours.

Nisei girls, on the other hand, especially those working as typists,
stenographers, and office clerks are now making more than they ever did
before. Rates between fl50 to $185 are frequently reported. Large num-
bers of these girls are at present hired in various civil service posi-
tions, but there are in addition several who are employed by private busi-
nesses. Besides the office workers, however, there are those employed
in gannent factories, dress making shops, restaurants, hotels, and other
unskilled work where the pay varies between the maximum received by
office workers to considerably less.

On the whole, wages today for Japanese American employees are veiy
much better than in the prewar years. It was not uncommon for many Nisei
and Issei working for others, particularly under Japanese management, to
receive no more than $80 to $90 per month, and persons getting as much
as $130 a month were frequently regarded as holding quite desirable posi-
tions. Data on employment and wages in 1930 according to the business
census of the Seattle Japanese community shows for the foreign born men
and women, average monthly wages of $116,49 and $67,40 respectively, and
for the native born men and women, wages of $87,09 and $66,38 respectively.

♦Frank Ifiyamoto, Sooial Solidarity Among the Japanese in Seattle, Table
rv, p, 73, Some caution is necessary in accepting the figures of this
table for the census was, evidently, not a complete enumeration of all
residents working in Seattle, and, furthermore, income statistics are
always subject to questioning. Nevertheless, from personal knowledge of the
situation, it may be said that these figures seem to reflect with fidelity
the economic conditions which prevailed at the time,

128

Even allowing for a general rise of wages during the decade following
1930, and taking acooimt of the aging and increased maturity of the Nisei
during that period which undoubtedly tended to increase their earning
power, it is extremely doubtful that their average wages shovred any-
thing as much as a 50 percent increase beyond the 1930 figures.

What the above mentioned data do not show is the earnings of those
in private business. Among the latter there undoubtedly were many with
incomes going subs teinti ally beyond the figures cited, and while no fig-
ures are available of those engaged in such occupations, there were
known to be hotel, grocery, dye work and cleaners, produce house, and
restaurant operators who were able to make fair savings out of their
profits. Even in the case of those operating marginal businesses, it
was possible by dint of hard work, the assistance of fcimily members and
the maintenance of low living standards to eke out earnings v/hich most
Caucasian American families could not have achieved. It is imderstand-
able that there was in the Japanese community a push toward the ac-
quisition of private enterorises. And it is understandable why this
same push is evident in the community today, although the lack of a
capital base in the case of a number of persons temporarily prevents
further expansion along these lines.

As indicated previously, the percentage of the population engaged
in private enterprise is today smaller than it was prior to the war.
Percentage comparisons, however, do not fully indicate the nature of
the difference between the nresent and the prewar situation, for many
types of fairly lucrative and stable businesses which previously existed
have not reappeared in comparable degree. Groceries, dye works and
cleaners, restaurants, greenhouses, produce houses, and public market
stands which flourished under Caucasiaja patronage have returned to these
fields only in small numbers. This type of specialization appeared
among the Japanese because the fields were open for entry by them and
was profitable. The majority of the businesses which have reappeared
in the community today represent the type which are principally de-
pendent upon the Japanese community and the multi-racial population of
the Jackson Street distirLct, and neither their stability nor their
profitableness probably caji be compared with the prewar enterprises.

Nevertheless, in view of the limitations of opportvinities for gain-
ing the better paid white-collar positions and advancement, private
enterprise still remains the best opportunity for Japanese Americans,
It has been variously estimated that between 180 to 200 hotels are now
owned and operated by Japanese Americans, A few of these are very
large buildings (for Japanese) and are evaluated at as high as f 100, 000
to |200,000, most of such buildings being owned by a few quite wealthy
individuals. The larger proportion, however, are third-class hotels
located in the marginal areas of the business district. Among the rea-
sons for the popularity of the hotel business is that this form of

129

enterprise reauires relatively little expertence, and provides both a
home and employment for the owner-operator. Furthermore, if as in the
years before the war the Japanese Americans again are engaged in the
hotel and apartment house business as their major business outlet, this
is because the hotel business has been accessible to them. As soon as
other small shop businesses in the Caucasian trade area likewise open
to them, it is certain that increasing nvimbers of Japanese Americans
will be found in such activity.

Questions were asked in the survey regarding the incomes of the
working population compared to prewar condition s»/l2i In response to the
question, "How does your present income compare with pre-evacuation?"
as to whether it was less, same or more than before, the following re-
sults were obtained:

Nisei Issei

Less.... 29 59

Sams 19 13

More 52 28

It is significant that more than 50 percent of the Nisei replied
that they earn more today them before, whereas the majority of the Issei
regard iiieir present income as being less than before. This is in
accordance with expectations. Many Nisei answering these questions were
in school prior to evacuation and any income they receive today would be
more than that which was earned previously. On the other hand, large
numbers of Issei answering that they earn less pointed to the fact that
they operated private businesses previously from which the profits were
considerably greater than their present earnings. And there were also
those Issei whose advanced age had reduced their earning capacity. It
should further be noted that answers to these questions (including those
analyzed below) were frequently answered with reference to family in-
come, especially in terms of the earnings of the family head, and if
this fact were discounted, it is possible that the percentage of Nisei
replying "less" would have been even smaller.

In view of the higher cost of living today, the further inquiry
was made, "In relation to the cost of living, how does your present in-
come compare with your pre-evaouation income?" The replies showed the
percentages:

Nisei Issei

Less... 56 69

Same 28 23

Better*. 16 8

130

Here again, the confusion between family and individual income
rsdses doubts concerning the meaning of the findings. However, the data
such as they are suggest that the people are not living as well as in
prewar days, and that the evacuation probably had some effect in de-
creasing the relative earning power of the Japanese American population.
Considering the present general concern about the high cost of living,
it may be that these statistics only indicate a reflection of the re-
action in the Japanese minority to the limitations of income which are
felt by the populace at large. Even if this is the case, and the actual
facts would show that the Japanese minority is not faring as badly as
their answers would lead one to believe, the atrsitude nevertheless in-
dicates a dissatisfaction among a majority of the population, especially
among the Issei, regarding their present economic status. Interview
material gives detailed evidence in support of this hypothesis, for
there were ample indications particularly among the Issei that economic
conditions appeared adverse to them.

In this connection, two other questions and answers are of impor-
tance in interpreting the previous data. The replies to the questions,
'%Vhat do you think of your present position?" were:

Nisei Issei

Sati sf actoiry, • . ,
Unsatisfactory,,

82
18

71

29

Permanent, ,,,,,•
Temporary, ,,,,,,

67
33

81
19

The answers to these questions require some backgroiind. The an-
swer, "Satisfactory," is not to be understood as indicating content-
ment of the workers with their jobs, but rather an absence of dissatis-
faction of such an intensity as to cause the respondent to declare hin>»
self unsatisfied with his work. In other words, satisfaction was ex-
pressed only in more or less degree. Nevertheless, it is worthy of
note that more Issei felt their job to be unsatisfactory than did the
Nisei, A further breakdown of the data shows that 34 percent of the
male Issei declared their position to be "unsatisfactory", which is the
highest percentage of any of the categories. This is, perhaps, to be
expected, for it is the male Issei more than any other group %vhich has
suffered a decline of economic status, and it is they who therefore feel
the strongest discontent over tht< opportunities now available to them.

When the additional information is available that the Issei more
thsui the Nisei regard their present positions to be "permanent", the
picture of the relative economic positions of the Issei and Nisei is
made complete, 'Qxiite clearly, the Issei men are the most discontented
with their present jobs, but they also see less possibility of changing

131

to something else. Not only have the Issei lost, in many oases, the
superior economic status ■which they enjoyed before the war, but they
also are now too old to consider seriously the possibility of moving on
to better positions. The Nisei, on the other hand, are clearly thinking
more in terms of improving their present position, and many vrho are em-
ployed by others are thinking in terms of getting into better types of
employment or of entering into business on their o"vm.

Job discri]Tiination» Two additional questions -which were put to
those interviewed were: "Compare present job discrimination in Seattle
with 1939 - 1941," and, "Compare present social discrimination in Seattle
with 1939 - 1941»" Regarding job discriminations, the answers wer-e ;/l2i

Nisei Issei

Less.. 28 20

Same 56 68

More 16 12

On ■the whole there was much indecision in answering this question
primarily because most individuals felt their situation today not com-
parable with that before the war--as for example eunong those who oper-
ated private businesses in the Japanese community and had little occa-
sion for economic contacts Trith thp majority group— or that their ex-
periences were too limited to permit of any general answer. It was
particularly the individuals with specific personal experiences to re-
late concerning economic contacts with majority group members who had
the more decisive replies to offer. This probably explains the fact
that the Nisei show larger percentages in both the "less" and the
"more" categories than the Issei, for the Issei have tended to seek
economic self sufficiency within their own community structure much more
than have the Nisei. The fact that the Nisei show a higher percentage
of \infavorable answers thsin the Issei, then, tends to indicate a larger
proportion of unfavorable personal experiences on their part, but the
higher percentage of favorable answers among the Nisei also points to
a more frequent experience of favorable situations.

Despite the necessity for qualifications of the kind indicated above
in any analysis of the data on job discrimination, it can be said that
while most members of the community see little difference in discrimina-
tion today as compared to before the war, there was generally a ten-
dency to regard the present conditions as better than expected. Even
among those who replied, "Same," there were many who indicated that
they had never experienced job discrimination in Seattle and that their
relations with the majority group had always been good. On the whole,
it may be said that the community tends to regard economic discrimination

132

as 'being minimal, and that the situation today is, if anything, better
than it was before©

Additional light on the matter of job discrimination is cast by
analyzing the niaterial on attitudes tovfard social discrimiTiation, The
percentages of the answers on this question were: /I2i

Nisei Issei

Less 20 25

Same 76 71

More •••• • 4 4

It is of interest that a larger percentage of Issei regard social
discrimination today as being less than before the war than do the Nisei,
One hypothesis to explain this circumstance is that the Issei expected
vrorse treatment following Japan' s defeat than they received, and that
they have received a much more favorable impression of the majority
group because of this situation. A second hypothesis is that more Issei
are in contact with Caucasians than before the war by virtue of the type
0-" work in which they are now engaged, and contact has given rise to
the feeling that social di scrim nation has decreased.

But the special point of interest in the present connection is the
larger percentage of both the Issei and Nisei who declared that job
discrimination has increased than that social discrimination has increased.
In fact, the percentage of those who regard social discrimination as
having increased is but a small part of the. total population. This is
perhaps indicative of the conditions of discrimination in Seattle, that
it is primarily in opening job opportunities to Japanese Americans that
the greatest amount of prejudice against them is expressed. Further-
more, the necessity of reestablishing themselves economically in the
aftermath of evacuation has increased the number of instances in which
the people might encounter job discrinanation,

Tfhile the statistics seem to indicate that the people of the com-
munity look upon the present situation as an improvement over previous
conditions, emphasis in interpretation of the data should be placed upon
the large percentage in the modal class who regard the prewar and the
present situation as essenbially the same, 'Pfhat this means is that the
economic discrisiination in Seattle against Japanese Americans is not so
serious as to prevent them from making a decent livelihood, as they did
before the war. But just as there were ceilings of job opoortunities
for Issei and Nisei in Caucasian companies before the vjar, it is recog-
nized that similar ceilings exist today. True, a few more jobs in Cau-
casian companies now exist that were not available previously, and this
reflects itself in the fifth to a quarter of the population who see less
discrimination in the present economic conditions,

133

Colorado* Denver, The Japanese American population of Denver,
after a heotio period of mass movement back to the -west coast following
recision of the exclusion order, has settled down to more normal, if
somewhat restless living. l?Vom the sleepy little Japanese community of
323 in 1940, the population increased to a high of 5,000 in late 1945,
then dropped to approximately 3,000 by mid 1946, 1940/l3, 1945^1, 1946/14

During the early war period, Denver was the "Mecca" for evacuees I
not desiring to go further eastward, as well as a stop-over for those ||
who eventually continued their journey. Among the early comers were
many vrtio left the coast before the Amy's freeze order, and who missed
living in an assembly or relocation center. To many evacuees, Denver
came to be considered the "Unofficial Japanese capital of the United
States", a reoutation formerly held by Los Angeles,

(Growth of pooulation in Denver was paralled by a trebling of the
number of Japanese on the farms of Colorado, from the prewar figure of
about 2,300 to between 6,000 and 7,000, The experience of the Japanese
in Colorado agriculture has been discussed earlier. Growth of the rural
population developed a demand for service which contributed greatly to
the development of new Japanese enterprise in Denver,

But Denver' s preeminence was short lived. The main movement of
evacuees was towards Chicago; and after the lifting of the exclusion
from the west coast for a short period between December 1945 and March
1946 when WRA travel aid was cut off, the exodus to the West from the
Rocky Mountain capital was as rapid as its abnormal growth.

Business opportunities were numerous because of the mushrooming
Japanese population and the nvuaber of businesses increased from 46 in
1940 to 258 in 1946, including 45 different kinds of enterprise. Forty-
four percent of the total were in five types of business: apartments
and hotels, manufacturers and distributors of foodstuffs, grocery stores,
fruit and vegetable markets, and restaurants. In 1940, the 46 establish-
ments, then in existence, were divided almost equally among 17 types of
enterprise except that 11 restaurants far outnumbered any other kind.

Most of these businesses are located in Larimer district within an
area of five blocks, not far from the skid row concentration of taverns,
pawn shops, second hand clothing stores, cheap hotels, and missions.
It is an area of physical and social deterioration. About 10 percent
of the Japanese business establishments are located in the better busi-
ness and residential sections of the city.

The Larimer district has had a colorful history. Many decades ago,
the city hall was located on the corner of 14th and Larimer, Larimer
Street, including the present Japanese district, was then the flourish-
ing center of Denver, Windsor Hotel, located at 18th and Larimer and

134

recently oondemned by the city as a fire hazard, was the home of multi-
millionaire H. A. Tabor, the "silver king" and one of Colorado's most
colorful and influential men at the turn of the century. As the city
grew, the central business district moved southeastyrard, and gradually
Larimer Street became the deteriorated district it is today. /l 5

The coming of the Japanese has spruced up the area materially.
Shops taken over by the Japanese have been remodeled, painted, and de-
corated to make them attractive. The Doi Pharmacy, located at the cor-
ner of Larimer and 22nd Streets, for exeimple, is located in what had
been an unattractive empty warehouse, the first floor of which has been
refurnished and made inviting. Likewise, the Silver Dollar Hotel, once
a deteriorated rooming house of widespread but dubious reputation has
been remodeled and airconditioning installed.

The concentration of most of the Japanese stores along Larimer
Street resulted directly from official pressure to prevent Japanese
Americans from locating elsewhere in the city. This policy was gener-
alljr but not universally successful. In 1943, during the height of the
anti-Japanese camoaign conducted by the Denver Post, a Nisei, with the
backing of the Council for Civic Unity, refused to accept denial of a
license to operate a grocery store in a restricted area. Not having
legal grounds for discrimination, the Police Department eventually is-
sued the neoessairy license. Pressure, however, did not subside, park-
ing and health codes were zealously enforced. In time the situation
eased, and it ceai be reported that the store is now a going concern.

As noted, apartments and hotels are the most numerous type of en-
terprise. There were 46 such establishments designed to give temporary
and permanent shelter to the relocatees. Many went into the hotel busi-
ness as a means of solving their personal housing problems as well as
to provide income. Unlike Los Angeles, Portland, or Seattle, nearly all
of the Japanese operated hotels and apartments had an all Japanese
clientele •

Manufacturers and distributors of Japanese food products are next
in number with 35, Most of these sprang up after evacuation when Japa-
nese sources were cut off, and similar processing plants on the west
coast had been shut down. The demand for delicacies to be sold in the
cooperative stores of the relocation center, in Hawaii as well as among
the relocated people in the East and Mdwest was great. Denver became
the center for processing Japanese style foods in the United States.
With relocation centers closed by the end of 1945, this source of trade
ended, but goods continued to be shipped to Japanese stores in the
various west coast localities as well as to the East,

Japanese food factories turn out bean 'sprouts, noodles, processed
sea weed, fish cake, soy bean cake, shoyu, various kinds of pickled food

135

stuffs, packaged dehydrated food, soy bean food products, various bot-
tled preserves, rice cakes and other Japanese style sweets, and Japanese
wine (sake)* Most of the products turned out by the food factories are
handled by Japanese wholesale distributors, although some bypass the
wholesalers and sell directly to retailers.

As west coast production of these commodities and eventual trade
with Japan is resumed, it is expected that this flourishing business
will decline in Denver. As one of the principal processors candidly
admitted!

•^VTe can't compete with Japan produced food. We do the
best we can, but our stuff just isn't as good, and when
imports oomd in from Japan, people won't buy our products ."/l

With a -nary eye on this development, not a few businessmen were
seriously considering a move to the west coast if many more Japanese
move out of Denver, for many felt as did one of their niunber:

"Most of the Japanese in Denver are dependent on the
Japanese community in the way of trade, one way or
another, for their livelihood."/!

He had also touched on the fact that in Denver a greater proportion
of the Japanese American people are dependent on the Japanese community
for livelihood than in any other section of the United States, not ex-
cepting the centers of Japanese population along the west coast.

The unpredictability of the future Japanese community in Denver has
caused many businessmen to equip themselves to meet the needs of the
wider community. They have made improvements and are seeking to expand
their trade. Some have already achieved success along this line and
their businesses will become less and less dependent upon the Japanese
community. Two fish markets, doing a land office Caucasian business on
Friday, cater largely to Japanese on other days. In general, cleaners
and launderers, auto seirvioe, barbers and beauticians, jewelers, photo-
graphers, and radio services are following this trend. Professionals
have also widened their horizons. But the manufacturers and distribu-
tors of Japanese foodstuff can do veiy little, except to wait for the
stabilising of the Japanese population,

Uost of these other iypes of business cater to a mixed clientele,
irtiioh may include Mexicans, Japanese, Caucasians, eind a few Negroes.
Thus, most of the cleaners and launderers located along Larimer Street
have a mixed business; some cater predominantly to non-Japanese. The
same is true of the auto service plants, one of which deals primsirily
with Mexicans and Negroes. Pour of the five photographic studios have
mixed clientele, while one which is located outside the Larimer district

136

has an almost exclusive trade with Caucasians, Two of the five beauty
shops are located in the better business district and have about half
Japanese and half Caucasian trade. Two of the four pool halls cater
exclusively to Japanese, one mainly to Issei and the other to Kibei,
The remaining two have a mixed Nisei-Mexican trade 7/1 th a few Negroes.

The professionals among the Japanese Amerioans likewise have a
mixed business. An elderly Issei dentist, a native of Denver whose
office is located in the heart of the Larimer district, has a large and
exclusively Japanese clientele, 'Another dentist, a young Nisei leader
also a native of Denver, has a flourishing business among Caucasians
in an office located away from the Larimer district. The t^vo Nisei
lawyers have almost exclusively a Japanese trade.

Although some businesses are predominantly supported by the Japa-
nese population and would like to move with it, they are forced to stay.
Considerable sums of money have been invested and need to be recovered
before moving. In the course of the next few years, many of these v/ill
probably be so firmly rooted in the Denver economy that there will be
little thought given to moving. The crucial test that Japanese busi-
ness will have to face, sooner or later, is the question of type of
clientele. Those business enterprises which have an increasingly large
proportion of non-Japanese trade will have a better chance of survival
than those which mainly cater to Japanese,

The following list indicates the number and iiange of Japanese Ameri-
can enterprises operating in Denver in the fall of 1946: /l6

Types of business

Apartments, ••,,,, •••,••,,»••,, 21
Auto Service, ,,.,,, •••,,.••,•• 9
Beauty Shops •,•»•,•••», •,,,,,, 5

Book Store ,,•••••••,,,••• 1

Cleaner 8 •,,,,,,, •,,,•,,,,••,,, 11
Drug Stores,, ,•••••,, ••,,,•,,, 2
Employment Office,,,, ,,•••••,• 1
Express Company,,, «.•,,, •,•,*■ 1

Fish Markets,, • 2

Florist Shops, •«.. ,«•• 2

Fruit & Vegetable Markets,,,,, 5

Gift Shop,,.., ,.,, 1

Grocery Stores,,.. • 19

Hardware Stores , , .,,,,, 3

Hotels 25

House Cleaning,.. ., ••,•.,.• .,, 2
Insurance Agents.. ,. .,,,••*••, 9
Jewelry Stores,. ....,.•,,,,,,, 6

Types of business

Laundries, ,,.,,, •,.••,,. 7

Iifeil Order Stores, (Japanese

food) 2

Manufacturers and wholesale

food distributors,,,., 35

Miscellaneous. •....,,,,,•••••, 1

Movie Theater,,., ,,.,,,,, 1

Newspapers, Japanese,, ., ,,,,,, 2

Nurseries (potted plants),,,,, 2

Photographic Studios ,,«• 5

Physical Culture Gymnasium,,,, 1

Piano Studios. ..,, 2

Pool Halls, ,..,. 4

Radio Service 4

Restaurants ,..,,, 20

Seed Distributors 2

Service Bureaus (employment),, 3

Sewing Schools ••,,, 3

137

Types of business Professional Occupations

Shoe Shops«»**»*»*«*>**< •*••••• 2 Physicians and Surgeons. •••*•• 5

Sign Shop ••..••«... 1 Dentists .« ••••••••» 6

Storage Company •••••••••». 1 Latvyers.* *••••••••••••• 2

Sweet Shops (Japanese style),,, 2 Music Instructors, ,«,,,• 2

Skilled Occupations
Personal Services Occupations

Dressmakers.,. ,,,, •*,,.,, ,•••• Z

Barbers. ,,...••••.••• 6 Tailor,., ..••• 1

Ifasseurs.. ,. 2 Carpenters & Paperhangers...., -5

The wage earners in Denver were among the first to take advantage
of free transportation to the west coast, provided by WRA after recision
of exclusion. Incentives to stay in Denver were not strong since few
had roots fixTnly tying them to the HmV Mountain city. "Vages in Denver
were considered low for most jobs, k waiter noted that "wages are cheap
here»».I am supposed to be getting pretty good wages. I make ft25»00 a
week plus tips,,," The seasonal nature of produce shipping work, which
during the war peak employed over 500, caused many to return to the
coast when the TfRA offer of transportation came during the slack v=!eason
when they were temporarily eiiq)loyed in restaurants and hotels.

Therefore, aside from the self employed and the professionals, the
general run of the Nisei wage earner shifted from one job to another
over a relatively short period of time. The general attitude of many
was expressed by a 20 year old Nisei who stated that, Nell, you can
always go to the Yamato Service Bureau where they have a list of jobs
available,"

As viewed by the Analyst assigned to Denver, approxiiiately 1,300
of 2,200 employables out of the total Japanese population of 3,000
were directly dependent on Japanese business for employment. Another
600 yiere found to be in the employ of Caucasian firms while the rest
were either unemployed or students* The largest numbers were employed
in the produce shipping companies, garment factories, and as domestics.

Work at the produce sheds consisted mainly of packing vegetables and
loading railroad cars for shipment out of the state s The skill required
is negligible and pay averaged between 75 cents and 80 cents an hour.
The regular work week consists of about 48 hours, but during the height
of the harvest season hours are longer and time-and-a-half is paid,
Vfeekly earnings average about $38 without overtime, may reach $50 to
$60 during rush periods. The work is seasonal, beginning in June and
ending in November, Nisei girls who are employed by these firms are
usually stenographers or clerks. The work is considered stop-gap by
most Nisei and turn-over is large,

138

There is a -wide range in other types of employment, A toy manu-
facturer employs five Nisei boys. A leading department store hired
six Nisei girls in its dress alteration department. A number of Issei
men and women have been working in leading hotels as stockroom clerk,
.janitor, dishwasher, cook, or chambermaid, Additional Issei and Nisei
men are working in Caucasian restaurants as cooks, dishwashers, or
.bus boys, A few Nisei girls are working as waitresses in non-Japanese
restaurants. One is the head waitress in a leading Chinese restaurant.
One young Nisei has been working as an X-Ray technician at one of the
larger hospitals, A youthful Issei photographer is working at one of
the leading Caucasian photo studios, A Nisei war veteran, who lost an
arm in Italy, worked for several months as an election clerk. Two Nisei
are on the staff of the Denver Post,

Very few had jobs paying more than *200 a month with the average
being betvieen f 30 and $35 a week. It must be considered, however, that
while wages were low, living costs were also in line with the low wages.
The number of workers is swelled somewhat during the winter months, when
many idle farmers and farm laborers come to Denver,

Aside from independent businessmen and professionals, very few
Nisei have been able to secure good jobs with better Caucasian finns.
However, those with ability and experience have managed, as experienced
by a Nisei vrtio is working as bookkeeper for the Brown Palace Hotel, A
girl working for the state government felt that, "those who are capable
and who look for a job h© or she likes can find it,"

It is undoubtedly true that the higher wage and salary scales of
cities further east has drawn off the better trained individuals and
the absence of Nisei in responsible and well paid vfork can be attributed
more to this factor than to the degree of acceptance in Denver*

The manager of the Nisei employment bureau felt that, "the owner
or managers of the big firms were not prejudiced against the Japanese
but refuse to hire them mainly because their Caucasian employees, who
are unionized in some firms, prefer not to work alongside the Japanese,"
Such practices, however, have been broken in some cases, A 28 year old
girl who works as a cutter in a tailoring firm stated that:

"At first, some of the employees objected to having Nisei
working with them, but the employer refused to discharge
her,,, One of the strongly prejudiced Caucasians left to
serve in the Army, ,, this fellow visited Japan and became
fond of the Japanese people. Upon his discharge and re-
turn to his old job, his whole attitude changed from one
of hostility to one of friendliness, "/l

749181 O - 47 - 10

139

A number work for the state or federal governments. A member of
the State Civil Service Commission reported that "there is not a single
case of a Japanese American who took the exam and passed who was not
olaced in some State job, I think we have five right noT/."/l A Nisei
bacteriologist in the employ of the State remarked that, "I think that
whether a Msei can get a civil seinT-ice job depends on the individual."^!

Binplojraient oossibilities in Denver will no doubt inqprove if quali-
fied Nisei are available to apply for positions. However, in view of
the low pay scale and general movement of the population away from this
city, fewer and fewer with skills to offer may be expected to remain.

Because of the large scale post exclusion movement away from Den-
ver, the resulting uncertainty concerning business prospects, and the
relatively low wage scale, the Japanese Americans in Denver are more
uncertain of continued residence and more likely to return to the west
coast than those located in any other city, with the possible exception
of Salt Lake City, Hardly a week goes by without farewell parties for
individuals smd fsunilies returning.

The uncertainty is well illustrated by the expression of a Nisei
garage owner, especially since within six months of the time the state-
ment was taken, he was back in California;

"I can't leave now, I've sunk a lot of money in my busi-
ness (motor service) and I got to stick around here for
a while. Actually I'm stuck here,

"But I can't see why the Japanese are all flocking back
to California, They can't find a place to live, prices
are high, they can't find good jobs, I think they are
foolish to go back novT,

"You know ray brother who is in service and now in Japan
wrote me whether he should ask for a discharge as he is
eligible now, I wrote him and told him, 'Don't get out
of the Army nov/, Reenlist for several more years.
Things are bad now,' Heck, if he stays in the Array for
15 more years he can retire at about 40 and get a pen-
sion. If he gets out now what will he do? He'll prob-
able be picking tomatoes or potatoes,"/!

The conclusions of the o^mer of the Doi Pharmacy are similar but
represent what appears to be a more lasting judgment:

"I don' t want to return to California, Prospects are much
better out here, Wiy out in Sacramento there are about
a dozen Nisei Pharmacists, Iher^ are not very many out

140

here, I can't see how some of these Nisei and Isaei
are going back there. Most of them have nothing to
go back to. Sure, deep down in my heart I am dying
to go back there, but when I think of business op-
portunities, I think Denver or the East is much bet-
ter."/!

The situation of a Nisei stenographer is fairly typical:

"All my friends are back in California. None of them
are here. Friends of my folks are all back there also*
Gee, I sure would like to go back, I know my mother
wants to go back, but I don't know what will happen, "/l

Comment of the inteirviewer is equally pertinent:

"Because the family bought a house in Denver just a
year ago, it doesn' t seem probable that they will leave
in the next year or two. They have no property to go
baok to,"

The prediction of the analyst assigned to the study of the Denver
situation is that within two years a third of the Japanese Americans
now living there will have returned to the west coast, that a third
will remain permanently, and that the chances that the remainder will
stay are about equal to the chsinces that they will return.

Notes on smaller Colorado cities and towns, With few exceptions,
the Japanese Americans living in rural Colorado are directly engaged in
farming. For the most part, the rural people go to Denver to meet rec-
reational needs, or to procure Japanese type foods. The fact that a
number of small but successful enterprises have been established indi-
cates that economic rather than considerations of public sentiment have
held back the development of Japanese operated business in rural Colorado,

In 1943 Tom 0. left the Poston Relocation Center to resettle in
Rocky "f^ord, where he established a service station after a year as a
farm laborer. At Poston he was in charge of the automobile service
section and supervised a niimber of mechanics. In telling of his de-
cision to leave canro, he stated:

, "I trained a lot of Nisei auto mechanics who left for
the East and got good paying jobs, TNhen I learned that
they, who I had personally trained, were making over
tlOO a week in Chicago and elsewhere in the East, I
felt I should not stick suround camp, I decided to go
out and make myself some money too,"/!

141

In Rocky Ford he has developed an attractive service station and
has foxir yoving Spanish Americans working for him. His trade is about
equally divided among Japanese, Mexicans, and Caucasians. He has been
made a member of the Rocky Ford Chamber of Commerce, a fact which pro-
vides a good measure of his acceptance in the community.

Near Rocky Ford, in the tovm of Swink, Colorado, an Issei business-
man has established a successful manufacturing business. Harry T. is a
college graduate with a major in agricultural chemistry. Before the
war he lived in Pasadena and worked as a chemical analyst for the Cali-
fornia State Division of Agriculture, also operating an insecticide and
fertilizer business on the side. In 1942 he was sent to the Heart
Itountain Relocation Center, from which in 1944 he left for Swink, His
present operations include the processing of fertilizers and insecti-
cides, the manufacture of shojm sauce, and in addition he has part time
work with the Colorado State Division of Agriculture as a chemical
eoialyst. His sales are to both Japanese and Caucasian farmers, mainly
in the state, although he does ship to points as far away as Illinois,
He expressed himself as dissatisfied with his present scope of opera-
tions, and hopes eventually to establish similar plsoits in Texas, Florida,
Illinois, ajid along the west coast.

He had a good deal to say about business prospects of the Issei and
Nisei:

"You Nisei (speaking to the intei-jiewer) just forget the
Issei, Throw him away. He's no good anymore. He's too
old nov;. His ideas are too old fashioned, Issei are too
jealous of each other. They never can work together,

"I like to see you yoxmg Nisei go ahead in business.
Don't be afraid. If you think that a certain business
is good, go ahead, start in the business. You can talk
English, You know how to get along with the Caucasians.
Don't be afraid. When I started in business, I wasn't
scared of anything, or anybody, I don't care if the
Caucasians were in the same business, I started my own
business anyway. You see, you first have to make good
in business. Then you have power. You can do anything
you want, I want to see the Nisei make good in America...
Don't be afraid of discrimination. You can lick it if
you make good in business.,,''/l

Harry T. is unusual among Issei, both in his training and his view-
point but his experience and attitude does provide both a glimpse of
the problems facing persons of Japanese descent and a successful example
of an aggressive and determined effort to meet these problems without
asking quarter,

1A2

Utah* The experience of evacuees in Utah is quite sindlar to that
in Colorado. In 1940, persons of Japanese ancestry numbered 2,210 in
the entire State of Utah. They supported a few stores, mostly dealing
in groceries and a few restaurants, but most of the Japanese Americans
were fanners. In the early spring of 1942, Salt Lake City was the first
stop of many of the voluntary evacuees who left California before the
Army freeze order was put into effect. Some resumed their journey to-
ward the East, but many stopped off to settle on Utah farms or in Salt
Lake City or Ogden. As movement began from the relocation centers,
the voluntary evacuees were joined by others, eventually bringing the
peak population of Japanese Americans in the state to nearly 10,000
persons. Of these about 3,500 at one time lived in Salt Lake City and
1,400 in Ogden, The remainder went into the rural areas, except for
300 or so who went to Helper and Price to work as laborers in the coal
mines of that section. The discussion which follows will be limited to
those who settled in these urbsin areas since a description of the eco-
nomic adjustment of those in rural Utah has already been provided.

As with the rural resettlers, movement away from Ogden and Salt
LaJce City was rapid once the west coast was opened. Early in 1947 the
population of Japanese descent in the latter city was estimated at about
1,800 with 600 remaining in Ogden. The total elsewhere in the state is
estimated at about 2,000,/l Many had been staying as close to the coast
as they could find support, and promptly returned once they were per-
mitted*

Ogden is the principal railway center of Utah and is noted as well
for its fruit canneries and for manufacturing. Tha center of the Japa-
nese American population is to be found between 23rd and 25th streets
and between Washington and Wall Avenues, a section bordering one of the
poorer districts of Ogden.

Discrimination in Ogden against persons of Japanese ancestry was
pronounced duiring the war years. A number of attacks were made on Nisei
on 25th Street and in cafes and pool halls during this period. The
City Commissioners and the local AF of L unions were instrumental in
keeping;; some Nisei from opening businesses, especially cafes. After
the war, discrimination diminished and today is not a serious factor.

The economic position of the Japanese Americans during the war was
relatively good. Jobs were to be had in industry and in cafes, Farljr
in 1947 there were 56 establisliments run by persons of Japanese descent
in the city, about half by evacuees and half by residents of long stand-
ing. As the Japanese American population has decreased, trade has de-
clined, and it is expected that about half of the evacuee business places
will change hands in the next year or two, with the present operators re-
turning to their old homes.

U3

In the early days of relocation, there was an organized attempt on
the part of some of the resident Japanese businessmen to keep the eva-
cuees from going into business in Ogden. This movement was led by a
prominent Issei and rested on the belief that too many persons of Japa-
nese ancestry in business in Ogden would do harm to all concerned, A-
nother factor involved that some of the evacuees were better off fi-
nancially and the local people found competition difficult. As time
went on, this feeling decreased eind before the end of the war a fair
degree of cooperation was established between the old time residents
and the new comers. It is the general impression, however, that the
older residents will not be sorry to see the evacuees go out of busi-
ness in Ogden,

The most common types of labor open to both Issei and Nisei are
dishwasher, cook, janitors, custodians, gardeners, railroad hands, wait-
ress and truck driver. There have been very few "white-collar" or pro-
fessional openings for Nisei or Issei in Ogden,

To Salt Lake City, the largest city of Utah, ceme the greatest num-
ber of evacuees to settle in this state. The relative instability of
the Japanese American population elsewhere in Utah has been reflected
here and movement towsird the west coast is still in process. In Febru-
ary and March of 1947, for example, it is known that at least 100 per-
sons left for their former homes in the vrest. It is estimated that if
present trends continue, the total population of Japanese descent may
eventually decline to between 1,200 and 1,000,

Early in 1947 a check of businesses operated by Japanese Americans
showed the following: /l

!I^e of Business Number

Bean Cake Factory, ..•• 1

Beauty Pejrlor s • 2

Cafes « 18

Candy Store,,,,.... ..,, 1

Dry Cleaners .«.. ,. 9

Fish Market 1

Garage s,,, ...•...» *,, 2

Grocery Stores,, . . * ••••• 5

Hotels 9

Jewelry Stores,,........ , 2

Laundries,, • •• 2

Pool Halls 3

Service Station 1

Total ""§6"

144

Among professionals there v/ere two dentists, three physicipns, one
eye specialist, end two insurance men.

All of these are loceted rdthin the "Japanese section" of the city —
between Main Street and South 3rd West, and VJest South Temple nnd 2nd
South — ^vdth the exception of one garage, and the offices of a dentist
and a doctor, both of whom have predominantly non-Japanese clientele.

The greater proportion of the Japanese Americans resident in "alt
Lake City ere employed by the Caucasian ovmed concerns of the city, A
number are employed in the better hotels as cooks, waiters, chamliermaids,
janitors, and dishwashers, A number are employed by the railroads as
section hands, and a few are working as miners or muckers. There ere
truck drivers, mechanics, and a small number of factory workers. Among
the women a number are employed as secretaries and stenographers, seam-
stresses, and beauty operators. Very little "white-collar" employment
has been available to the men, except for the profesfional people al-
ready mentioned and for a fevf who are vrith the University of Utah, At
this institution Dr, Hasliimoto, a nationally known authority on internal
medicine, is Associate Professor of Anatomy, and Dr, Sugihara an in-
structor in chemistry. Others include a research assistant in Pharma-
cology, an instructor in Hursing Education, a librarj"- assistant, end
six stenographers. Two Nisei women are teaching in the Public School
system of Salt Lake City,

Discrimination in employment has been felt in Salt Lake City, es-
pecially during the war years, but has decreased rapidly over the past
year. The recent repeal of the Utah Alien Land Law, v^hich directly
affected only the Japanese, provides positive evidence of improved re-
lations vdth the comnunity at large.

The economic status of the Japanese Americans in Salt Lake City is
about average for the communitjr although the hotel and cafe business
has had a considerable drop vdthin the past year, partly since few of
these are among the first rate establishments of their kind and the
exodus of transient laborers from industry and war installations has
affected them directly, and partly because of the diminishing Japanese
American popvilation in the city. It is the belief of many Japanese
Americoji businessmen that it will be necessary for a number of their
business establishments to close down later, especially those who now
have a predominantly Japanese clientele,

Chicago and the t.(idwe3t« The Japanese American population of Chi-
cago at the end of 1946, with 15,000 to 20,000 persons, very closely
equals that of the rest of the country east of the Flssissippi River,
and exceeds that of any other Americen locality with the single exception
of Los Angeles County, According to the United States census of 1940,

U5

only 390 persons of Japanese descent v/ere resident in Chicago during
that year; thus, at least 97 percent of the present nvimber of Japanese
Americans in that city are evacuees,

¥Jhen the Tmr Relocation Authority first undertook to sponsor re-
location, late in 1942, its Chicago office was one of the first to be
opened. The vast industry of the city vras booming, the demand for -work-
ers was great, and wages were as high as could be found anywhere. Its
metropolitan atmosphere provided a cloak of indifference toward incouiing
evacuees ivhose recent detention in relocation centers had raised a feel-
ing of racial inacceptability to a high point of tension, Chicago
quickly became the primary center of relocation in the United States,

If overshadowed by Chicago in point of numbers, resettlement to
such industrial centers as Cleveland and Detroit also proceeded stead-
ily,* The smaller numbers going to these other cities resulted in less
residential concentration, end in a negligible development of business
enterprise; otherwise the experience of these new comers closely paral-
leled that of the Japanese Americans 7fho v/ent to Chicago, TTius material
presented for Chicago is representative of Tilidwest experience generally.

In the latter city, it is estimated that out of the total evacuee
population, there are approximately 12,000 employables. About one-
sixth of these are in private business and professions, and five-sixths
in the employ of some 2,000 different non-Japanese business and indus-
trtal concerns. In the other cities of the Midwest, nearly all are em-
ployed by outside concerns, again covering the entire ranrre of business
€ind industry. In Cincinnati, for example, where there were an estimated
350 resettlere in the fall of 1946, not more than eight or ten were in
anyway dependent on Japanese employers. In iJetroit, a noteworthy devel-
opment during the war, which has continued to the present, was the em-
ployment of about 200 Nisei by the city civil service, from m.echanics,
bus drivers, street car conductors and motormen in the city owned
transportation system, to stenographers, draftsmen, engineers, end den-
tists in other sections of the city establishment.

The numbers of relocated evacuees end their successful adjustment
in Chicago served as a magnet to draw friends and relatives from other

♦Figures provided by the WRA final report provided the follovdng data
on the numbers who went to Mdwest cities other than Chicago. Ecmever,
of subsequent departures, Japanese American population of these cities
because of subseauent departures, Japanese American population of these
cities has decreased from 25 to 50 percent from these listings, lowa--
"les Woines 378; Michigan — Ann Arbor 534, Detroit 1,649; Minnesota —
Minneapolis 1,354, St. Paul 282; mssouri — Kansas City 346, St, Louis
469; Nebraska — Omaha 221; Ohio—Cincinnati 616, Cleveland 3,089; '.?is-
consLn— Milwaukee 422,

146

Midwestern cities. Somewhat as with prewar Los Anfreles, Chicego has
become the recognized economic and social center of the Japanese Ameri-
cans located in the Midwest, It is a place to go for weekends or longer
vacations, as well as a possibility for permanent resettlement to those
living in the lesser centers of population. Not a few single Nisei of
marriageable age have left other points in the Midwest to relocate in
Chicago where the larger number of Nisei provided a better opportunity
for finding a mate.

During 1946 it was estimated that over a million dollars was in-
vested in businesses in thib city, bringing the total to a reputed
$2,500,000 in over 300 business enterprises. Home purchases have ex-
ceeded 400 and new businesses were reported to have been established
at the rate of two or three per 7jeek throughout 1946,

The associate editor of the Chicago vernacular nevfspaper stated,
that, "as far as business and jobs are concerned, Chicago offers the
best prospects for Nisei and Issei," and in comparing Los Aneeles with
Chicago, he continued, "in Chicago there is less discriirination and
better prospects of going into private business,"

Job problems which beset the early group of re settlers have largely
disappeared and the majority of the Chicago group is oocupationally well
adjusted. Most of the workers at present feel fairly confident that
they can compete successfully in the Chicago labor market.

The basic economic adjustment of the Midwest resettler group has
been good, and givesevery indicetion of remaining so for the immediate
future. As compared with the prewar west coast distrlVjution, an im-
portant occupational shift has teiken place. In Chicago, the major
occupational category is that of industrial vi-ork, a field in which the
group had heretofore found little opportunity. Likewise, the level of
white-collar employment in the ffidv/est has been raised to a degree never
experienced before the war.

Even more significant in terms of long range adjustment is that
the bulk of the resettler population is working in the larger economic
community. This is true, not only for the thousands of industrial work-
ers, but for all other occupational groups. Professional and business-
men are no longer dependent to the same extent upon the Japanese for
their support as was the case before evacuation,

Ifiork in industrial plants is the mainstay of Japanese American
economic activity in Chicago, Factory work ranges from that of skilled
machine operators to unskilled janitorial positions, but by far most of
the workers fall in the skilled and semi-skilled occupations. For ex-
ample, in the International Harvester plant which employs more than 250

147

Japanese Americans, most are engaged in skilled and semi-skilled machine
operation.

The major printing plants are also large scale employers of Japa-
nese Americans, Mechanics and automotive -workers are to be found in
hundreds in both large and small concerns. One young Nisei in speaking
of employee-employer relations in the Yellow Cab Company, stated that:
"we're taking it easy and average about ^65 a week on piecework. Treat-
ment by ihe employer has been good, and the employer's attitude towards
the Nisei is one of high praise,"/!

The level of income of the large group of factory workers has
dropped since the wartime high, but most are still averaging around ''^55
for a 40 hour week. In many, if not most of the plants, overtime work
still is found and even semi-skilled operators in the printing plants
were making between $70 and $75 a week in the middle of 1946, There is
some discontent among those who, during the war, had averaged -^lOO to
$125 a week in defense plants; but almost without exception, the members
of this skilled and semi-skilled group of factory workers are still
making more money than they ever did before the war. Increases in the
cost of living make comparison difficult, nevertheless, when pressed
most of the group admit they are economically better o:ff~both in net
earnings and type of work than they were in the prewar west coast.

Although there has been some complaint on the cart of Labor Union
officials in Chicago that Nisei have not participated as fully as they
were expected, many are members in good standing in the numerous unions
organized in the industries in which they work. Since the war no fric-
tion has developed from this source.

The nvmber of "white-collar" workers is close to 1,500, v/ith the
majority being girls working as stenographers, secretaries, clerks, and
other office jobs as well as sales clerks. In speaking of further pos-
sibilities along this line, an employee of the VS^]S in August 1946,
stated that: "placing Nisei girls as stenographers and secretaries is
still easy but the acceptance of Nisei men in the white-collar non-
professional field has become more and more di^^ficult." A variety of
reasons are responsible for this. The average Nisei youth in Chicago
is not apt to have stenographic or office training and the openings for
men in this field tend to be in the bookkeeper or office manager cate-
gories. Aside from this, there is reluctance on the part of many firms
to train Nisei boys as office managers where supervision over a Caucasian
staff would eventually be required.

Domestic workers are relatively few, but if hotel and service work-
ers are included in this category, the number employed runs close to
1,000, The large hotels in Chicago employed hundreds of resettlers dur-
ing the war years, both Issei and Nisei, in work ranging, from bus boys,

148

cooks and other service jobs, to stenographic and office vrork. As many
as 300 Japanese Americans were at one tine employed by one hotel. Other
large hotels have had from 100 dcfvnm&rde on their payrolls ever since
resettlement to Chicago began. While there has been considerable turn-
over, many of the employees are older Issei who have been working for
over two years without a change. Wages for this type of work are fairly
good, ranging from i^l50 to $200 per month for men and from ^125 to *140
for women.

The Curtiss Candy Company is another concern which has hired a
large nvtmber of Issei and Nisei. It is estimated that there are now
about 175 working there. According to a Nisei personnel officer for
that firm:

"Mostly Nisei girls work for the Curtiss Candy Company,
They work as candy wrappers, candy fillers, etc, --This
type of work is on piece work basis and you have to run
and work fast to make money. The Issei women can't
work quite so fast smd they prefer jobs on a straight
time basis. Most of the Issei men who work for Curtiss
are on the farms or working as janitors,"/!

Approximately 40 professional men have opened offices in Chicago
since the beginning of resettlement. This figure includes eight doctors,
six laTjyers, eight dentists, and eight optometrists. If semi-profession-
al s, such as photographers are added, the number is greatly increased.
The nvunber of employed professional and semi-professional workers, such
as engineers, musicians, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory technicians,
and artists is not known, but estimates conservatively place the total
at several hundred.

The eight resettler doctors who have opened offices in Chicago are
mostly young men who were just getting started before evacuation or who
have received their M. D. degrees during the war years. Except for a
few, as for an example, a diagnostician in an X-ray laboratoiry whose
earnings are in the upper brackets, the physicians are finding their
practice limited. They have, however, realized that a solid future for
them in Chicago rests on eventually draydng their patients from outside
the Japanese community, and a number have established their practice
away from areas of concentrated Japanese population. Only one doctor
has established himself in the heart of the Japanese commxmity:

"Before i opened my office I looked around and picked

out a spot that seemed to be the center of Japanese

town. As far as the future goes, I know from a long

range point of view it would have been better to open

an office outside this area, but it would have been a

long hard struggle, and this I didn't feel I could afford, "^1

U9

The optometrists, of whom there are eight, are like the physicians
in that they are yovmg; but unlike them, they have had a much easier
time in getting established, and are enjoying much better financial
status. The clientele is mixed with a greater proportion being non-
Japanese. Several of the optometrists have gained city wide reputation
and frequently are used as consultants by doctors and other optometrists
in the city, Tm-o are on the staff of the Monroe School for Optometry,

More than any other professional group, the lawyers depend on the
Japanese for their livelihood. For example, a successful Nisei lawyer,
who was well established on the west coast before the war, has as yet
been able to draw only about 5 percent of his total business from out-
side the Japanese group. The experience of the young Nisei lawyer is
not strikingly different than that of others vdth newly acquired legal
training, except that so far, none have gone into established law firms.

A long tirre resident dentist of Chicago stated the lawyer's problem
succinctly:

"For Nisei doctors and dentists, the opportunities are
good, because you can build up a Caucasian clientele
and there is a demand for doctors and dentists. But
who is going to hire a young, inexperienced Nisei law-
yer just out of law school,.,! wouldn't go to these
young Nisei lawyers if I had need of a lawyer. "/l

In the last three years over 300 Japanese operated business es-
tablishments have been started by resettlors in Chicago, One measure
of success of these business establishments is seen in the rate at which
the increase in number has taken place. Before Jeoiuary 1, 1944 there
were only 75, Most were operated by Issei businessmen and the majority
consisted of rooming houses, apartments, restaurants, and grocery
stores. At this time new businesses were being started at the rate of
two or three a week and continued to do so throughout 1945 and 1946,
By December 1945 the number of Japanese operated businesses had reached
a total of more than 200, By December 1946 it was estinBted that there
were over 300 Japanese businesses in operation.

The majority of these business establishments are owned or operated
by Issei or by Issei in partnership with a Nisei son or daughter. The
Nisei business establishments tend to be beauty shops, express and
transfer companies, insurance, photographers, radio repair stores, toy
packing service, garages, night clubs, and recreational establishments.

The great majority of the Japansse operated business establishments
are to be found in areas where Jananese concentration has developed.
On the north side, in the nine blooks between 600 and 1,500 North Clark
Street are to be found 42 Japanese operated establishments, including

150

16 rooming and apartment houses, 12 restaurants, four groceries, vno
barber shops, two pool halls, a ■watchmaker, an insurance ajent, a car-
penter shop, a dry cleaner, a bar, and a bovrlinj alley, k few profes-
sional men haTe located near this concentration. Sinularly on the South
Side, two sizeable business sections have sprung up and a smaller busi-
ness community is fo\md on the far North Side* A?

Most of the Japanese operated businesses have depended on Japanese
trade to get started. This is particularly true of Japanese restaurants,
food stores, recreation s^-nd pool halls, rooming houses, and apartments
that cater to a Japanese clientele. The trend, however, is away from
exclusive Japanese patronage, and most have Negro and Caucasian trade
as well*

A young man operating a successful photographic studio reports
that approxiiTfitely three-fourths of his businssvs is with Japanese and
the other fourth with Caucasians, Concerning his relationship with the
latter :

"Caucasians in this neighborhood don't seem to care that
I am a Japanese, In fact, some of my Caucasian customers
recommend me to thair friends who often come to me, I
haven't any trouble with them,"/!

Besides his own studio, he has a contract with a nearby night club
to take pictures of customers there. Although his fee to the club is
steep, it has enabled him to pay off all his expenses and he is now
comfortably situated. He was very proud of this contract, especially
because the night club is "a very nice place, not just an ordinary one,"

T/hen asked about business prospects in Chicago as compared to the
west coast, he stated:

"Oh, Chicago is definitely a better place for business.
Here the people don't care whether you are Japanese or
not, as they do on the west coast. There is better
chance for advancement,"/!

The great bulk of the Japanese operated business establishments
were started with nominal investments, A few hotels and apartment in-
vestments have been made which nm into amounts as high as *50,000 to
$75,000, but these are relatively few, Tifost of the business invest-
ments, especially those for cafes, groceiry stores, rooming houses, and
the like, have been in the neighborhood of $2,500 to $5,000, Most of
the smaller establishments are run by family labor, and a business
curtailment of fairly drastic proportions would have less effect than
on rival shops where outside help is employed.

151

Actual income earned by these small "business concerns is unknown,
but even the most pessiiristic of the business group will admit he is
making money or as one informant put it, "begin to talk about the
weather," Utie increase in the sale price of such establishments is a-
nother strong indication that they are money making propositions.

In December 1946 a partial list of business establishments was
given in a Chicago Direotory;/l8

Professionals

Architect* • •••••••••• 1

Attorneys*.*. •••••••••••••••• 6

Dental Laboratory ••*. * 1

Dentists 10

Optometrists *....*. *• 8

Osteopath*.. ***** 1

Physicians & Surgeons*. **.**• 8

Types of Businesses

Artificial Flower Manufacture 1

Bfo-ber Shops**.* *** 3

Beauty Shops*.. ......***....* 4

Bowling Alleys & Recreation,* 6

Chop Sueys & Japanese Cafes*. 12

Cleaners & Dyers *......**•**• 10

Dressmakers..... ** 2

Express & Transfer Companies* 3

Food Manufacturers*. ......... 3

Types of Businesses

Gasoline Service Stations 1

Gift & Art Shops*,.. 10

Grocery Stores 6

Hotels, Apartment Houses, Room-
ing & Boarding Houses 114

Jewelers *.*..***•*.* **••**•••• 2

Musicians* *• ***, ,* 2

Night Club 1

Oriental Foods & Fish Markets* 10

Packers & Distributors**.....* 3

Photographers *•••**.........** 10

Pool Halls *.....**• 3

Printers & Publishers*..* 4

Radio Repair Shops ••**• 5

Real Estate Agents* *** 7

Refrigerator Repair*,* * 2

Restaurants*,...... ..,, 18

Service Bureaus** ••,* 3

Toy Packing Seinrice 3

Watch Repair Shops * *,,.*• 5

The following brief description of three families, one of which
left for Chicago only when the imminent closing of the Grana.da Reloca-
tion Center forced a decision, will serve to provide a view of specific
economic adjustment*

"The general impression gathered (by the inteirviewer) is
that the family is very happily adjusted in Chicago. The
father works as a shoe repairman at a big department
store, and has been there for the past three years since
leaving the Poston Relocation Center* Two girls work for
the federal government, and the younger sister is attend-
ing the University of Illinois* A younger brother is in
high school,"^!

In another family, all of whose members are employed.

152

"The father, formerly an Imperial Valley farmer, works
as a janitor in a major hotel, the mother works at a
shop making radio parts, a daughter is employed as a
seamstress, the oldest son, recently discharged from
the Anayf works as a civilian interpi'eter-translator
in Kyoto, Japan, another brother, an ex-GI, works as a
paint sprayer and the third son, also just discharged
from the Aricy, is holding a temporary job pending ma-
triculation in a west coast university. "/l

Concerning the third family, the interviewer' s report provides
something of the social setting in addition to the description of economic
adjustment r

"Heniy S, is a young Nisei of 24 who with his dependent
mother came to Chicago in the summer of 1945 to join
an older married sister*

"The feumily, which before evacuation lived in Los
Angeles, consisted of the father, mother, Henry, and
two girls. The family operated a small grocery store
but vrere barely able to make ends meet. Evacuation
wiped out all but a small amount of the family' s sav-
ings,

"The family was sent to the Granada Relocation Center,
The married sister and her husband relocated to Chicago
in 1944, The rest of the family, however, showed no
interest in resettlement, Y.Tiile no definite plans were
ever made, the father kept thinking in terms of open-
ing a small grocery in Los Angeles after the war. To
this particular family, life in the relocation center
was not unduly vinpleasant. The mother and father, who
had worked long hours struggling to keep a small grocery
store in operation, now regarded center life somewhat as
a vacation. The yoxmger sister was in high school, and
since she was very popular, had a good time, Henry,
who had graduated from liigh school the year before evacu-
ation and had been working without pay in his father's
store, also fo\md a pleasant niche in the center, work-
ing as a timekeeper in the maintenance section. Because
of a physical disability he was draft exempt,

"In 1945, however, the death of the father and the im-
minent closing of bhe center forced a resettlement de-
cision, bince the family had no real plans, except a
vague desire to return to Los Angeles to open a grocery.

153

Henry, now the nominal head of the family, was at a
loss. He did not have the experience or the initiative
to develop these plans.

"The decision was made by the eldest daughter, who was
married smd was living in Chicago, The family was to
join her. Jobs were plentiful and Henry could get a
job and help supplement family income. The elder sister
found a large apartment and the family moved in with
her. Since the mother was able to take care of the one
grandchild^ she took a factory job. Her husband, also a
factory worker, helped Henry find a similar job. He
makes 90 cents an hovir, and late in 1946 was still work-
ing eight and ten hours overtime each week. His pay
averaged about $55 a week, which is far beyond what he
oould have expected before evacuation,

"The family has no property on the west coast and no
family attachments there, except for the younger sister
who had married and gone to live in the TVest, The
elder sister, who continues to be the dominant member
of the family, likes it in Chicago, and she and her
husband have no plans to leave. The husband has a good
job as a skilled machine operator and is convinced that
he would not be able to continue in this line on the
west coast,

"The mother likes Chicago since many of her friends are
there. She enjoys the Buddhist Church activities and her
role in the family is that of being in charge of the
daughter's small child. Since she has always worked ex-
tremely hard, having had to care for her family in addi-
tion to the long hours in the family grocery store, her
life is now much easier and more pleasant. Before the
war she didn't have much time for church activities.
Now she is an ardent church worker,

••The family has nothing to call them back to the west
coast and has no plans for leaving Chicago,"/!

Chicago, unlike Denver and Salt Lake City, did not experience a
mass exodus following the lifting of the exclusion orders from the west
coast. Although information is limited on the numbers who have returned
or will return to the west coast eventually, the Japanese American re-
sidents of that city believe that the number leaving is about balanced
by those who have retraced their steps from the west coast.

154

The experience of a number of those who have relocated in Chicago
will illustrate the developing pattern — /l

M, is a newspaper man with extensive contacts t ith all sections of
the Japanese American population in Chicago, As far as business and
jobs are concerned, he felt strongly that Chicago offers the best
prospects for both Issei and Nisei, He compared this city to Los Angeles
where a number of Japanese have returned and are ret\irning to menial
Jobs as gardeners, farm laborers, and the like. In Chicago he was sure
that there is less discrimination and better prospects of going into
private business.

As proof Issei, as well as Nisei, are going into all kinds of
work and business, he pointed to advertisements in the Chicago Shimpo,
a vernacular paper, which indicated that Issei were going into profes-
sional occupations, private businesses as ovmers of apartment and room-
ing houses, restaurants, grocery stores, and the like«

K» is working as a mechanic. During the war, his earnings ranged
as high as $100 a week, but with loss of overtime, have dropped to about
$65 now. He graduated from the University of California with a major
in business and accounting just before the evacuation. He does not in-
tend to continue as a mechanic for very much longer. He hopes to leave
for Los Angeles, where he wants to open a business of some kind. His
father, mother, and a married sister are in Los Angeles, and he wants
to be neeur them. His father, who had been a fanner, is aging and cannot
do much work and he feels it his responsibility to look after his par-
eats. He will leave for Los Angeles as soon as the family can bi;iy a
house. He has little definite idea as to his future occupation, except
that he wants it to be in some line of business.

He is the eldest son, and there appears to be strong family ties.
His parents visited him in Chicago when they left the Rohwer Relocation
Center in October of 1945, but they soon left for Los Angeles to live
with the married sister. His statement, "I sent them (parents) out to
LA" seems to confirm the fact that ho has assumed command as family
head.

Mr. Y, formerly a legal agent for a number of west coast business
firms, made a survey of Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and a number of
other cities for business prosp^ts and as a place to live, before de-
ciding, about the middle of 1945 to establish himself in Chicago, He
went into the grocery business vdiere he has been moderately successful.
He is very certain tiiat prospects in Chicago were much better than those
on the west coast. He feels sure he will remain in Chicago for some
time to come.

749181 0-47-11

155

Mr, and Mrs, T,, also Nisei, operate a small apartment house lo-
cated on the near north side to supplement his income as a machinist.
They are uncertain as to their future, hut plan to remain in Chicago
for two or three years before deciding definitely whether to stay or
to leave for the West, They do not consider their present housing
satisfactory, and unless housing can be bettered, this may be the de-
cisive factor, Mrs, T, is particularly worried because of the laok of
playground facilities for her seven y^ar old girl.

Miss M, works as a stenographer. She lives with a Caucasian family
where she does light housework in return for room and meals. She likes
her job, and the family she is living vrith. She has little desire to
return to California, and felt that Chicago is "just as nice a place
to live as any other place," She will probably remain permanently in
Chicago or some other eastern or midwestem city.

Miss H, also works as a stenographer. It is apparent that she is
quite happy in Chicago and that she does not look forward to a return
to fann life* The report coziceming her indicates:

"She is of marriageable age, and therefore this is a

consideration in her plans to remain here or not. In

camp she was very shy and reserved, but now it seems

that she has become more confident of herself, and is

no longer afraid to meet and talk to people. From other

sources, it was learned that she goes out on dates

quite frequently. In camp she never went out on dates.

She has a small circle of friends among llisei and not ♦

very many Caucasian friends. She will probably remain

in Chicago for a few years more, and possibly for an

indefinite period,"

Miss U, works as a medical secretary. Her family, parents and
brothers and sisters are all in Chicap;o, A younger sister is studying
to be a nurse in New York, Asked if her parents have decided to remain
there permanently, she said they weren't sure but that at least they
will stay until her sister finishes her nurse's training (about two
years) and until her soldier brother returns from overseas, probably
not for two years. If the fcunily remains for this period, it is very
likely they will continue to remain there for a number of years if not
permanently, ^

The Y, family consists of Issei father and mother, a daughter and
three sons, all between the ages of 20 and 30, The eldest son is now
in Japan with the Army of Occupation, and the final decision concerning
their future location is being deferred until he returns in about a
year. All members of the family are employed, the father at a large
hotel^ the mother in a radio p8a*ts plant, the daughter as a seamstress ,

156

one son as a paint sprayer, and the second at odd jobs pending enroll-
ment in college. Together their income is close to .''f.1,000 per month.
The fact that they are purchasing a home into which they expect to move
shortly would seem to indicate that they will probably remain for sev-
eral years. By the time the son returns from Japan, their economic ties
in Chicago may be so strong as to preclude a move elsewhere,

Rev. M, is the assistant pastor of an established Baptist church
in Chicago, He felt that there was a state of unsettledness among the
T'isei and that it was still too early to form definite conclusions as
to whether resettlers would remain in Chicago, Concerning the desira-
bility of such a course, he had little question:

"I was back in Los Angeles only a few weeks ago on a
■vacation visit. People were living in trailers or any-
thing they could find. Housing is terrible. Then after
getting back to the west coast, what do the Nisei and
Issei do? Ihey get right back into the narrow restricted
life that prevailed before the war. The west coast is no
place for ambitious Nisei who want to keep on advancing.
Why, out here the oppor-ttinities are unlimited. Take ny
own case for instance,

"If I were serving as a minister out in Los Angeles, where
I was before the war, nty sphere of contact would be only
the Nisei, and a few Caucasian ministers and friends.
Ever since I've been out here I have been asked by various
schools and organizations to speak to their groups,

"ity prewar world was jxist the narrow and restricted life
I led, I was ignorant of things outside the west coast.
It took the evacuation to shake us to the realization
that America is much more than the west coast, that there
are boundless opportunities if one only looked about the
country. I feel my soul is free out here in the East, "A

■Return to the Coast aptjears to hinge on employment possibilities
more than any other factor. Although a few are restless like a Nisei
doctor who stated that: "I enjoy my present job all right, but you
can't beat California as a place to live,,,"; most would stay because
as another Nisei remarked, "opportunities for employment are such as
they have never been on the west coast,"

In meuay respects the situation is similar to that of an immigrant
who feels that he will retuna to his native country, once he has made
a stake. However, with respect to the Nisei in Chicago, a Nisei jovir-
nalist commented that, "the gap between this kind of talk and action
widens with each passing month,"

157

Notes on the Bast» ApprorLmately 6 ,000 evacuees -went to the east-
em seaboard, principally to one of five places—Boston, New York,
Philadelphia, Seabrook Farms near Bridgeton, New Jersey, and sVashington,
D. C» Of these, Boston received the fewest, less than 200, Movement to
Philadelphia was slow but fairly steady, and eventually about 700 found
their way to that city. Adjustment in both cities was without notable
incident, although there was a proportionately high rate of movement
from each \dien the west coast was reopened. Neither of these cities
will be discussed in this section. Notes concerning the Seabrook de-
velopment have already been presented in the chapter dealing with ad-
justment in agriculture,

Washington, D, C, Relocation to Washington, D, C, involved about
350 persons, and while the number was not so large as to some other east-
ern cities, relocation followed much the same pattern. However, unlike
other eastern cities, Washington is not industrialized and offered em-
ployment primarily in one field, service with the Federal Government,

If it did not attract many of the business minded or xinskilled Nisei,
it did provide an tmequalled opportunity for professional and skilled
office employment. Linguists, economists, social scientists, and other
professional men found places in the Office of War Information, the War
Department, the Office of Strategic Service, the War Manpower Commission,
the Federal Broadcast Intelligence Service, the Office of Price Admin-
istration, and the War Relocation Authority,

Prior to the war the Federal Government had employed a few Nisei,
but it was not until 1943 and 1944 that any great number came into Goverrw-
ment service. With the liquidation of many temporary war agencies, a
considerable number of Nisei have been involved in reduction of force.
Many of these, especially the stenographers and clerical workers, have
qualified for employment in permanent agencies and have remained in
Government service. Some, however, have left "Washington for the West,
while a few have opened business establishments or have taken private
en^loyment in the city.

Of special interest are the 21 grocery stores that have been opened
in the Negro sections of the city. The man primarily responsible for
development of these enterprises is Jesse Shima, a colorful Washington
figure who once owned and sold a chain of restaurants in the New England
and New York areas, operated a flying school in Alexandria, Virginia,
owned an electrical appliance shop in the District, worked in the De-
partment of Agriculture, suad was the personal seci'etary of Mrs. Mary
Foote Henderson, who was prominent as a hostess to the Capital's diplo-
matic set between 1924 and 1931, 1'?hen the war broke out, Mr. Shima be-
came a grocer because of restrictions placed on Issei, Since then he
has assisted in the opening of all the new grocery establishments, and

158

in a recent meeting was elected President of the Capital Grocer' s
Association composed of the owners of the 21 stores.

There are three professionals-- two dentists and an associate pro-
fessor in EccnoBiics at the American University— outside the Federal
Goverinaent. Of the first mentioned, one is a public health dentist
working the District of Columbia j the other recently opened his own
office and in addition, teaches in the Howard University School of
Dentistry.

In private employment there are only a few. One Nisei works for
the Vfashington Post, a former Seattle girl is in the Washington office
of the United States News, another in a radio shop, and a few others
are in the employ of various shops in the business section of the city.

New York City. Before the war, those living in New York City
formed the only sizeable group of Japanese AmQ.ricans living east of the
Missouri River. For this reason, a short sketch of their prev/ar and
early war experience will be given to provide comparison Ydth present
adjustment in the East and the Mdwest,

According to the 1940 census, there were 2,087 Japanese living in
New York City, with seven out of ten being Issei, At the outbreak of
the war, a large number of Japanese merchants and their families re-
patriated and by mid-1942, there were 1,750 residents, including 650
Nisei and 1,100 Issei*

In a survey conducted in 1942, out of a sample of 700 Issei, it
was found that the average age was 51 years, and their average period
of residence in this country was 28 years. Despite their advanced age
and long years of residence, about half the Issei men were unmarried,
while among Issei women, only six percent were unmarried*

The survey listed 36 different types of occupation followed by
these Issei* There were 137 cooks, 105 domestics, and 104 who owned
their own businesses* These latter included retail stores, wholesale
companies, art, gift emd novelty shops, dental laboratories, profes-
sionals, but by far the Istrgest number operated restaurants. The edu-
cational level of the Issei in New York City was relatively high, with
at least half having secondary and college training*

Of the sample of 442 Nisei who reported to the Survey Committee,
the average age was about 16 years; the male average was 17^ and the
female average was 14^ years. Among the Nisei there were many who had
migrated to New York from the Middle VJest, Pacific Coast, and the Ter-
ritory of Hawaii, so that only about half were native New Yorkers or
those who had come from other East Coast States*

159

The breakdown in occupational status among Nisei showed that 225
of the total were students. The remaining Nisei were either employed,
available for employment or in their own business. At the time of the
survey, about one in five of the latter group were unemployed. Thirty
eight different occupations were represented, with the largest nvimber
of men employed as clerks and salesmen, and the largest group of women
employed as stenographers,/l9

uniile New York attracted the ambitious and able Nisei, the number
had not been great, and their residence in the city was still too recent
for more than a few to have secured recognition. A writer relating
his own experience in New York in 1938 revealed:

"There was T, Johnr-cf all the Nisei I knew in those
early days, he was drawing the most pay— $70 a month.
Bill was a good commercial artist, but luck didn't
smile on him, Herby used to draw $8 a week working
ten hours a day. Hit had jobs now and then, Vflien
he got a job he moved out of the church dormitory,
and when he was broke, he moved back in,

"We celebrated with sugar buns when Renee got a couple
of week's work at Macy' s during the Christmas season.
The church was a sad place in those days with so many
Jobless and all trying to exist on 25 cent dinner a day,

"Min and I finally landed a job at a restaurant as bus
boys. We worked four hours a day at 25 cents an hour
and one meal, Jimmy used to bunk with me when he was
flat broke. He had no money to buy food, pay rent, or
go anyplace, I used to bring home stale pieces of bread
for him to eat, and which I munched for breakfast. One
night a man gave me a nickel tip— man alive, how elated
I felt— I choked up and couldn't thank him enough. Then
business got slow and I was fired. The whole world
seemed to cave in on me,"/20

Concerning the present situation of the Japanese resettled in New
York, he continue di

'•,,,And looking at the present evacuees with their
demands for high wages eind their choice of job op-
portunities, I feel the Nisei have come a long ways
in establishing themselves in this city,"/l6

In July 1945 it was estimated that approximately 3,000 had reset-
tled in New York, of which about seven out of ten were Nisei, /21 Since
then, departures have been limited and the population has relatively

160

remained stable. Although no figure for Issei has been available, it
■was estimated in April 1947 that approximately 2,000 Nisei were living
in New York City .^2

The Issei have found employment mainly in commercial service oc-
cupations which include hotel, restaurant, hospital, and other service
work such as that in lavindries end dry cleaning establishments. Do-
mestic employment has engaged the second largest nvunber ^vith skilled
occupations following closely. Other sources of employment have been
gardening or greenhouse work.

As for the male Nisei, the great majority are employed in nearly
equal numbers in offices as salespeople, skilled workers, and in service
occupations* Possibly ten percent of them work at unskilled labor,
with an equal number in the professions,

Japanese Ameirican women are to be found as stenographers and clerks,
with an almost equal nxtmber in skilled trades such as power machine
operators in clothing factories, and as domestics. This is true of
Issei as well as Nisei in proportion to the number of available workers.

There have been very few who have opened businesses. The fact
that a great majority of the resettlers have been in the yourger age
group has limited the amount of capital available for this purpose.

New York City drew a select population from the centers. Because
it was a great distance from pre-evacuation places of residence, the
less energetic and the less secure Issei and Nisei tended not to go
there, Moreover, competition at higher professional levels is severe^
and this also kept away those with poorer training and the less ex-
perienced.

Concerning employment of Nisei, a columnist for the Pacific Citizen
commented;

"Most evei*ywhere you will find a Nisei; in places humble,
and high as well. At the one extreme are the dishwashers
and garment center workers who slave for $30 or so a
week. At the upper level are those select few profes-
sionals, rated tops in their field, commanding a thou-
sand dollars or more a week for their service, "/22

While recently unemployment among Japanese Americans in New York
has been increasing, most have eventually managed to find other oppor-
tunities. In this respect. Nisei have shared the experience of the
total community, with little evidence of discrimination. Although there
has been some talk of returning to the west coast, as in Chicago and
other midwestern cities, mass departure is not expected. While a few

161

have returned to the west coast, or have gone to other cities, others
have moved in. The adjustment of the Nisei and his family in New York
has been reasonably satisfactory*

In speaking of the return to California and the New York Nisei's
adjustment, the columnist quoted above remturked:

"Here in upper Manhattan aroxmd 110th and Broadway,
•which a cluster of Nisei call home and fireside, the
prevalent opinion is they plan to stay put. They like
it here and plan to stay,

"You can't blame them* They have good jobs, a bank
account, tidy, but tiny apartments, children in school,
friends in the neighborhood, and the essential elements
that constitute a full life, "^2

A large number of the New York Nisei smd Issei are thinking ulti-
mately of resumption of trade with Japan, Two Nisei ^rtiolesale pearl
merchants, as well as a Nisei import-export firm, have already become
established*

In general, the two eastern cities. New York and Yfashington, have
drawn a select group of Issei and Nisei, Of the two, however. New York-
ers appear to be a more stabilized group, looking to greater opportuni-
ties for advancement. In Washington there is a feeling of insecurity
about future Government employment, end with opportunities outside of
the grocery business still unexplored, the next few years may see a
gradual exodus*

Nisei in Status Positions

In the numerous studies concerning the west coast Japeinese popula-
tion, made before the war, there was frequent comment concerning the
general inability of well trained Nisei university graduates to secure
employment in keeping with years spent in preparation. That a large
proportion of such Nisei came into the employment market in time of de-
pression, a fact that blxirs accurate analysis of the extent of discrimi-
nation, has already been noted, A very few did find suitable employment
outside the Japanese community, it was true, but most were forced back
to work in import-export houses, in ffimily business establishments, and
on farms,

A thread running through the preceding pages of this report has
been the increase of opportxmity for "white-collar" employment follow-
ing the relocation movement to the East, with a somewhat in?)roved but
still tmfavorable white-collar enployment situation in the Tfest, The

162

following brief and tmavoidably incomplete resume of the experience of
some of those who have secured positions carrying status in the wider
community is given to complete the discussion of economic adjustment*

A veiry specific example is found in the experience of Robert K»
now a resident of Detroit. Having received a degree in electrical en--
gineering from an outstanding California university about 1932 or 1933,
his search for emplojraient was unsuccessful and he finally returned to
the family farm iwhere he remained for six or seven years. Eventually
he opened a small radio repair business in Los Angeles from which he
was evacuated. Early in 1943,Trf.th his wife and three children, he left
the relocation center to which he had been sent, and almost immediately
secured a responsible position with the Federal Public Bousing Authority
in Saginaw, Mohigan. When this work ran out in the summer of 1945, he
had a choice of three comparable positions in private industry in Detroit.
Subsequently drafted, upon his discharge from the Army, he returned to
Detroit where he is now well employed.

In the field of teaching, more than in any other, have Nisei made
progress. Most significant has been the appointment of three girls in
the public school systems of three California cities. Before the war
this field had been closed to Nisei. The prewar experience of one Nisei
girl, who had completed three years of work in a teacher' s college and
who had tided dozens of places in California without success, is typi-
cal. Her own supervisors advised her to consider Hawaii if she was
seriously interested in a teaching career.

Some of those irtio returned to the west coast as members of the
faculty of various universities are Frank Myamoto at the University of
Washington, Dr. William Takahashi at the IMiversity of California,
Wayne M. Kanemoto at the Santa Clara University School of Law, and Dr.
Ben Kondo, hesirt specialist at the post-graduate school of the Univer-
sity of Southern California Medical School.

In the East and Midwest they are more numerous, Dr, Teru Hayashi,
formerly with the University of Missouri, joined the staff at Columbia
as instructor in Zoologyj along with Osamu Shiraizu, Canadian born Nisei,
who is an instructor in the Far East Division. Constance Maruyama, for-
merly with the Hampton Institute, took up new duties at the Adelphi
Academy in Brooklyn; and Dr. Kenneth Kurihara was recently appointed to
the Economics Department of Princeton University. Harry Oshima was
appointed to the faculty of the American University in V.'ashington, D. C.
as assistant professor of Economics. Robert Hosokawa was assigned to
teach English and journalism at the Winona State Teachers College in
MLnnesotli. Others have been Ernest Takahashi, temporal^ Dean of the
Munroe School of Optometry in Chioagoj and Randolph Sadaka, who serves
as part time instructor.

163

Scientists have also been recognized. Dr. Shuichi Kusaka, a noted
physicist and former assistant to Albert Einstein, has edited and re-
vised the new edition of "Einstein— His Life and Times", which was
written by Dr. Phillip Frank and translated by George Rosen. Dr. Hiroshi
Minami, formerly on the faculty at Cornell University, participated in
the examination of animals exposed to the atom bomb at Bikini. Jitsuichi
Masaoka, at the Fisk University, has made contributions in the field of
race relations. Numerous young students have also entered the field of
social science and are continuing in the field. Before the war the
prospective social scientist most frequently returned to the farm or
family business*

In the field of music and arts, Nisei have also gained prominence.
Prior to the vrar the names of Hizi Koike of the San Carlos Opera| MLchio
Ito, impressario; Chiuru Obata of the University of California| and
others were well known. The names have increased manyfold, Sono Osato,
star of a broadway product! on j Yuriko Amemiya of the Martha Graham Troupe |
and Dorothy Maruki of the San Carlos Opera Ballet Troupe have been suc-
cessful on the stage. Among the artists, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, whose paint-
ings have been selected as representative modern American Art; Mine
Okubo, trtio did a nxnaber of sketches of the relocation center in her re-
cently published book, "Citizen 13660"; and Isamu Hoguchi, both sculptor
and eirtist, have achieved national notice. Besides being internationally
recognized as a sculptor, Mr. Noguchi has designed settings for the Martha
Graham Dance Troupe, also for Euth Page's ballet, "The Bells", which the
Ballet Russe presented in August and September 1946«

Aside from numerous employees of the vernacular press. Nisei have
broken into the field of journalism. Notable examplep are Bill Hosokawa
and Roy Takeno of the Denver Posti Hisaye Yamamoto of the Los Angeles
Tribune; and Katherine Kawamura, editor of the Paonian, a small rural
paper in Paonia, Colorado. Dorothy Fujita Matsuoka recently joined the
publicity research department of Time, Inc. Anne Kurimoto, formerly
of Seattle, Washington, was in the employ of the United States News
throughout the war.

In the field of advertising, a Nisei illustrator, Ruth Matsuda,
was given first prize in a state-wide advertising contest for two news-
paper advertisements drawn by her for ZCMI, a large Salt Lake City de-
partment store. Her advertisements were judged best in the field of
over 600 entries for radio, newspapers, magazines, and billboards.

The widespread employment of Nisei in responsible positions by the
Federal Grovemment has been noted elsewhere, but forms a part of the
generally improved position of highly trained Nisei.

An item which appeared in the Progressive News of Ssui Francisco on
March 29, 1947 is of particular interest:

164

"Probably the first Nisei to hold such a federal post,
Masaki Hironaka, San Diego resident, was recently ap-
pointed postmaster of the Lincoln Acres Station. Prior
to evacuation, Hironaka was working in San Diego as a
post office clerk,"

Minomi Yamasaki, a Seattle born architect, has received national
notice for a proposed design of new State buildings at Lansing, Michi-
gan. Mr, Yamasaki is the chief designer for the architectural firm of
Smith, Hinchman, and G-rylls in Detroit, The creations of Yamasaki in-
clude plans for two office buildings, the State Supreme Court edifices,
Eind a musevim smd archives structure -which will cost an estimated 11
million dollars.

Positions requiring supei~vlsion of Caucasian crews, an arrangement
practically vinknovm before the war, have not been infrequent. In Cleve-
land during the war, an Issei, who owned his own tailoring shop before
evacuation, supervised a crew of 30 Caucasians in a clothing nanufacturing
concern. Dr. Iwao Koriyama is the head of a large staff in the Census
Department in Washington, D, C, Throughout the war. Nisei have held
supervisory positions in industry.

The kind of positions noted above could not have been secured in
such numbers by Japanese Americans if their place in American society
were less favorable. Before the wsir, not only did those of the west
coast encounter prejudice and discrindnatlon but the few better trained
Nisei, who did venture East, were far from successful in securing ade-
quate employment. Prejudice in the Midwest and East did exist, although
at a less active level than in the Tlest, Before the war, dispersal from
the west coast provided no specific solution to the "Nisei problem".

At the time relocation centers were being filled, no one could
have predicted that a by-product of evacuation would be tolerance; that
the bitter suspicion of the early war period would give way to positive
community sentiment.

By earning the respect of both fellow workers and community leader-
ship for wartime service at home in sections of the country hitherto
vuaacquainted with them, and by contributing with gallantry to the suc-
cess of American arms in Italy and France emd throughout the Pacific,
Americans of Japanese descent have gained a degree of economic acceptance
hitherto unknown in the United States,

165

Chapter IV

HOUSING ADJUSTMENT

Throughout the resettlement period, the shortage of housing has
been a national problem of crisis proportions. Like all others who
moved from place to place betrfeen the opening of hostilities and the
present, evacuees ran into serious difficulty when they looked for
shelter. Unlike other civilians, however, they had left well estab-
lished homes under compulsion. No other problem has provided so wide-
spread an obstacle to satisfactory adjustment of as great a number of
resettlers.

In urging Japanese >^ericans to leave relocation centers, except
at the very end, the Federal Government was unable to offer any guaran-
tees of housing. In its releases to the centers, WRA developed a
standard term in describing housing possibilities — "difficult, but not
impossible." This term was, and has continued to be, accurate.

In most large cities, turnover in housing is usually greatest in
the poorer sections, and often there is an established pattern of
acceptance of minority groups in such areas. In Chicago, and to lesser
extent in other cities new to resettlers, the location of Japanese
Americans conformed to such a pattern.

As they began to reach out for better housing, in addition to the
difficulty shared by all others, resettlers very often had the added
problem of racial discrimination. Such discrimination was nowhere so
obvious or so severe as that affecting many other disadvantaged racial
groups, but there were cases in every locality where vacancies suddenly
"had been filled" when the applicant appeared in person, or where neigh-
bors objected to their moving in as renters or owners.

In some western cities, Los Angeles for example, racially restric-
tive covenants have been written to apply to persons of oriental de-
scent, and in addition, many real estate dealers have refused to show
property to returning evacuees outside segregated areas. Return to the
West came just at the time when demobilization of the American Army
after the European victory swelled the number of hone seekers by the
thousands, and the shelter problem in west coast cities became doubly
difficult. Persons returning to take up farm labor fared somewhat
better, since housing very often went with such jobs.

In most Midwestern and Eastern ccMununities, Resettlement Commit-
tees formed to assist relocation, early recognized the housing problem
as crucial, and both set up a program of community interpretation and
organized a housing committee to directly assist the search for

166

vacancies. These committees supplemented assistance given by such
national religious groups as the Friends, Baptists and Reformed Church
thirough hostels established for short time housing of reset tiers. Most
hostels charged a standard rate of $1 per day per person for board and
room, and depended to a considerable extent for volunteer help in house-
keeping. They provided immediate security, and a base from which the
individual could work out his employment and housing problems. An
editorial appearing in the January 1946 issue of the Kaleidoscope, a
Cleveland Nisei publication, speaks of this function:

"From June of 1943, when the hostel was opened, to July 1945,
when it was closed.,.. Max and Ellen Franzen were untiring
host and hostess. They met us at the train — when we arrived
friendless and a little scared; they transported our baggage
to the hostel — ^when a lot of us didn't even know the procedure
of retrieving our baggage; they housed and fed us in a friendly
atmosphere of a cooperative dormitory; they helped us find a
more permanent place to live by tracking down the want ads
daily. They were the personification of that oft-quoted
phrase, «a friend in need, is a friend indeed, »•♦

Hfriting in the same issue of the Kaleidescope. the local TfflRA
housing officer stated:

"Japanese Americans should be gratified that throughout the
several years of relocation in Cleveland, the question of race
has been so small a part of their housing problem. There has
been resistance of course, and often the discriminatory ideas
of some landlords have been a great nuisance, but for the most
part the housing of Japanese Americans has been Just about as
difficult as that of everybody else. Often there were cases
of 'reverse' discrimination, in which the Japanese Americans
were shown favor. They were the result of the landlords'
experiences with other reset tiers,

"In the city at large, over 45,000 returned veterans have come
this year, added to a population of 80,000 war workers who had
come to assist during the war. To the extent of my knowledge,
Nisei war veterans have been treated as well as other returning
veterans,"

Except in Chicago, there has been little sharp congregation in any
of the cities of the Midwest or East, although there has been some con-
centration. For example, in Cleveland, possibly a third of the 2,000
to 2,500 resettlers live in an area lying between 50th and 105th Street,
and between Euclid Avenue and Lake Erie. In New York, a fairly large
proportion of the newcomers ended up in the vicinity of Coliunbia Uni-
versity ,

167

Chicago

In Chicago vfhere more Japanese Americans are located than at any
other point in the covmtry except Los Angeles, there are three major
areas of settlement, ydth the near north side and the south side in
the general vicinity of the University of Chicago accoxmting for two-
thirds of the 15,000 to 20,000 in that city. At least a fourth of the
total, however, are very widely scattered, principally on the far north
side, but also on the west and south sides.

The north side concentration lies in a depressed transition area
characterized by rundown rooming houses, hotels and a large number of
cheap night clubs and bars. It is in this area that various minority
groups of the city have established themselves before gradually moving
to other sections of the city. In such an area of deterioration, a
pattern of entrance of new minority groups has been established, and as
a resialt, opposition to nevf groups moving in is at a minimum. Then,
tot), the bulk of the first resettlers were unattached Nisei men, and it
was in this section and the adjacent Loop that vacancies in cheap hotels
and rooming houses were available. 'iVhile the great majority no longer
consists of single unattached males, as in the early days of resettle-
ment, the largest number of this unattached resettler element still
remain in this area,

A most serious difficulty for families living in this area is the
complete lack of playgrounds for children, a condition which was
brought to the attention of field interviewers with great frequency.

Among Japanese American leaders, the problem of delinquency is be-
craning of increasing concern. Thus, in a report prepared by the Chicago
Resettlement Committee, a plea for support of additional supervised
recreational facilities for the group is supported by the following:

"Cases on file with the social welfare agencies and the police
department indicate a rising trend in crime and delinquency,
especially from the ranks of the younger resettlers. The
report tabulated the following:

1. Fourteen babies, probably more, born out of wedlock.

2. The jsrevalence of gambling cases on record with the

police.

3. A youth in his late twenties now serving a life

sentence,

4. Two young people arrested on suspicion of complicity in

trafficking in vice,

5. A sex maniac still at large, accused in at least seven

instances of having raped young Japanese women.

168

6. Nvunerous frustrated individuals on the margin of
neurotic and psychopathic behavior, "/2

In comparison ydth the population at large, the rate of delin-
quency is not high. However, the lack of wholesome recreational facili-
ties in an area such as this, and the lack of parental supervision over
many single yovmg people, has increased the number of social problem
cases far beyond that of the prewar experience.

While much has been said about the poor housing that the resettlers
were forced to occupy when first arriving in Chicago, in general it can
be said that the majority today occupy housing that compares favorably
with that secured by other newcomers to the city of the same general
income level. Almost every resettler family that now occupies rented
quarters seems to feel they want and can afford better accommodations
and anticipate moving when such quarters become available.

Type of housing varies, of covirse, with income level and with the
section of the city in which quarters are located. The general run of
housing on the near north side tends to be either of rooming houses or
apartments in small apartment houses. The majority of apartments in
this area are located in small bviildings which originally were not de-
signed for such purposes and the apartments that have resulted tend to
be makeshift affairs. In rooming houses, rooms rent from $5 to $10 per
week, depending on location and type of room. In most of the rooming
houses, the rooms are small and dirty, there is one bath to a floor, and
as many as 10 to 12 individuals use it.

The south side area tends to be one of small unit apartments, the
University of Chicago area especially so. Apartments around the Cottage
Grove — 39th to k3r<l Street area, tend to be a little bigger and it is
here that many of the south side family groups have settled. The far
north housing tends to be more of the unfurnished flat and single unit
house type.

From estimates made by Chicago resettlers, by the end of 1946,
over 400 families had purchased homes. Movement toward more adequate
housing may be expected to continue, at least until the housing crisis
is at an end.

It should be noted that in Chicago, restrictive covenants on real
estate sales do not specifically apply to oriental people, consequently
such restrictions are not expected to provide an obstacle to the im-
provement of housing,

A brick which in November of 1946 was hurled through the window of
a Nisei veteran living on the west side apparently represented an

169

isolated instance of prejudice, but at the same time served notice that
acceptance was neither automatic nor complete.

The leasing or purchasing of rooming and apartment houses has been
a very popular resettlement pattern in Chicago, As one Japanese
American remarked:

"This is very logical and sensible, in that it solves the

housing problem for the family doing the leasing or purchasing. "/l

In Detroit, the resettlers are entirely scattered, and the same
may be said of such cities as Cincinnati, Des Moines, Minneapolis, St.
Louis — in fact, of all of the centers of urban population in the Midwest
and East, where evacuees have gone, except those already discussed.

As noted in Chicago, in nearly all of these localities, one means
of solving the housing problem has been the purchase of hotels and
apartments by Japanese Americans, with subsequent rentals to resettlers.
The practice has been even more true of the Intermountain States and
west coast cities.

Denver

Concerning housing in Denver, the field interviewer had this to
say:

"It is superfluous merely to say that housing is one of the
major problems facing Japanese in Denver, for housing is a
major national problem. In general, the people have made a
fairly satisfactory adjustment o Many have bought homes,
some excellent ones, and others fair, while a good number
are living in apartment houses and hotels . "/l

There are three major residential districts in which Japanese
Americans are living in greatest number in Denver.

The first, and most concentrated is in the Larimer district.
This, the original business district of Denver, has become a transition
area of cheap hotels, pawnshops, and bars, and it is here that the very
great proportion of resettler business in Denver is located, V/ith the
possible exception of one or two of the west coast cities, this is the
most compact Little Tokyo area in the cotmtry.

Although some of the hotels and apartments are fair, a large
number are old and lacking in facilities and conveniences, and a few are
dilapidated. A few apartments have a gas stove, which seirves to provide
heat as well as a place to cook, and there is often a lack of a sink or

170

basin, or bathroom in the individual apartment. In moat of the apart-
ments, as well as the hotels, there is usually one bathroom on a floor.
Hotel and apartment rental in this district is cheap, ranging for hotel
rooms from $3 to $10 per week and averaging about $5. The average
rental for full size apartments is a little more than the hotel rate,
but not very much more.

Most of the single men and women of the Denver Japanese population
live in this district, as well as many small family units. From all
aspects, this is a disadvantageous district for families with young
children. The rooms and apartments are crowded, and there is no play-
ground for the children, who may be found playing in the dark hallways,
in stores, or on the crowded and unsavory street.

The second district of ccaicentration lies to the northeast of the
Larimer area. In the past it has largely harbored Mexican and poorer
Caucasian families. Many resettler families have bought homes there,
and there are fewer apartment houses. The houses are very old, and most
of the homes lack a regvilar heating system. Despite some undesirable
features in the homes, this district is far more desirable than the
Larimer area. There appears to be little friction between the residents
of various racial backgrounds.

The third district lies in northwest Denver, and compares well with
the better residential sections of the city. The hones are relatively
new, substantial, spacious, and have well kept yard spare. The more
successful resettler business and professional people have bought homes
here. The number of resettlers in this section is considerable, al-
though leas than in the other two districts described.

In addition, a n\imber of families have scattered throughout the
city. There has been occasional opposition to this, which has deterred
some from making a move. Thus, in August 1946, a Nisei veteran re-
ceived an unsigned letter, to Yriiich was attached the names of 38 resi-
dents of a street to which he proposed to move. It read:

"Just a line as we hear that you had bovight The House at
1055 So. Sheridan. No I am telling you that we are all 100^
against a Jap in The Block. The People that Had said it Made
No difference when you was from door to door said They Have
Changed there' mind. They did not Realize at The time
you was Here, So Here we are our petion is already for our

lawyer to take action should you move you Better tell Mrs.

that you want you Money back as we will not let you move in
This Block as we are entirely against it so please don't try
to Move as it will cost you Money eind trouble to move out.

Thank you, " /l

749181 O - 47 - 12

171

This matter was taken up by the Denver Unity Coxmcil, the Japanese
Americans Citizens League, and the Denver Fellowship of Reconciliation.
The latter organization made a house to house canvas, and as a result
ten of the names were removed from the petition. Legal counsel for the
JACL sent letters to each of the protestors, commending those who hid
removed their names from the list; to the others his letter stated in
part:

"First of all, I would like to express appreciation to you
folks for stating your views openly, above-bosird, and in an
American manner. It gives us opportunity to present Frank's
case in a similarly open and frank way.

"I would like to advise you that Frank and his family intends
to move in at 1055 So. Sheridan Boulevard on Friday, Sept. 6.
This is not done in defiance of your wishes, but as an exercise
of his constitutional rights as an American citizen and as a
United States Amy veteran who went overseas to fight for home
and country..., Possibly you folks did not realize that Frank...
is a veteran of World War II. He has seized two years overseas,
in Germany.,, (and) has been honorably discharged from the Army
of the United States.

"I would like to mention that this matter has also been called
to the attention of (the) District Attorney for your area, and
to (the) United States District Attorney, We have not re-
quested any action as yet, but in the event of any violence or
disturbance, you can be assured that the malefactors will be
vigorously prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.,,. I
mention these things only to emphasize that the law and the
Constitution of the United States, backed by the machinery of
the federal government is on the side of Frank ,

"We hope that we have made our position clear. We would de-
plore any ill feeling or any violence. But please be assured

that we shall take every legal step to protect Frank in the

quiet and peaceful enjoyment of his hcMne, as a free and equal
American citizen."^

Frank and his family moved in as scheduled, and six months later,
there had yet to be any overt difficulty in the neighborhood, while
some had gone out of their way to be friendly.

West Coast

If housing was a difficvilt problem in all parts of the country,
it was particularly difficult on the west coast at the time the
evacuees were returning. Throughout the war there had been a

172

tremendous influx of new workers into that part of the country. In the
first half of 1945, there had occurred a shifting of war activities to
the west coast as the European war neared its end, and war efforts were
increasingly directed toward the Pacific. In addition to these causes
of housing stringency, discharged veterans were returning in thousands
to set up homes.

Immediately after the lifting of the exclusion order, extraordinary
efforts were put forth by friendly groups in California to establish
hostels and to provide temporary housing for evacuees. The V«'ar Relo-
cation Authority assigned staff to assist these efforts, and arranged to
loan needed equipment such as cots, mattresses, blankets, china, and
cooking equipment. Efforts were made to find employment which would in-
clude housing. In the Santa Clara Valley, for example, a cooperative
growers' association was induced to purchase /(.OO prefabricated units to
house needed farm workers. Elsewhere, those with housing to offer were
best able to secure workers.

In the Pacific Northwest, the curtailment of war contracts quite
early provided availability of Federal housing units, and while the
problem in this area was severe, it did not assume the crisis propor-
tions that developed in California,

t

In its national final report entitled "The Relocation Program,"
the Wk states the following:

"As early as June (1945) it had become apparent that the
Authority would have to take some extraordinary measures to meet
the housing crisis in a few of its California districts.,.. Re-
newed emphasis was placed on the acquisition of suitable hostels,
A general survey was made of all Array, Navy, and Coast Guard
installations all up and down the west coast ... .Finally, the
Western Defense Command turned over to the Vfar Relocation Author-
ity the first big block of temporary housing ...at Fort Funston
... .in San Francisco . . . sufficient to house approximately 500
persons. Shortly thereafter, the Loraita Air Strip in Los
Angeles County ... capable of housing 500 persons was turned over.
Soon thereafter five other installations were purchased from the
Army Engineers ... having a total capacity of approximately 700
persons. The Santa Ana Air Base in Orange County provided, on
a permit to use, sufficient barracks to house more than the num-
ber of residents returning to Orange County, The Army Air Trans-
port Command in Sacramento turned over sufficient barracks at
Camp Kohler to house returnees needing housing in Sacramento.

"At the same time these barracks were being acquired, the
Authority negotiated an agreement with the Federal Public Housing
Authority in San Francisco to take 100 veterans or service

173

connected families into public housing in San Francisco, ICX)
families in the Los Angeles area, and 25 families in the San
Diego area. At the same time, the Federal Public Housing
Authority agreed to make available dormitories at Hunters Point
in San Francisco sufficient to house 800 persons, and in Marin
County, just across the Bay, sufficient dormitories to take care
of 1,000 persons. The FPHA entered into an agreement to manage,
on a reimbursable basis for TJRA, all the temporary housing which
it had acquired. This agency also agreed to convert the barracks
into temporary family living quarters at TJRA expense,

"In general, these steps went a long way toward solving the
immediate housing crisis. Although the situation remained very
acute in Los Angeles County, the FPHA finally agreed to loan
more than 450 unused trailers to be used to supplement housing
at five of the existing Army installations.

"By the time the last relocation center was closed on November
30, (1945) approximately 250 veterans or service-connected
families had moved into public housing; approximately 100 per-
sons were in Camp Kohler, Sacramento; 100 in Fort Funston, San
Francisco; 100 in the Santa Ana Air Base; 2,000 in the six
temporary installations in Los AngeleiS County; and in addition
to this, approxLmately 4,000 were in hostels."

Since W.k was going out of business on June 30, 1946, the liquida-
tion of these units became a primary problem, both to the Authority, and
to the people who were again called upon to move. Liquidation of these
units was carried out within the time limit, partly through dispersal
to normal dwellings, and partly through the setting up of a regular FPHA
trailer camp at Winona, near Burbank, which had sufficient capacity to
care for the 1,000 persons in the six Los Angeles temporary installations,
In the Bay area, sufficient apartment housing was found at Richmond to
care for 1,000 persons, including those then housed in dormitories at
Hunters Point in San Francisco. However, approximately 11? families
chose to remain at Hunters Point rather than to move across the Bay, and
\i/RA transferred sufficient funds to FPHA to convert these dormitories in-
to family units.

With this background as a guide, a check into the housing of
Japanese Americans along the west coast was made late in 1946. The
situation has not changed materially, although there had been some pur-
chase of homes. In the Northwest, where the situation had been less
critical earlier, the housing problem, while it remained serious, was
again less severe than elsewhere on the coast. In both Portland and
Seattle, the operation of hotels and apartment houses had been a primary
prewar occupation, and as the people resumed these enterprises, the
pressure on housing diminished somewhat. In Seattle, 58 families are
occupying public housing units, mostly in outlying areas, and a number
are still to be found in similar units near Portland.

174

Seattle

In Seattle, where a sample study of the entire population was
made, replies to the inquiry: "How does your present housing compare
with your prewar home?" indicated that 13 per cent believed their
housing is now better, 39 per cent that it is the same, and h2 per cent
that it is worse than before. To a second question, "Is your present
housing satisfactory or linsatis factory?" 35 per cent e:xpressed definite
dissatisfaction, while the remainder voiced satisfaction with more or
less qualification. The overwhelming majority of the unfavorable ex-
pressions referred to crowding and the limitation of space, but equally
noteworthy was the predominant attitude of an acceptance of the situation.

Distribution of Japanese Americans in Seattle is roughly in the
same districts as before the war. Business locations on lower Jackson
and Main Streets which were taken over mostly by Negroes during the war
have gradually returned to the hands of the Japanese, and the residen-
tial area is widely scattered in all directions from the business center.

Population concentration is somewhat more marked than before. Due
to the general shortage of housing and high rentals, there has been a
tendency toward doubling up of families in smaller dwelling units, and
of congregating in a number of multiple -family units. As in Chicago and
elsewhere, one method by which those of financial means have solved both
their housing and employment problems has been to lease hotels, apart-
ment buildings, or roaning houses for personal residential purposes, and
in turn to rent rooms or apartments in the building to other Japanese
Americans.

At the same time, the housing shortage has also functioned toward
dispersal as home buyers have had to extend their search for desirable
vacancies into areas which Japanese Americans previously did not occupy.
A series of reports from Seattle discuss the problems involved in moving
to new areas:

"The pattern of residential segregation for minority groups has
not acquired that definiteness that characterizes many cities of
the East and Midwest, or even of California. This is not to say
that there is no segregation, but an index of residential segre-
gation developed at the University of Washington, demonstrates
that the rate of segregation in Seattle is less than in most
cities of a comparable size in the country.

"The point is this: there not only is no Cottage Grove Avenue
as in Chicago defining residential color lines, but there also
are fairly large areas of lower middle class residences in this
city where whites predominate and yet other racial groups are
present in substantial numbers. One reason for this is that the

175

number of persons among the minorities who were seeking resi-
dences outside their district was, at any given time, relatively
small such that a gradual process of infiltration was possible
without arousing too much antagonism. Moreover, Seattle is a
city of small, single-family dwellings, many of them separated
not only by yards but also by vacant lots, and there is not that
resistance that is to be found in cities composed of apartment
buildings .

"Generally speaking, it may be said that the upper and upper
middle class districts of Seattle, including Laurelhurst, Mag-
nolia Bluff, Mt. Baker, Montlake, Madison Park, and Denny
Blaine, and the best sections of Capitol Hill, Queen Anne Hill
and Vfest Seattle, will not take minorities, V/e know this be-
cause real estate agents will not "show" to minorities if the
desired residence happens to be in any one of these areas, and
because no minorities to ray knovdedge live there except as
domestics. These areas are scattered in wide parts of Seattle,
but in the interstices are many areas where minorities do
live thus complicating the problem of specifying where the
covenants are specifically operative."^

The president of the local Nisei Veterans Group stated that he
knew of no case where a Nisei veteran reported difficulty in getting
housing in Seattle, due to discrimination. He added:

"Of course, that's probably because no one has made a test case
by trying to get into areas where covenants exist. But you
know how Seattle is; we don't have too much trouble of that
kind,"

Two points may be made in this connection — that most veterans are
too young or do not have sufficient funds themselves to consider the
purchase of a home, and their families are unable to buy the better
homes which might be restricted; and if they do purchase, or rent, their
residences can be selected from a wide area with a varied range of homes,
and there is some preference for staying within calling distance of the
Japanese business center.

Dr. Paul R. and his wife, who did seek a home in a better resi-
dential district, ran into trouble with real estate agents in seeking
homes outside the abovementioned district. He stated:

"We had a deal on with a real estate agent for a house on
Capitol Hill (an old but highly respectable residential area.)
He took us around to the place, and we were interested in
buying, but the owner decided that he didn't want to show it to

176

us. We were interested in looking around the University and
out tov^ard Laurelhiirst, but the real estate people wouldn't
handle us as clients. A minister friend (Caucasian) went to
the agent to see if he would handle us, but he simply refused
to shov; us anything. Several of the other agents around the
university district are like that. They simply refuse 'to show'.
The thing is, the property they handle carries a "no non-
Caucasian" clause and the agent would lose his license if he
sold property to a non-Caucasian."

One case of residential discrimination which had a satisfactory
outcome was that of Constance H. and her family. The case was re-
ported as follows:

"Connie's folks recently bought a place on 311 Dev/ey Place
last September. It*s a Caucasian neighborhood, but there's no
restrictive covenant. When the neighbor across the way heard
that some Japanese were going to move in, they raised objections,
Connie decided to go to the Mayor's Committee with the problem,
so when Irene M. (executive secretary of the committee) heard of
the case, she went out to this other party's home and talked to
the fellow. Irene convinced this fellow that the Japanese v/ould
make just as good if not better neighbors than others; she
told him of the activities of the Z»A.2nd and of the rights of
these people to live wherever they wanted to, Irene's good, you
know, and pretty soon she had him agreeing that it vra.s probably
all right to have the H'e for neighbors, although I don't know
whether she ever convinced him that his property wouldn't de-
teriorate in value because of a non-Caucasian moving in."

This informant continued:

"The foregoing information indicates that restrictive covenants
are operative in the city, usually attached to deeds on property,
but that the covenants except in the most exclusive areas are
not sufficiently well distributed to completely prevent invasion
by minorities. The main defense lines are probably the real
estate agents who refuse to handle non-Caucasian clients, and
this is effective during such a period as the present when a
housing shortage exists such that the agents can choose their
clients, and the individual buyer has difficulty uncovering
prospective sellers by himself. The question of restrictive
covenants does not appear in as acute form in this city as in
some others because there are not as many minority group raeabers
seeking homes in restricted areas as in other cities, and be-
cause there are sufficient nuiribers of areas and varied types of
homes where no restrictions exist for the minorities to satisfy
most of their housing needs, "/I

177

San Francisco Bay Area

In San Francisco, late in 1%6, there were still more than 400
persons living in the Hunters Point dormitories, which for some reason
had not been converted to apartments. The situation here was difficult
since there are no cooking or other facilities for family living.
Across the Bay, 1,000 persons were continiiing to utilize the full
capacity of the segregated section of the Richmond Housing development
provided for thera.

In a report prepared by a worker at the Oakland International In-
stitute, the following statement was made:

"The housing situation in the 3ast Bay is a desperate one. The
Richmond Japanese section is full to overflowing; in some in-
stances 9 or 10 persons are living in two rooms; the same is
true of the Alameda project. I receive telephone calls daily
from persons who are frantically trying to find a place to live.
I have at present a waiting list of some ten families who say
their present living conditions are intolerable; there are 5
families in a 5 room house; a family of 6 in one room; a family
of 5 living in the Methodist hostel with no adequate eating
facilities and no heat; a family of 6 living in a basement room;
a family of 3 living in a friend's kitchen. I have also had
interviews with Japanese who have come from Salinas, Redwood
City, and Fresno and are unable to find any living quarters in
those cities. Yesterday, I received a letter from Hazelton,
Idaho in which the writer stated that her family coiold no longer
live under the present conditions. These are just a few of the
instances that I hear about daily dud there is nothing I can do;
there is no place I can turn because everything is so over-
croAvded already. "/3

In San Francisco itself, a worker of the International Institute of
that city reported the following:

"The situation in San Francisco has been considerably heightened
by the fact that in-migration has not ceased, particularly among
the minority groups, with the result that housing finds have
come to a complete standstill. Probably not more than half of
the returned evacuees are as well housed as before the Trar.

"Another problem vrtiich has arisen concern loans on available
property. The Fillmore District does have property for sale
but at greatly inflated rates. As a result prospective pur-
chasers have had difficulties in getting loans because the
district at the same time is considered a depressed area and
is the first scheduled for urban redevelopment. This means

178

that the city has the option to re-buy "^t greatly devalued
prices, making available property prohibitive.

"Real estate operators have agreements with one another which
prevent their showing available property in outlying districts
to minority groups even though there may be no restrictive
covenants. There are some exceptions to these general rules,
of course, but these exceptions have never been made through
private real estate agents, but always between individuals want-
ing to buy and sell,

"From 1942 on there has been no construction of private housing
for members of minority groups, which means that v^e are still
using, or trying to use, the same property that we had before
the war with the exception of public housing, in the face of an
increase of some 30,000 Negroes, unnumbered Latin Americans, and
the 4,000 plus Japanese who have returned. "//»

As in Seattle, real estate agents in San Franciso generally refuse
to show homes up for sale in Caucasian nedghborhoods , and even where
places can be found by Japanese Americans outside the confines of
"acceptable" areas, the difficulty of securing necessary financing for
purchase had proved insurmountable for most.

Los An^^eles

Throughout the period of return to the west coast, f.ie housing of
those going to Los Angeles presented greater difficulty than that of
any other city. Primarily, this was due to the general housing shortage.
Thus, on September 1/+, 1946, an Associated Press dispatch noted a re-
port made by the city director of veterans temporary housing program
to the Los Angeles city council, that "Los Angeles County has 125,000
homeless families. eoestiraated at three and one-half persons each...
and is continuing to fall behind in providing housing not only for
veterans but for a population gain approximating 25,000 each month,"
While the basis of this estimate was not given, the problem has been
exceedingly grave.

Estimates have placed the number of returned evacuees in Los Angeles
County at 25,000. In spite of the great stringency of housing, all but
10 to 15 per cent of these people had managed by the end of 1946 to find
better than transient quarters.

Most fortunate are those who retained ownership or have purchased
homes, although the latter group necessarily have paid greatly inflated .
prices. At the time of evacuation, Japanese Americans owned approxi-
mately 1,100 residences in Los Angeles, Of these, from 150 to 200 had

179

been sold before return vras permitted. Since the return, it has been
estimated that over /4.OO pieces of residential property had been pur-
chased. It is probable that at least one-fourth of the returned evacuees
are living on their own property.

Home purchases have been made primarily in the Normandie and West
Los Angeles areas, residential districts for a large number of Japanese
Americans before the war. Their purchases, however, have extended away
from the concentration towards the fringe of the restricted zones. Only
a few have purchased homes in restricted zones, mainly because most
Japanese American real estate salesmen have discouraged Nisei from pur-
chasing in these areas. Three restrictive covenant cases are now up in
court. The Nisei are not alone, however, for in the same restricted
zone, the Victor Hall tract, located on the "westside," a Korean dentist,
and more than 30 Negroe families are involved in litigation.

Many homeowners had difficulty in getting back their old places
of residence. The OPA prevented homeowners from moving in without a
six months' notice of eviction, and many homeowners had to wait out the
notice period in already over-crowded hostels and hotels.

The major areas of settlement of Japanese Americans follow closely
the prewar pattern. Hollenbeck and Belvedere, Midtown, Normandie,
Hollywood, and V/est Los Angeles account for approximately one-half of
the total estimated 25,000 population. The remainder are scattered in
all sections of Los Angeles County with smellier concentrations in Pasa-
dena, Gardena, and other towns.

The areas mentioned above are similar in only one respect, that
they are almost all located in non-restricted areas. The range in
physical structure varies from the depressed, crowded and run-down areas
of skid-row and Little Tokyo in midtown to well kept single family
dwellings in the other sections which are comparable to those in any
middle class districts.

Although the least fortunate are crowded into hotels, hostels and
trailer camps, it is not unusual to find several families living in one
family type dwelling. In some residential areas, as Hollenbeck and
Normandie, for example, large houses were purchased for multiple
occupancy. An owner of such a house remarked:

"V/hen I came back, I bought a big house. First thing, a
friend. . .asked if I could spare a room... I charged $25 a
month rent for a room, and now there are three families, and
two couples plus one single man staying at our place. They
have no place to go, and I figure for the next two years at
least, housing will be tight . "/l

180

Least well off are the 10 to 15 per cent of the returned evacuees
who still live in temporary quarters. Indeed, for no segment of the
evacuee population in any part of the United States has the problem of
shelter been so severe.

When WRA closed its national office in June 1946, all of the people
in WRA temporary housing had been moved to other locations, but between
2,500 and 3>000 in Los Angeles County were still living in transient
quarters, about evenly distributed between hostels and trailer camps.
At the end of 1946, there were still an estimated 800 to 900 in hostels,
and 1,700 to 1,800 in trailer camps at Burbank and Long Beach,

In many respects, life in both trailer camps and hostels is remini-
scent of the VJRA center — concentration of Japanese people, cramped
quarters, limited facilities — except that in some of the smaller hostels,
facilities are considerably less adequate.

The largest of the hostels, which in the fall of 1946 housed about
100 persons is a well kept building with adequate sanitary facilities,
and space for privacy. In another, also described as being among the
most adequate, the interviewer reported:

"I walked into the building, only to be faced immediately with
drapes hung from wire and wooden poles. These v/ere used to
separate quarters,

"I could find no one to talk to rae, although there were several
women about. It seems difficult to get people living in hostels
to knock off a few minutes for some reason. Perhaps they feel
the effects of living in a crowded hostel, and feel they cannot
invite one in for a chat. Ordinarily, in their own homes, they
would inquire of one his business, then invite him in."/l

In an interview reported earlier, an Issei business woman suggested a
clue to this condition:

"You should visit the T. Hostel. It is going to be closed in
about a month. That place reminds me of camp. Blankets and
sheets are used for walls, a small space alloted for each
family, with army cots, blankets and boxes comprising all the
furniture. They are the most unfortunate people. If you go,
dress in your old clothes. Otherwise they will shut up like a
clam, because they will resist you because they are jealous of
anyone viho is in a better position than they."/l

Another hostel was described:

181

"A. Hostel is located in the heart of skid row. It is an old
frame building of about 48 rooms, built along the order of an
old hotel with a long corridor running back and forth through
the building on both the first and second floors,

"Mr. R. escorted me through a long hallway which had lined up
along one side crates of stored goods. The place was very
crow^ded. He took me to S's room. It vms very small, even for
a hotel room. On each side of the room there were two anny
cots, with mattress and blankets covering them. An orange
crate standing upright served as a cabinet. A bowl of fruit,
a portable closet, and a pasteboard v/aste box constitute the
rest of the things in the room. I learned that the cost was
50(^ per bed per night. "/l

A number of these hostels have been converted to permanent lodging
places. Concerning one such place, a resident stated:

"I am staying at S.K.'s mother's place. I have a small room,
which has two double beds for the four of us. There is not
even room to write letters or rest. I am paying $30 a month,

"Lots of people bought hotels and then called them hostels.
For instance, the T. Hotel. They used to charge only 50^ a
night for a room. Now they charge 55^ for one bed. If there
is only one in the family, it is not bad, but vihen there are
five, that is ^^2.75 a night just for one room,"/l

Exploitation of Japanese by Japanese has been the subject of much
bitter comment among those who have returned to Los Angeles. But as one
Issei remarked, "The people are too busy earning money themselves to do
anything about it,"

Concern that such conditions may produce social problems is often
expressed:

"The hostels in Little Tokyo, are breeding places of delinquency.
They have no room for entertainment, for visiting, or for in-
viting friends, and so the young people, kids of 14 and 15, run
arovind outside all hours of the night and day, "/I

The scattering of members of families has been one of the greater
grievances of the housing situation. Among many people, it is felt that
the loosening of family controls which began in the centers, continues
to threaten family ties and unity. Such an indication is the following:

"I knovf of some families whose mother works here, and the father
works there, and the children live in hostels or hotels. They

182

are drifting further and further apart. But it is the only
way they can live, and earn money,

"There is no family life. When we were in camp, our parents
began to lose hold of the family, and now they don't have any
control. Kids about lU or 15 go out as school girls. JoJmnie's
sister is in junior high school and she works as a school girl.
Before the war, the parents wouldn't consider letting the boys
out, even after we graduated from high school «"/l

Another older Nisei remarked:

"And there is the problem of training kids. The boys and girls
are nov/ as wild as any kind you see anyplace... you can't
blame them exactly, they have no home, and no one at home tells
them anything... they don't have any pride anymore. They started
out in camps when they had no control over the kids at the
dinner table . "/l

The purchases of hotels in Little Tokyo, although making quarters
available to the returned Japanese, have also left homeless the Negroes
who had come in during the evacuees' absence. Thus, according to one,
himself a Negro stated, "When a Negro tenant moves out of a Japanese
hotel, he is not replaced by another Negro," Resistance has been small,
however, and the same person remarked:

"As the (Japanese) businessmen get established, they move out to
live in another neighborhood. . .The Negro, on the other hand,
lives here, and works someplace else. Those who have established
themselves in good jobs... tend to move out. . .because it is a dis-
grace for anyone to live here for more than two years, "/l

The severe housing stringency in Los Angeles accounts in part for
continued residence in hostels and trailer camps, but not entirely.
People who came to like intimate living with other Japanese in relo-
cation centers, and these were more than a few, have found hostel and
trailer camp life not too onerous. If the more ambitious and able left
the centers early for relocation to the Midwest and East, these repre-
sent the least ambitious and least able of those who waited out the
closing of the centers.

Vfi-nona, in Burbank, housing the largest group of evacuees of all
trailer camps was described in an article in the Rafu Shimpo of
December 21, 1946, as the home for the "most shoved around people. "■»;-
A more fortunate individual described the group in part as "the worst

*See the following page for footnote.

183

ones are those with large families, and who had no money when they were
evacuated. They are living in trailer camps." A field worker reporting
on I'finona wrote:

"As we entered the camp it gave me an impression of going back
into a relocation camp. Half-naked and tanned children were
running in and out of the shade, a shirtless fat individual was
watering a newly sprouted lawn,... and a few women were doing
their ironing in the centrally located laundry trailer. "/l

Of the living conditions, he wrote:

"^7e went inside to see what it looked like... two beds, one on
each end of the trailer, and the kitchen in the center lined
with drawers . . ,my immediate reaction was that this was worse
than a 20 X 25 apartment in Poston."/l

In spite of the physical undesirability, one of the more promi-
nant '.Yinonans remarked, "Most of the people are happy here."

Until the latter part of 1%6, Winona was composed exclusively
of evacuee tenants. As a few evacuee families moved out, Caucasian
veteran families were permitted to live in the trailer camp and by the
end of 1946, 22 veteran families were living with 195 evacuee families.

Approximately 900 individuals compose the 195 family groups. Of
the types of families residing in Winona, a social worker whose district
included the trailer camp stated:

"...contrary to general impressions, there are not too many old
couples staying there... many of the most destitute are those
who raised a large family in camp. They are not old couples...
and could not get work as domestics, and also could not find
homes for their large families... there is a wide gap between
the ages (of Issei and Nisei) and the reason for this is that
the older children are either working in Chicago or other
eastern cities, or are working out here in Los Angeles. "/l

(Footnote for preceding page)

Since this was written, word has been received that the one year lease
on the Winona camp site has run out and will not be renewed. The
Federal Public Housing Authority has been reported as willing to sell
the trailer units at prices ranging from $100 to $;125, but at the end of
April 1947, an alternative site had not been found. At that time, the
Pacific Citizen reported that both county and private agencies are
working to find a solution, which it WoS hoped would not require a
change of schools for the 5OO school -age children living on the project.

184

Because of the homogeneity of ancestry, Jaoanese is the dominant
language spoken. Its effect on the children who are impressionc.ble is
cited by a field worker:

"One of the little girls of five, had stubbed her toe, and wss
talking to everyone about it. Her sentences were mixtures of
poor Japanese and English. All the children spoke similarly,
except that the tendency was for then to speak Japanese more
frequently."/!

Of the ill-effects on children, a businessman of Little Tokyo
remarked:

"...they are a bad place for children. There is a condition
similar to that we had in camp..»The children are picking up
all kinds of bad habits that they see. The older folks are
neglecting them in their education and training. The damage
done now will stay with them for years and years. I don't
see why the people don't try to move out as fast as they can
into something better. "/l

In the Long Beach trailer camp where there is a policy of non-
segregation there was no air of a purely Japanese situation as was the
case in Burbsuik where the Japanese dominate the camp. The Japanese
people seem well adjusted to the situation. In September 1%6, of the
total 450 trailers, only I50 were occupied by the Japanese. The social
development of the Japanese in the camp was described by a Caucasian
resident as follows:

"The Japanese living here were not always like this. We had a
tough time organizing them, and getting them to use the comTvanity
facilities. V.Tien I first came here, the Japanese stayed in their
own trailers, and looked as unhappy as any group could possibly
be. The kids hung around together v/ith nothing to do... I de-
cided to organize a tenant's council... coraposed of nine members
...and at least three be Japanese. In any camp activity we tr^^
not to limit it to any one group, but I felt that the Japanese
were the most underprivileged. . .For the Caucasians, the camp
was only a place to sleep. But for the Japanese it was their
tOTiporary home, and they looked upon it as at least with some
permanency.

"The first thing that we did was to clear the recreation hall of
all the warehoused goods. Then I got the young people together,
the teen-agers, and said we were going to have weekly dances. "/l

185

In speaking of the children, he stated:

"Another program I got started was the 'Brov/nies.' I had a
tough time getting a leader, but one Caucasian woman decided to
help out. Invitations were given to the Caucasian people, but
most of them said that they did not want their kids to play
with the Japanese. We got started anyway, and now quite a few
of the (Caucasian) girls want to join up. They go to the
meetings and do all they can to join. We are trying to get the
Cub Scouts organized, and find the sasrie thing going on." A

As with other sections of the country, in Los Angeles there will
continue to be movement toward more adequate housing, at least vmtil
the national crisis is over.

186

Chapter V

30CIAX ADJTJpTt.IENT

In the preceding chapters, the postwar adjustment of the evacuated
Japanese ^\mericans has been examined from the standpoint of their ac-
tivity in meeting the primary problems of securing income and shelter.
Necessarily, in describing economic factors, the earlier chapters in-
cluded material concerning a number of phases of their social adjust-
ment. This was true, for example, of the second chapter v;hich dealt
v/ith public attitudes toward Japanese /jnericans, and in other chapters
where instances both of discrimination and equality of opportunity vjere
set down in connection vdth various aspects of their economic adjust-
ment. In the first chapter, an account was given of the social effects
of the process of relocation, together with a discussion of their pres-
ent location and mobility. Indeed, the fact of dispersion, and that
persons of Japanese descent have become one of the most widely traveled
segments ,of the American population is in itself one of the primary
social consequences of the evacuation.

Communities bearing a physical resemblance to prewar Little Tokyos
are in existence in several v.-est coast cities, and there is a degree of
congregation in many other cities where Japanese Americans live. In
these, a specifically Japanese American after-hours social life has
been established. At the same time, hoivever, there is fvidence that
the element of social control, so strongly a part of the prewar Little
Tokyo, has not regained strength in the postvrar social situation; that
individual differences of aspiration and attitude have more weight in
determining social behavior than the fact of common ancestiy.

In this chapter, material will be presented to indicate the manner
in which Japanese Americans have approached those areas of social ad-
justment in which their specific problems and group behavior has sig-
nificance. Throughout this presentation, the degree of their partici-
pation in the wider life of the American communities in which they
live will be treated in terms of institutions and activities serving
their social needs.

In the process of postwar adjustment, there has been both con-
tinuity with prewar comraunity life, and sharp changes from the old
pattern. Therefore, before discussing present social adjustment, the
basic elements of the prewar social structure v^ill be briefly out-
lined.

749181 0-47-13

187

Prewar Social Adjustment

In the principal prevjar Japanese conununities the strouf; in-f;roup
control of the means of livelihood which has already been discussed
v.'as matched by equally effective social organization. Few immigrant
groups in .unerica had achieved the degree of social solidarity to be
found among the Japanese.

There appear to have been two important sources of solidarity —
attack by other groups in the community which forced the Japanese to-
gether for common defense, and a comnon cultural background v;hich drev;
then together no less stronglyi The first factor, that of prejudice
and discrimination, has already received extensive consideration in
this report, but little has been said concerning the second. Since
their cultural heritage has had part in defining the problems of ad-
justment of both Issei and ITisei, it is desirable to examine this
factor before going on to the development of postwar social organ-
ization.

In the Japan of the eai-ly 1900' s, v.hen most of the immigrant Japa-
nese left for this country, every phase of social intercourse was gov-
erned by custom.* In the family, there was complete patriarchal con-
trol. Unlike America where development of the individual is stressed,
in Japan the welfare of the familj' group was considered more important
than individual v/elfare and every member of the family had a respons-
ibility to the rest. There vjas a tradition of the eldest son remain-
ing within the family after marriage. Emphasis vjas placed on author-
ity, the meticulous observance of a vafit system of etiquette and the
preservation of the family honor. There was rigid class stratification
and each member of society had a specified place which he was trained
to fill according to recognized rules of conduct.

Like other immigrant groups, the Japanese brought their old vrorld
culture with them. Although strenuous efforts viere m.ade to understand
and follOTv the more obvious phases of .American social custom and prac-
tice, the difficulty of language was so great, and some elements of
the culture of their homeland seemed so valuable, that the formation
of Little Tolc^/os where both language and culture could be preserved

*Much of the discussion of the prevrar Japanese community has been adapt-
ed from vSocial Solidarity Among the Japanese in Seattle, prepared by
Shotaro Frank Miyamoto of the University of Washington. The reader
interested in more detailed information on this subject is referred to
that work, and to the WRA. final report entitled ■:;J^Ti:i: EKILE, The Ex-
clusion of the Japanese from the West Coast.

188

came as a natural development to the Issei. In the Little Tok:,'Os, the
means coxild be developed to enforce the concept of the greater import-
ance of group vjelfare over that of the individual. SoTae, it is true,
deliberately took residence av/ay from other Japanese, but these were
fev; in number. The fact that the greater proportion fully expected to
return to Japan after making a "stake" here, reinforced their desire
to remain culturally Japanese.

Out of these elements, the Little Tokyo communities developed an
elaborate social structure. In every community of appreciable settle-
ment, there vjas a Japanese Association through which contacts with the
larger community were maintained, and vjhich served as a final arbiter
v/ithin the Japanese Community, /is early as 1921, Park and Miller in
their Americanization Studies had stated:

"Whether we like them or not, no other foreign language group
is so completely and intelligently organized to control its
members, and no other group has at all equalled them in the
vjork of accommodating themselves to alien conditions."

Concerning the Japanese Associations they noted:

*

"The object is to ... (1) Elevate the character of the Japa-
nese immigrants; (2) to promote association between the Japa-
nese and Americans; (3) to promote commerce, agriculture, and
other industries; and (4) to further Japanese interests...
it interests itself in whatever concerns the Japanese.

"Under the direction of the Japanese Association they are ac-
quiring a reputation for business integrity. Because of their
historical traits of allegiance also they are inclined to make
more far going concessions than any other group in order to
overcome prejudices and secure status here." /2

As the Japanese communities developed, the Japanese associations
gradually ceased to intervene directly in economic affairs, which came
to be regulated by a variety of specific business associations. They
did continue as an integrating force within the Japanese commvinity.
The functions of the Educational Committee of the North American Japa-
nese Association of Seattle, as described in 1939, will illustrate:

"...Its chief aim has been that of promoting high scholar-
ship among the second generation, and it has been among the
most vigorous supporters of those students v;ho have taken
special honors at their schools. Likewise it is the watch-
dog for any cases of juvenile delinquency, that they might

189

be publicized as a moral lesson to other children. It is
this kind of pressure which keeps the parents constantly
watchful over their children, lest they fall into bad ways
and bring shame upon the family name." /^

Less concerned with community control than the Japanese associa-
tions, but more numerous and more directly concerned with economic
advancement were the business and farm organizations. Although these
were numerous, they were not unified into a single body and remained
autonomous both in function and control. In Los Angeles, for example,
there were 32 such organizations covering retail and wholesale establish-
ments, service enterprises such as laundries and dry cleaners, prof-
essional groups, and those in agriculture including gardeners,
nurserymen and the like. Several attempts to form cooperatives, banks,
and larger business establishments failed largely because of the Issei's
lack of trust and experience in organizations based on a secondary
relationship. y

In addition to business and professional associations, there were
numerous mutual aid societies through which savings were pooled to
provide capital for business enterprise, or to help in case of sick-
ness or death. Passage to Japan was fretjuently paid as a means of
taking care of indigent older people who had relatives in that
coimtry. The mutual aid societies were an Issei tindertaking, with
very little Nisei support.

Much of the recreational activity of the Japanese communities cen-
tered around the prefectural societies conQ)osed of families originating
in the same ken or state in Japan. The annual picnics of some of the
larger ken societies were major social events^ Considerable emphasis
also was placed on marriage between young people whose parents origin-
ated in the same ken. The kenjlnkal also served as a means of provid-
ing mutual aid. In 1937 a Nisei graduate student described these
functions as follows:

"...the purpose of these associations is to promote friendship
among the Japanese who came to America from their respective
ken (prefecture) , and to render mutual aid among themselves.
...recently many of the first generation became old, alone,
and unemployed; some of them have no money for curing illness,
and some die, leaving debts, and no relatives or friends to
burj' them. The nvunber of destitutes is increasing, and usually
they are assisted by kenjinkai," [^

Another set of institutions maintained by the Japanese communities
were the Japanese language schools. These operated on a part time basis,

190

after regular school hours and on Saturday. To them were sent a large
proportion of the Nisei children. The language schools xvere considered
important as a means of teaching Japanese cultural values, and for
providing a sufficient proficiency in the Japanese language to permit
easy social intercourse between the first generation and the Nisei
and for employment in Japanese business concerns. In these aims, the
language schools were only partially succesful.* They deprived the
Nisei of the leisure time enjoyed by their Caucasian classmates in
regular school, and the necessity of attendance was onerous to many.

As with many immigrant peoples, there was an intense interest in
the scholastic attainments of the Nisei in the regular schools, and
much emphasis was placed on continuation at secondary and college
levels, even at great sacrifice on the part of Issei parents. The
evidence is definite that the Issei wanted their children to secure
a thorough understanding both of the language and customs of the
United States as a means of fitting them for the cocrpetitive struggle
of life here, and they looked to the jtoerican schools as a means to
attain that end,**

In all of the larger centers of Japanese population, the commun-
ity maintained an extensive vernacular press. In Seattle, for example,
two daily Japanese language papers were published. In San Francisco
and Los Angeles, the number of competing nev;spapers was even greater.
Some printed a half page of news in English as a concession to the
Nisei, but in all, the principal allocation of space was to material
written in Japanese, and the influence of these papers lay almost
entirely among the Issei.

*During the war, /umy Military Intelligence estimated that not more
than 15 percent of the Nisei spoke and less than five percent wrote
the Japanese language sufficiently well to be useful to that organ-
ization without further general training, /5

**^'J'i thout question, the public schools and universities of the VJest
Coast States furnished the strongest point of Nisei contact with the
larger American community. Nisei were not only accepted without
discrimination, but participated freely in athletic and extra-
curricular activity in addition to obtaining many scholastic and
class honors.

r

191

\

The Japanese immigrants also brought their religious institutions
•with them, both Buddhist and Christian, but principally the former.*
In iiie Buddhist churches, seirvices were held in the Japanese tongue.
There is little evidence, however, that the Buddhist churches were an
important instmiinent of social control in the Japanese communities,
except as concerned ethical matters. Before the war, something over
half of those claiming a religious connection professed Buddhism.
There is some evidence that the influence of this religion was gradu-
ally decliiaing prior to the war.

The Japanese Christian churches were maintained for the Japanese
alone, and these segregated institutions received strong support ;(?rom
the home mission societies of various American denominations. Lack

*A Nisei social scientist described the Buddhist program as follows:

"Once the churches 7.'ere established in America, the Buddhists
were forced to modify their practices drastically in order to
fit their religion to American life. By 1940, Buddhism had
changed so much that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish
in many respects between Buddhist and Christian ways. The
Buddhist marriage ceremony, for example, was almost identical
with the Christian practice--beginning mth Mendelssohn's Wedding
Farch and including some rituals as the exchange of rings and
the purification of the ring over the Buddhist holy book, ■«rtien
in Japan the Buddhist church had nothing to do with weddings
whatsoever. The Buddhist services also included hymns which
were entirely absent from religious worship in Japan, Such
hymns were written by Caucasian Buddhists who recognized their
necessity for adapting Buddhism to a Christian world,

"Furthennore, the Buddhists met on Sxinday, a Christian holiday,
but this was neces saury since all other days were work days,
Christmas gifts were exchanged by Buddhist children and special
dances were sponsored during the Christmas holidays for the
young Buddhists, Sunday schools were instituted for the
children, and the Young Buddhist Association was set up after
the pattern of the YMCA and WCA to meet the recreational needs
of Buddhist youths, Buddhist socials vrere known throughout
the state of California as being far more effectively organ-
ized than those of Christians, As far as dances were con-
cerned, the Japanese Buddhists accepted the American pattern
far more readily than any Christisin groups. Annual young
people's conferences were held much along the line of the
Christian youth conferences,"/^ i

192

of ability to understand the English language was given as the prin-
cipal reason for maintenance of separate churches, although as the
nvunber of Nisei grew, there were frequently two services, one held
in Japanese and the other in English. There was a scattering of at-
tendance in the regular churches of the west coast cities, but little
evidence that many church leaders, either Japanese or Caucasian, ad-
vocated such participation.

Because the Japanese lived 30 closely together, one of the most
effective controls was gossip and other foims of public censure which
brought pressure on the family head to enforce conformity on the part
of his family to accepted modes of behaviour. The basic control was
to be found within the patriarchal family, with the authority of the
father reinforced by the intimate concern of the rest of the commun-
ity which brought its influence to bear both through informal means
and by organized community institutions.

The high degree of social organization among the Japanese was
of direct civic value to the larger commiuiity. Thus a report concern-
ing Seattle, prepared in 1939 states:

"Juvenile delinquency rates among the Japanese.. .are extreme-
ly low despite their large percentage of residence within a
zone of high adult criminality. This fact can be explained
only by assuming either that Japanese community influences are
particularly favorable for their children's character, or that
cases of delinquency are handled within the group. In either
circumstance we have a cogent argument showing group solidar-
ity. Again, relief agencies in Seattle seldom have Japanese
names on their records, although there are cases of dependency
among these immigrants. The Japanese take pride in having
agencies of their own to care for such people'.' /5a

The second generation was placed under compulsion to conform to
the social pattern of their elders, but like other immigrant groups,
the efforts of the first generation were only partially successful.
The Nisei lived in a dual cultural situation, with the American
schools providing an overwhelming counter force. Conflicts within
the family began to develop. As the Nisei became older, their assoc-
iations with Americans of other ancestries broadened and the conflicts
became deeper. Suspended between two cultures, many Nisei were at
ease in neither.

^/fliile this development was taking place, the Isaei were finding
that the amassing of wealth was not as easy as they had imagined, and
the expectation of returning to Japan became more of a hope than a
practical possibility. More and more, conflicts within the home came

193

to be resolved in favor of their American children. A study of Japa-
nese immigrant families described this process as follows:

"The family continues to show a high degree of solidarity as
long as the children are economically dependent. An emotional
bond, developing spontaneously out of intimate personal con-
tacts, holds the family members together. I'lTiile the chil-
dren are young the goods purchased are limited to those com-
modities having to do with the bare necessities of life.
However, as the children become an important source of family
income, there is a striking reorganization of the family
expenditures. The children, who are educated in the American
schools introduce new items in foods, and other new cultural
artifacts — the radio, the piano, chairs, beds, books and
magazines, even a whole new set of utensils and above all
the automobile. All these nev; items borrowed from the Amer-
ican culture entail redefinition of the 'standard of living'.
The conflict of economic values between the first and second
generation become a recurrent phenomenon, since the first
generation is more interested in thriftiness, while the second
generation is spending." /?

AJLl evidence points to the fact that in the decade before the war,
the Issei vjere becom.ing more and more centered in the welfare of their
children, and that they had come to realize that their children's
future lay in America rather than Japan. In keeping with Japanese
moral custom, they expected that the political loyalty of the chil-
dren bom in America would be given the land of their birth.; Never-
theless, the Issei parents continued to expect conformance to the
code of filial piety, v;hich gave the father the authority to make
final decisions on questions of importance to members of his family
including the choice of a mate v;hen children were of marriageable
age. The "good Nisei" v.'as one who knew the Japanese language, remain-
ed an integral part of the family, and observed the traditional Japa-
nese social graces at least while in company of his elders. It was
frequently stated that if the Nisei would only be a "good Japanese"
he would also be a "good American",

The emphasis on Japanese cultural values widened the gulf be-
tween the first and second generations. The basic aspirations of the
Nisei were more and more those of the ^^erican community in vfhich
they partially participated. Their behavior, ideals, and standards
of living more nearly fitted the pattern of American life. The
question of marriage came more and more to be regarded by Nisei as a
matter for personal decision. A relatively small number of Nisei,
especially those v;hose parents lived avjay from the Little Tokyos,
vjere finding most of their social outlets axaong Caucasian rather than

194

Nisei groups, and all had some friendly experience in the larger cora-
niunity. Much of this came in the public schools where Nisei were ac-
cepted on an equal basis. It may be stated generally that in their
homes and in their contacts with young people of other background,
the experience of the Nisei was very similar to that of the second
generation of most immigrant groups.

The growing needs of the Nisei found slight representation in the
instruments of social control maintained by their elders, and as early
as 1918, a citizens organization known as the American Loyalty League
was established in Fresno. The number of the second generation was
small at that time, and this as well as similar efforts elsewhere were
only partially successful. Out of these beginnings, however, grew the
Japanese American Citizens League which was formally organized at a
national convention held in Seattle in 1930. By the time of Pearl
Harbor, the JACL claimed a membership of 7,000 in 50 chapters. This
organization had as its aim the fostering of Americanization among the
Nisei, as well as general concern for the needs of the second genera-
tion Japanese. Available evidence indicates that before the vjar it
developed primarily along social and fraternal lines. It was given
friendly tolerance by the Issei, but had only a small part in the af-
fairs of the Japanese community.

By 1940, the second generation outnumbered the Issei nearly two
to one, but in terms of social control, this proportion was deceptive
since half the Nisei were still below the age of 21, and many of those
who were older were still in school or were in a subordinate position
in the working world. Thus data for Seattle indicates that immediate-
ly preceding the war, two out of three of the Japanese Americans,
either self-employed or working for others, wei*e Issei. Similarly,
data for Los Angeles indicates that of approximately 8,000 families
in Los Angeles, only in one out of five was the family head a Nisei.
The Issei vjere anxious to have their sons trained to compete with
members of the Caucasian commvmity, but were unprepared to meet such
competition themselves, and were quite unwilling to hand over econ-
omic control. Nevertheless, such competition was beginning. This
also contributed to the growing disintegration of the Japanese com-
munity.

Added conflict within the group was fostered by the growing crisis
in the Far East. The Issei, who depended mainly on vernacular sources
of information, generally sympathized with Japan's conquest of China,
while the Nisei, most of whom could read only the American press, gen-
erally shared the abhorrence of the general public.

Pressure placed upon the Issei to permit Nisei to conform to Amer-
ican standards continued as higher levels of education were reached,

195

and became even stronger as the latter became adxilts and began to gain
experience in the political and economic life of the country. At the
same time, hov?ever. Nisei aspirations to become fully Americans were
checked by prejudice and discrimination, both in economic and socicil
life, and they were confronted vd.th the fact that economic opportunity
lay largely within the control of the Japanese community. As expressed
by one Nisei:

"^Ve've been criticized for huddling together. We've been
urged to spread out. When we tried, we were considered
belligerent and arrogant. When a yoxinger member tried to
move out of prescribed area he is herded back." jX^

In consequence, the prewar economic life of the Nisei became identi-
fied with the Japanese commvinity. For the same reasons, their recre-
ational activities were developed largely within their own group. The
number of segregated social clubs and athletic organizations multiplied
in profusion.

Thus, at the time of Pearl Harbor, the control of the first genera-
tion over the Nisei was being challenged. A process of disintegration
within the Japanese family and community was well under way, but the
Issei remained in a position of economic and social dominance and be-
cause of prejudice and discrimination in the larger community which af-
fected the entire group, Issei and Nisei alike, there was a strong
pressure from the outside which tended to reinforce Japanese commxmity
controla .

There can be no question that the tightness of social organiza-
tion within the Japanese community bred antagonism and helped to foster
the suspicion which led to the military decision to evacuate the group.
Neither the first nor second generation Japanese Americans had become
sufficiently a part of the American community to be able to go through
the crisis of an attack by Japan with that community.

The evacuation destroyed the social organization of the Little
Tokyos, both in terms of social control and of alctivity. As noted_in
an earlier chapter, there were many who hoped that the "Japanese
problem" would be solved by the eventual deportation of all persons
of Japanese descent. In addition to these, there were many friends of
the Japanese Americans who, while entirely opposed to such a course,
hoped that the Little Tokyos had been destroyed for good.

Postwar Social Adjustment

The previous chapters of this report have demonstrated that in many
localities, the Little Tokyo communities have been revived as residen-
tial areas. In the following parts of this section, an attempt will be

196

made to inclicate similarities and differences in the postwar social
situation in these comiiiunities, as well as among Japanese Americans
resettled elsev/here, using the framework develoj^ed in the preceding
section as a basis of comparison. This presentation will be made
under topical headings as follov/s: Residential segregation, Fanily
relationships, Educational institutions, Economic organization. The
vernacular press, Organization for social control, Organization for
social advancement, Organization of veterans. Relations vjjth other
minorities, Religious institutions and activities. Recreational and
social activities, and Social participation in the wider community.

Before proceeding, note should be taken that the process of
evacuation and the experience of living in assembly and relocation
centers has had a profound effect on the attitudes and beliefs of the
Japanese American people and that a knoxvledge of these tvjo phases of
their wartime life is necessary to an understanding of their subseq-
uent social behavior. Readers who have had access to the WRA final
reports will be familiar with the detailed description of these tv;o
periods found in IMTOUHDED PEOPLE, Japanese j^jnericans in the Reloca-
tion Centers. To avoid repetition of material, others are directed
to that source.

The process of relocation, also important to an understanding of
postwar social adjustment, vjas briefly outlined in the first chapter.

Residential segregation. While dispersion of the Japanese Amer-
icans formerly resident on the v/est coast to all parts of the country
is one of the most important social results of the evacuation, the
postwar pattern of resideijce and business location bears some resem-
blance to that obtaining before the war.

In previous chapters, there has been discussion of the reasons
for a degree of congregation in Chicago, the greater residential and
business segregation of Denver and Salt Lake City and the shairply
defined segregation of the west coast cities. In varying degree, we
have seen that all of these situations were similar in that housing
was generally more easy to obtain in depressed residential districts,
and that there were outside pressures to prevent the expansion of the
group to more favorable residential districts.

If the degree of residential and business segregation in the ci-
ties of the Wfest Coast States were to be taken as the only criterion,
it might be assumed that the prev^ar Little Tokyo communities were
fully restored. Before such a conclusion can be reached, however,
other factors must be considered.

197

Family relationships. The experience of evacuation, life in relo-
cation centers and the process of relocation produced many cross cur-
rents which have affected family relationships. Although not unchal-
lenged, the control of the father over the activities of his family re-
mained substantial at the time of Pearl Harbor. Subsequent events
greatly accelerated the disintegration of the patriarchal family ar-
rangement. Conversely, family solidarity based on mutual regard and
a feeling of obligation by Nisei to their parents has remained one of
the important factors in detenuining the postwar adjustment pattern.
Instances of irresponsibility toward the welfare of parents have been
exceedingly rare. At the same time, in decisions concerning employ-
ment, where to live, and the like, the desires of the Nisei have had
vastly more weight than would have been the case if the gradual process
of development had been uninterinpted.

The immediate effect of the evacuation was to draw families to-
gether. Aliens and citizens alike had been segregated and placed
under common hardship because they were of Japanese descent. They
faced an uncertain future in which the most important element seemed
the fact of their racial origin. Bewildered, they could find a source
of strength in family relationships.

But as they became more secure after settling down in relocation
centers, factors tending toward family disintegration began to take
effect. Children were no longer economically dependent on their
parents. Indeed, many of them had a higher rate of earnings from
employment as stenographers or clerks at the intermediate salary of
$16 a month, while their fathers were employed as agricultural labor-
ers at the basic rate of $12, In addition, there was no longer the
unifying experience of family meals; all stood in line at the block
mess hall, and more frequently children ate with others of their own
age rather than with their parents. The means of enforcing family
decisions were lucking. There vjas the not infrequent retort from
adolescents: "I don't owe you anything. The Gkivernment is taking
care of me."

As the program of relocation developed, more mature Nisei usually
left the centers before their parents, and consequently had more time
for adjustment in their new communities. The Issei, feeling strongly
their status as enemy aliens left the centers more slowly. Those that
did eventually join their Nisei children expected the latter to as-
sume most of the family responsibility for locating living quarters,
for securing employment, for acting as breadwinner during the initial
period and in general for looking after the family interests. As noted
in the introductory chapter, when the west coast exclusion area was
reopened in January of 1945, only 6,000 or about one in six of the
evacuated Issei had left the centers. A considerable proportion of

198

the Issei who relocated In 1945 returned to their original homes.
Thus families which had been divided by the relocation of the Nisei
became even more widely scattered with the closing of the centers.
In not a few cases, sons and daughters have returned to the west
coast to aid the family. Numerous factors entered into the determina-
tion whether the children should return or ask their parents to join
them. In cases where investments have been made or a high level of
employment attained in the East, the tendency has been for the parents
to join them there. On the other hand, many Nisei less well employed
or with economic roots not so firmly set have returned to take care of
their parents. The feeling of obligation has remained strong, what-
ever the solution finally worked out. Thus a Nisei remarked:

"I don't believe that vre can very v;ell forget our Issei parents
and leave them to take care of themselves. After all they've
worked hard to bring us up. It is our solemn duty to look after
them now that they are unable to work," /I

Concerning another 27 year old Nisei, a field interviewer reported:

"He spent two years in Chicago and feels that there are better
opportunities for advancement economically as well as socially
in the East. Yet he went back because of his parents." ^

An inquiry directed to officials in charge of the Rancho de los
Amigos, an old peoples home near Los Angeles where a number of indig- •
ent Issei are living, brought the reply that few, if any, Japanese in
residence had children who might assume responsibility.

In most cases the need for the Nisei to return to their original
homes has not been so much the requirement that they support their
parents, as that they be on hand to assist with adjustments, part-
icularly to stand between the parents and the Caucasian community.
The Issei are still willing to work, and as v;e have seen earlier, op-
portxmities for vvell paying employment have not been lacking.

In addition, whatever capital has been retained after evacuation
is very largely in Issei hands. In a number of cases, the Issei have
assisted their Nisei children in setting up a small business in which
both could yjork. By this means the Nisei is able to acquire necessary
capital and to make use of his parent's greater business experience,
while the Issei have benefited from the ability of his children to use
the English language, and from their status as citizens of the United
States.

This relationship was v;ell stated by a Los Angeles Issei business-
man in ansvrer to a question about the difficulties of opening a post-
war business:

199

"It is much easier. The reason for that is the fact that the
Japanese are actually two groups, the Issei and the ITisei.
When we first came over, there was just the Issei and v;e had
a difficult tine. Everytime we ..anted to go into business, or
tried to get licenses, property, or got into a prohlem, v;e
would be told... that there was no business and that would be
all. V/e didn't know vjhat to do after that. But novj, the
Nisei, although they still have Japanese faces, can under-
stand English, and the Caucasians will refer them to some
other agency who will take care of us. In other vjords, the
Nisei are making it much easier because they know enough
themselves to ask questions, and they have made themselves
known, and respected by the Caucasians so that they will not
brush us off anymore." /I

The factor of primary importance in Issei-Nisei relationships is
that the citizen generation are no longer so dependent economically on
their elders. The economic institutions of the prcivar Little Tolcyos
have not been revived. Business relationships are entered in a spirit
of partnership rather than of domination of Nisei by Issei, as was
true before Pearl Harbor. If, because of restrictions on gaining
citizenship, and a vague desire to return eventually to his homeland,
the Issei had one foot in Japan prior to the viar, the outcaae of the
war has been to place his future irretrievably in America. They have
no choice but to look to their citizen children for that future. The
v;ould-be Issei patriarch is faced by a dilemma for v;hich there is only
one practical solution. Intensive pride in the Nisei military record
and in the success vjith which Nisei are competing in the v;ider comrnim-
ity has served to make the loss of status more palatable.

Not only are the Issei more dependent on their children since the
v;ar, the prestige of the father has been vreakened farther by the fact
that many of the Issei women, novf relieved of the responsibility of
caring for small children, have been able to secure well paying employ-
ment, and in many cases have an income greate^' than that of their hus-
bands.

Further v/eakening direct family control, a nimber of families have
of necessity been. forced to live in separate quarters, with control
over younger children becoming more and more tenuous, '..'ith the in-
tense drive for income of the first year of relocation, there has been
little possibility for development of the more subtle forms of social
control, mentioned in the prewar section of the chapter. There has
been little or no attempt in postwar Japanese communities to define
the role or obliations of its members, or for gossip to play the
po-.'erful part it has in forcing conformity before the war. Everyone
has similar problems, and it is easier to rationalize misbehavior and

200

the looseness of family ties as shikata-ga-nal (it can't be helped.)

In marriage, there is an increasing tendency for the Nisei to
select their ovm mate. In announcing a v/edding, the name of a go-
between is usually listed, but in most cases, this is an afterthought
to please the parents and Issei friends. Of fundamental importance to
the Japanese social system, the institution of arranged marriages is
very nearly out of the picture as far as Nisei are concerned.

As the Nisei have matured, their primary family interest has come
to lodge with their own children, much in the general American pattern.
The form in which Nisei concern for their parents is expressed may con-
tain some elements of traditional Japanese culture, as for example, a
greater obligation toward parents felt by the eldest son, but the gap
between the practices and attitudes of a modern Nisei household, and
the home of their own childhood has become exceedingly wide.

As the second /jnerican generation, the Sansei, come along, the
differences in family structure will become even wider. The Sansei
will be brought up in families where English is the customary language
and where American customs are generally pmctioed. Their experience of
cultural conflict, which was a part of their Nisei parents early life,
will be slight. If not confronted with prejudice and discrimination,
the pattern of their development can be expected to take a course
similar to that of other Americans whose grandparents immigrated to
this country.

Educational institutions. None of the community managed Japanese
language schools have been reopened, and at pres'ent classroom in-
struction in the Japanese tongue can be secured only at the college
level or through enlistment in the Army and assignment to the Milit-
ary Intelligence Language Scho 1 located at Monterey, California.

During the war, the interest of Japanese Americans in general
education did not slacken. Primary and secondary schooling was fur-
nished in relocation centers. As noted elsewhere, college students
were among the first to leave the centers. Acceptance followed the
prewar pattern, with much favorable attention to Nisei students, not
a few of v;hom were elected to campus offices. Figures released by
the National Student Relocation Council, a private organization formed
to aid college students among the evacuees, show that from the time
of evacuation up to July 1946, college and university enrollment of
Japanese .^^merican students totaled 5,522 in 550 institutions of high-
er learning. /8

201

Economic organization. Only a few of the prewar business and
professional associations have been revived, and of these, only the
Southern California Flower Grovrers Association, described in a
previous chapter, has attained appreciable strength. As business
undertakings become better established, it is probable that the
number of such associations will grov/, but for the present, em-
phasis is on individual enterprise with little attention to group
control of business practice or activity.

A second cause of lack of economic organization may be found in
a lingering doubt among some Issei concerning the capability of the
citizen generation which, of necessity, would have to be given a
place of importance in such organization. A report from the Santa
Clara Valley illustrates this feeling:

•♦Mr. 0 stated that the leadership of the Japanese commun-
ity should now pass to the Nisei, but when I asked him
v;hat promising leaders he saw among the Nisei, he could
name but one or two, after long thought. At another point
in the conversation he said that the most promising leader
in the valley was a young Issei.

"He commented that the Nisei were 'too young' to assume
much leadership. He was asked how old he was when he be-
came secretary of the Japanese association. He got the
point and smiled. 'I was 25' he said. He went on with
some other items: He was 20 when he came to America;
22 when he leased a 25-acre orchard in the Santa Cruz
mountains; 29 v/hen he helped organize the Berry Growers
Association; 33 when he purchased a cannery (but found
it impossible to compete with another concern) ; 35 when
he started his vegetable shipping concern. 'Issei were
alone when they came from Japan. They had to take care
of themselves. Nisei depend on their parents. I some-
times tell ray sons that when I was their age, I was doing
this and that, but they only laugh. ' " /Jl

Mr. 0. represents the feeling of a segment of the prewar
Issei leadership which recognizes the inevitability of the shift
of business initiative to Nisei, but who for the present are
unable to bring themselves to give way to their children whom they
like to consider immature and untried.

As with business associations, the prewar mutual aid societies
are no longer a factor in the postwar Japanese American coramiinities.
The only known instance of mutual aid on the prevjar pattern in-

202

volved a small group of Log Angeles gardeners who met once a month
to pool savings to permit its members to purchase homes. On an
individual basis, the practice of bringing small gifts of money
to funerals to help defray expenses was noted in a number of
instances. This follows a common prewar practice, but the custom
appeared to be carried out on a much more haphazard basis.

As far as is known, none of the ken societies have been re-
organized; while collections are occasionally made among people of
the same ken to aid one in difficult circvimstances or to help with
fxmeral expenses, this has not been done on an organized basis.

Among the Nisei, the present pattern of aid to the indigent,
other than immediate relatives, is through referral to the regular
welfare authorities.

The vernacular press. Publication of all of the west coast
vernacular newspapers had been suspended by the time of the evacua-
tion. During the war, one language paper in Salt Lake City and
two in Denver were permitted to publish under close supervision,
and these had wide circulation in the relocation centers. After
the war was over, daily vernaculars were reestablished in Los
Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and New York City, with two
in San Francisco. None, however, have attained their prewar
circulation or strength in the community.

749181 0-47-14

203

Organization for social control. Issei dominated organizations
of social control such as the Japanese associations and prefectural
societies have been conspicuously missing in the postwar Japanese
communities. The intense drive for economic security, fear of in-
vestigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and self-con-
sciousness arising from the fact that the country of their bi^th was
at war with the United States, and was defeated, has caused «^ssei
leadership to remain quiet or t o channel its efforts tov.'ard less
conspicuously alien lines of activity.

The drive for e conomic security has already been discussed in
the chapter concerned \^dth economic adjustment, waking hours are
spent in earning a livelihood which leaves little time for friendly
visits and recreation, much less the rebuilding of community or-
ganization. While extreme emphasis on economic security is less
noticeable in midwestem and eastern communities vvhere relocation
took place earlier, in western cities such as Los Angeles, it has
been a principal concern.

In addition to the pressure of work which has prevented many
leaders from organizational activity, the constant awareness of being
watched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the early days
of the war has served to discourage activity in the postwar period
as well. Many of the leaders were interned at the beginning of the
war, which they believe was a result of their leadership in the
Japanese community. With the defeat of Japan, they have a conscious
feeling of having lost status. In a number of instances this has
been confirmed by official action, as for exa:xiple in Seattle, when
a request for the unfreezing of the Japanese Association funds brought
a reprimand from the United States Attorney. This was accepted as
the official attitude on such matters. It lead to the comment of a
prominent Seattle Issei:

"The government apparently feels that we Issei have no
rights in this countr;;.^. As things stand, v;e are help-
less to do anything to help the people of the community." /l

In regard to being conscious of the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion, a minister in Los Angeles stated:

"People want to establish themselves economically. But
there is another important thing. The war is not offici-
ally over. The FBI is c onstantly v;atching, not individuals,
but organizations. The only Issei organization in existence,
probably is the Church Federation. We received permission
from the FBI to organize ... You see, we don't want to cause
any further trouble," /l

204

Some postv/ar outlets for leadership have been found in drives for
relief to be s ert to Japan, sponsored by American church groups vrith
official sanction, and in assisting with testimonial dinners for Nisei
veterans and for Caucasians who actively aided the evacuees durinr^ the
war and resettlement period.

Lack of an or^^anized means of ej-^iressinr;; the needs of the Japanese
in their communities, and of riaking contributions to the wider com-
i];unity through or,p;anized means has bothered many of the older Issei,
In Seattle, for exa^nple, ';hen a dirt slide partially obstructed a
street in the Japanese business section, a former member of the Japa-
nese association spoke of the difficulty of forcefully presenting the
need for clean-up to the City Street Commission:

"It would be a sood thin.' to have a petition v;ith all the
business people in the cistrict attach their names to it,
but I can't go around by mj^self to get t he signatures, Je
need to have some kind of coraraunity organization in the
Japanese coixm-onity to handle problems like that," /l

In matters such as donations to the Community Chest or Red Cross,
the absence of t he Japanese associations prevents group giving and
credit taking, a fact w hich further contributes to the feeling of loss
of status in the wider community. The Seattle resident quoted above
mentioned his ovm experience in this regard:

"At the time of the Comriiunity Chest Drive, * received a
letter requesting a pleage through the mail. . But I thought
there v^ould be someone coming arotmd to collect from us as
they've alv.a^'s done in the past, and since it seemed b etter
to contribute to the Japanese community drive, v/e kept v;ait-
ing for sor.ieone to come around. We waited for quite a while,
and when no one came, we decided we'd better send in some-
thing so we sent our contribution through the mail. Many
people were in the same situation and lots of them didn't
contribute because they kept waiting: and nothing happened.
We have to have an organization when there's a job like
that to be done." [Y

In part the activities previously fosterea by the Japanese as-
sociations have b een carried out through other channels such as Re-
settlement Committees and the Japanese A:aericsxi Citizens League.
In both the latter cases, the type of activity differs materially
from that of before the war.

The Resettlement Committee which has remained most active, that
located in Chicago, is supported partially through the Community Chest

205

and is led by mature Nisei. It has become greatly interested in a
recreational program as a means of combating juvenile delinquency
and serves Japanese Americans generally as a place where information
can be secured and referral made. In some respects, it has become
a go-between, representing the Japanese Americans of Chicago in civic
affairs and interpreting the larger community to the Issei and Nisei,
In these activities, it bears some resemblance to prev;ar community
organization. It is noteworthy, however, that the fev.' cases of
hardship which have come to its attention have been referred to
regular welfare channels. Its leadership is Nisei rather than Issei,
and it makes no attempt to regulate the conduct of the Japanese com-
munity in Chicago. As an instrument of social control it bears but
faint resemblance to the prewar Japanese Association.

The Japanese American Citizens League has assumed broad leader-
ship in such matters as securing the privilege of naturalization for
Japanese aliens, in promoting legislation to establish an evacuee
claims commission ani to permit administrative discretion in hardship
deportation cases, and in the preparation of the Qyama alien land law
case for presentation to the United States Supreme Court. These are
matters which vrould have engaged the attention of the prewar Japanese
Associations, but are now being handled by the citizen generation. As
with the Chicago xtesettlement Committee, the JACL function is one of
service rather than of social control. In this latter respect, it
bears no resemblance to the prewar Japanese association.

Organization for social advancement. The task of finding a
solution to problems peculiar to the Japanese American group, such as
those enumerated in the paragraph Just above, has been assiraied by the
Japanese American Citizens League and its affiliated Anti-Discrimina-
tion Committee. From the beginning of t he war, the JACL has been
the only Japanese American organization of national scope, and since
it has no effective rivals within the !;:roup for leadership in these
matters, the histor;^'' of the postwar development of organized means
to secure relief from restrictive legislation is very closely the
story of the JACL.

Between Fearl Harbor- and the evacuation, JACL membership increased
from 7,000 to 21,000, and the number of chapters from 50 to 66. This
phenomenal growth resulted from the desire of Nisei to become identi-
fied with an organization whose loyalties and character vrere un-
questionably American. The JACL offered this identification and some
measure of security during the period v/hen suspicion was being placed
on anything Japanese in nature. As the only active remaining Japanese
American organization, it also served as one means by v/hich the de-
cisions of the Army v/ere transmitted to the group.

206

When the evacuation was ordered, the JACL urged all Japanese
Americans to submit peacefully and cooperatively as the group's
"special contribution to t he war effort," even though as an organiza-
tion it stated its disapproval of the evacuation itself. This stand
in favor of peaceful submission to evacuation, plus the fact that
citizens were included in the order, brought a sharp reaction. The
story got about that the JACL had "approved the evacuation," that its
leaders had "sold out the Japanese." The fact that the evacuation
order was first made known to the group in Los Angeles through JACL
chcinnels gave apparent substance to these beliefs. In extreme fona,
a few claijned that the JACL was itself responsible for the evacuation,
as some hinted, "to let the Nisei tcike over from the Issei for a few
cents on the dollar." By the time the people v;ere in relocation
centers, the organization was largely repudiated. Its membership fell
to about 2,000. Some of its officials, including the national presi-
dent, Saburo Kido, suffered violence and had to be removed f rem the
centers.

This reaction in large part resulted from the bitter frustration
of the evacuation experience, but a second factor was of almost equal
importance - the JACL was thrust into a position of leadership for
which it had practically no preparation. As v;e have seen, it was the
Issei dominated Japanese associations that spoke for the community
before the war. Within a matter of days after Pearl Harbor, officers
of the Japanese associations were placed in internment by the Depart-
Lient of Justice, and the community was left without its recognized
leaders. The task of stepping into this leadership vacuum in the
midst of the evacuation crisis placed too heavy a load on the im-
mature and inexperienced volunteer local officers of the JACL. In-
ability to measure up to the needs of the evacuation period added to
the bitterness of antagonism against the organization.

While the activities of the JaCL were greatly curtailed after the
evacuation, it was able to maintain its publication. The Pacific
Citizen, and to support a few active leaders through the national
office which had been transferred to Salt Lake City from San Francisco.
In spite of its failure at the time of evacuation, the JACL became
the only going Japanese American organization through -'hich concern
for the welfare of the evacuated people could be expressed.

The first attempt to t ake stock and reorient the organization was
made at a conference held during November 1942 at Salt Lake City. In
describing the atmosphere and intent of t he conference, a columnist for
the Pacific Citizen commented:

207

"It is an intense, serious, vital series of meetings having
to do with the destinies of 110,000 human beings, being con-
ducted on a marathon day and night schedule.

"If it took December 7 to snatch the sv;addling clothes off the
JACL as some, rightly or wrongly, claim, surely a nev; social
consciousness ha-S come over its leaders and the organization
has reached adult stature during the tribulations of the past
fev; months.

"IXiost of the leaders are lookinrr forward to a new and perhaps
the League's greatest task, from a more practical, mature and
reasoned vievrpoint than ever before." /9

The National office of the JACL functioned throughout the vfar as
a spokesman for the problems of the evacuated people, although it
could not claim to represent them directly. Very early in the war,
the Nisei were placed in an ineligible classification hy the Selec-
tive Service System, and strong issue was taken v.dth this ruling."
When the Array opened its ranks to volunteers, the JACL actively sup-
ported the fonning of the 442nd Regimental Combat Teai.i. From tirae to
time, JACL National officers sought and secured audience with high
officials of the Department of v/ar, Departjaent of Justice, and of the
War Relocation Authority, thus being given an opportunity to present
Japanese American needs to Federal officials at a policy level, and
to serve as an authoritative vehicle of information to the evacuated
people. The JACL leadership was also concerned with public relations
at the community level, and was successful in securing as sponsors a
considerable number of persons prominent in national affairs.

■"'Early in 1947, Saburo Kido, wartiirie national president of the JACL
was presented the Selective Service Medal and Certificate of Merit -
"In recognition of patriotic and meritorious services to the Selective
Service System v/ithout compensation during the period 1941-1946."
The citation specified: "As National President of the Japanese
American Citizens League, he rendered great assistance to the
Selective Service System in presenting various problems confronting
Japanese American registrants, and v:as a most importan't influence in
convincing such registrants of the purpose of the Selective Service
System to operate v;ithout discrimination against th.em, and assisted
in securing an extraordinary degree of cooperation under most
difficult circumstances." /lO

208

As an organization, the JACL successfully v;eathered the trials
of the war peiiod, having gained considerable prestige among offi-
cials and interested persons outside the Japanese /unerican group,
but without rr.ass support within its group. Its strength lav in the
ability of a snail number of leaders to correctly analyse and inter-
pret a swiftly changing social situation, but in a literal sense it
was a head without a body, Japanese Airiericans generally were antag-
onistic or fearful of attracting attention through organization.

In addition, durint^ 1945 and early 1946, Japanese Americans
generally were too busy with the adjustments required by the clos-
ing of the relocation centers to rtive much attention to long range
issues. By the summer of 1946, hovrever, concern was growin-; with
regard to Alien Land Lav; cases brought before California Courts, and
the United States Congress was considering legislation seeking to
grant the privilege of citizenship to Japanese aliens and to s et up
a Claims Conmission. The National JACL office worked vigorously
for these measures, but was hampered by lack of mass support among
Japanese Americans and by the newness and inexperience of local
leadership in the fe./ chapters that had been reconstituted.

As the status of Japanese A:nericans in the community strengthened,
they became less concerned about segregated organization and the Nisei
especially began to come together to discuss mutual probleuis. The
realization began to crystallize that the questions mentioned above
were the primary issues affecting Japanese Americans as a giroup and
as the need for an effective national channel to focus efforts toward
finding a solution became apparent, the national JACL laiinched an
expansion program on the basis of its wartime and postwar record of
leadership."""

""" JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEACzUE ~ A STATEMENT OF POLICY,
January 1947

The Japanese American Citizens League is in existence because
there are problems and adjustments v;hich are peculiar to Americans
of Japanese ancestry. The term "Japanese Aiiierican" in the name of
the organization is used merely to identify the problems, not iden-
tify the constituency or to describe the organization. Moreover,
the designation "Japanese American" does not limit the membership
of the organization exclusively to Japanese Americans. On the con-
trary, we encourage and solicit other Ainericans to join with us for
we need them to build the strongest possible organization. We be-
lieve that as we v.ork for the solutdon of the problems peculiar to

209

IVhile the drive for additional membership has been only moder-
ately successful - by t he end of 1947 a total membership of 7>000
in 50 chapters was claimed, substantially the prewar fi-^ure - the
recognition of the JACL as the organization through which group
problems should b-j worked outvras virtually complete. A second
notable development is that in contrast to the prewar JACL which
had chapters only in the West Coast and Intermountain States, the
organization is now national in scope mth chapters in Chicago,
Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Ann Arbor,
Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, Seabrook Farms, and '.','ashin';ton,
D. C ., as well as in the principal cities of the Intermountain and
West Coast states.

Illustrative of changing attitudes toward organization is the

our own minority group, we are helping constructively thereby to solve
the total problems of all minorities.

We are often asked, ''Why does not JACL take a stand upon impor-
tant issues other than just those which affect Japanese Araericans
and other groups as racial minorities?" Our b asic premise is that
v/hen we start taking stands as an organization upon other natters,
we begin to set ourselves apart as a group. Upon such issues we
believe that our individual members should express themselves as
individual Americans and join actively with whatever groups and
organizations in their communities oest e:qDress their ovm thinking
and points of view, itoreover, tlie membership of JACL is made up of
various individuals with differing viewpoints. To take stands upon
issues v;here opinions are divided tvould be to create disunity among
our group. We hold, however, that all of our membership can go
along apd work together upon the basic problems which affect people
of Japanese ancestry.

When the time comes when v;e ^imericans of Japanese ancestry face
only those problems v/hich are no different from those faced by all
other Americans, then JACL will have served its purpose and can be
liquidated. In tlie meantime, we pledge and devote ourselves and
our efforts to the hastening of that day, /ll

Note: For a comprehensive statement of the JACL analysis of problems
confronting Japanese Americans, see Appendix B, "Statement of Xike
Masaoka, national legislative director of the Japanese American Citi-
zens League Anti-Discrimination Committee, Inc., before the President's
Civil Rights Committee, May 1st, 1947."

210

followincr account taken from the August 31) 1946, issue of the
Pacific Citizen;

"The recent organizati-on of a JACL chapter in Vlashin^-'ton
underlines the fact that attitudes and complexes among
the Nisei have undergone some big changes in the last
year or so.

"A move to form a chapter here during the v;ar years vrould
have gotten no support. In fact, there would have been
a violent opposition to any group v;hich tried to move in
that direction.

"This was due to several factors. There v/as widespread
feeling that if a chapter were organized it would be the
target of attack and investigation. . .The local office of
the national JAGL ... was raided on several occasions by
the Dies Committee ... In succeeding months, a local
newspaper carried vicious accounts of Nisei, one of which
concerned the 'infiltration of Japs' from the relocation
centers into the federal government.

"The effect of all this on the Nisei was tragic. They de-
veloped a strong yellow press complex, and tabooed the JACL
and any other Nisei organization. This was understandable
to some extent as most of the Nisei in iVashington were
government employees who had to submit to microscopic
investigations before they could get on the federal pay-
roll, and they felt that being active members of an
organization like the JACL which was under constant con-
gressional fire would jeopardize the position of all Nisei
in Civil Service.

"However, in the latter part of 1944, when the need became
acute for a Nisei group to aid the largp number of new-
comers, steps were taken to form a Nisei council. The pro-
viso was that it would only be for social, educational and
philanthropic purposes. There was some objection to its
formation, to be sure, but it received sufficient popular
support when it was agreed that the council \vould function
closely with the local Citizens Committee.

"The next step in the local Nisei's emergence f rom t heir
shell of caution and uneasiness was the formation of the
USO Junior Hostess Club. This group of girls, through
the efficient manner in which it entertained thousands of

211

Nisei GI's and served the community as a whole, demon-
strated the value and need of a well-directed organiza-
tion, and paved the way for the eventual formation of a
group which would embrace all the local Nisei - the JACL.

"The Nisei cannot escape f rom t he fundamental fact that
Nisei in any community will not be effective and pro-
ductive unless they organize. They must realize that
no matter how self-sufficient some of them may feel at
times, they are a part of a minority who must fight to
safeguard their rights as citizens and that tte vigor
of their fight is derived to a large extent from unity
and coordination."

There is, however, direct opposition to t he view stated in the
paragraph just above, which has a bearing on the membership and activ-
ity of the JACL, Reluctance to become identified with it does not
necessarily mean opposition to the specific organization. There are a
good many among the Japanese Mericans who feel their most effective
course is to call as little attention to themselves as possible. This
widely held attitude v;as vj-ell stated to a field intervievrer by an older
Nisei during the course of a meeting at Rocky Ford, Colorado in Novem-
ber of 1946:

"What's the purpose of conducting studies of the Japanese
people in the United States. I remember ever since the
evacuation, all kinds of organizations have been making
studies of us ... I don't think it does any good. It
only makes the Japanese more prominent in the eyes of the
people. I don't think we ought to talk too much about
the Japanese ... I remember the Pacific Citizen which
v.'e used to see vv-hile we were overseas. It always talked
about how good the Japanese were. Every time we Nisei
soldiers savj- the paper, we said to each other, 'Well, the
JACL again says that the Nisei are the best bunch of
people in the world. '

"I think if we publicize the Nisei too much the Caucasian
public is going to get tired of it, and will begin to hate
us ... I don't think we ought to play up all the little
discriminations the Japanese are experiencing. Some of
them I think we can simply forget ... Sure we can press
some cases into court, but we ought to do it only once
or so. Make it a big court fight, put a lot of money
in the case, but once it is over we ought to forget it
and not continue to press cases into the court over

212

and over a.^ain."/!.

The facilities for field inteirviewing were not such as to permit
an attempt to measure the extent of support vdthin the group for
either of these tv/o opposing views concerning the value of an or-
ganized approach to specific Japaxiese American problems. In the
dynamic social situation in v.'hich Japanese Americans find them-
selves, support for one approach or the other v/ill undoubtedly
fluctuate with the apparent success of the particular means used.
It can b e positively stated, however, that there is uncertainty
vdthin the group, and that this lack of sureness concerning an
effective approach to the group's special problems does contribute
to the general unsettled feeling among Japanese /unericans.

In spite of the bold program undertaken nationally, in most
communities the local JACL is still largely a social and fraternal
organization. Business meetings attract very f ev; Nisei, v/hile
social gatherings may bring out the total membership. This lack
of interest is indicated in a comment made by a Nisei in Denver.
He stated:

"The Denver JACL is rather inactive. They have a member-
ship of close to 350, but very fev/ attend the meetings.
The last meeting I attended there were only about 30 ...
I don't know v;hy the Nisei don't take more interest in
the organization." /l

Similarlj^, the situation as of February 1947 in Los Angeles is
described:

"kembership is now up to some 175 or so, though most of
the public meetings rarely attract more than 50." /l

That such apparent unconcern has been disturbing to the national
leadership, is indicated in a statement by Mike Masaoka in the
Pacific Citizen;

"Some Nisei feel it is none of their problem, and so why
should they poke their nose into the legislation. >/hy
get Vv'orked up about the naturalization bill? The Issei
are old, and they'll all be dead in a few years, and then
there won't be any need for any naturalization bill.

"3y being indifferent to the legislative prograra and by
failin,g to support those who are fighting their battles
for them. Nisei are letting dovm the people who have

213

stood by them,,,It is these people the Nisei are letting
down by their apathy. It is these people who are being
left with the task of finishing the job for the Nisei,
while the Nisei themselves settle back and vfatch." /l2

The more mature Nisei are at an age when foundations of careers
are being laid down and the requirements of a grov;ing family are
most insistent; few have the time to devote to outside activities,
even though they may consider them important.

Moreover, at least half of the present chapters of the JACL
were formed durin- the second part of 1946 and it is still too early
to judge it program at a local level. Concerning the membership
of one local west coast chapter, an observer noted:

"They ave clumsy social engineers, but with an obligation
to represent the group," /l

Up to the present, the JACL has had one notable success,
participation in the defeat in the 1946 California elections of the
initiative measure to validate the Alien Land Laws of that state.
As noted in the section of Chapter II dealing with Alien Land Laws,
the Anti-Discrimination Committee of the JACL conducted a statewide
campaign opposing these amendments.

One effect of this campai.gn and of efforts to relieve other
legislative restrictions has been a better understanding and a
closer working relationship between the Issei and Nisei, Thus,
one of the former remarked:

"The information made available through the vernacular
papers have made the Issei conscious of the need for an
organ to keep them informed on the program of various
actions taken by the government. They have been made
aware of the necessity for citizenship, and for the de-
feat of Proposition 15 ••• The Issei, knowing that they
cannot participate as full members, contribute to the
fund as a working capital,,,," /l

As he mentioned, Issei have been barred from active participation
in the JACL because they are not citizens. However, the Issei are
eligible to become supporting or contributing members of the Anti-
Discrimination Committee, Their main function has been to give
financial support to cover the legal fees and operational expenses of
the committee. That interest among Issei has been created and their
full support thro'^ to the JACL is indicated in a telegram s ent to Mike

214

Masaoka, the National Director of Anti-Discrimination Committee in
VJ^ashington by a supporting Issei organization in California, It stated:

"Enthusiasm generated to realize local budget at com-
mittee meeting. Am delegated to assure you we intend
to make goal. Appreciate your efforts. Intending to
gain full support here,"/!

In speaking of the -willingness of Issei to ass\jme a secondary sup-
porting role, 8ja Issei in Denver remarked:

"It is Nisei like you who must take the lead from novr
on* We Issei are old now and it won't be too long be-
fore w© will have passed from this world. The Issei
is definitely over now. We must follow the Nisei and
tcLke their advice ."/l

In regard to the changing attitude of Issei concerning their role
in commvmity organization, a Nisei related:

"An Issei friend of mine, Mr, A,, who used to run a
big cleaning establishment in Los Angeles, was in-
terned and when he returned I talked to him, lie was
bitter against the JACL before the war, but he told
me that all Japanese ought to support the JACL as
there would be no more Japanese associations, WTien
I heard him speak favorably of the JACL, I felt I had
no right to hold any grudges against the JACL, I was
never put to any hardship as he was,,, I felt that
dTiring the war the JACL did some good for the Japa-
nese,, ,1 think the Japanese throughout the country
ought to support it, as it is the only national or-
gani za tion, "/l

As the Issei have accepted Nisei leadership, the Nisei have come
more and more to the acceptance of Issei advice and counsel as well as
financial support. Thus, in speaking of the needs for Issei coopera-
tion, a JACL leader of Los Angeles publicly remarked;

"We need Issei thinking even though they are not
eligible for membership in the JACL, We Nisei are
still young and need mature judgment which only the
Issei can offer, Yf© need your financial support. "/l

Emphasis of the JACL program through its Anti-Discriminating Com-
mittee thus far has been largely restricted to gaining social and ec-
onomic security through political action. If the JACL fourd precedent
for this phase of activity in the work of prewar Japanese associations,

215

it has not developed as an instrument to enforce the decisions of the
comnninlty in matters of behavior or with reference to Japanese culture*

In addition to the JACL, the Japanese American Committee for De-
mocracy, an organization -with most of its membership in New York City,
has been concerned with the same basic issues* It has also indicated
considerable interest in the liberal movement in Japan, having among
its members a nvmber of political refugees from that country. The JACD
has had but small influence away from New York*

Organization of veterans* Including Nisei from Hawaii, approxi-
mately 23,000 Japanese Americans had wartime service in the armed forces,
and all but a few of these have since received their discharge.* About
half that total were recruited in the Bftinland United States, Up to
the present, the number of Nisei veterans who have participated in vet-
eran's organizations has been relatively small. There is an apparent
feeling among majsy Nisei veterans that they have met their obligation
for service, and that work toward solution of special Japanese American
problems should be taken up by others. Like other veterans they have
individual problems of adjustment to which they wish to devote their
full energies. There is, moreover, considerable indecision among those
interested in group action vAiether the Nisei should seek membership in
going national veterans organizations as individuals, or in segregated
posts, or whether an entirely new organization should be set up.

All the major veterans organizations have as national policy the
acceptance of Nisei as individual members, With one exception, they
are likewise willing to permit the establishment of segregated posts.
Locally there has been some variation of poU , with a few instances
of racial rejection, and some of a direct appeal for Nisei membership.
In commenting on the lack of interest in national veterans organiza-
tions, a columnist for the Pacific Citizen suggested:

"It is understandable perhaps, that Nisei GI's in
particular are wary of veterans organization, for the
Legion, VPN, and the Disabled American Veterans have
discriminated, in the past, against members of the
group on the basis of race and ancestry. Some dis-
crimination still exists in old line groups at the

♦Official Amy records released to the JACL in Way of 1947, and c€ur-
ried in the Pacific Citizen of May 17, show that a total of 35,330
persons of Japanese ancestry had served in the wartime and postwar
Army of the United States, up to that time. Of these 40 were Japanese
aliens*

216

local level, although national officers of the Legion
suad the VM have condemned such discrimination. The
sorriest example of veterans bigotry is the continued
refusal of the Spokane YW to accept Nised members,
although only a few of its members countenance the
restrictive policy, "As

Indicative of the lack of xmiformity in local policy is an appeal
carried in an article in the Utah Hippo (Salt Lake City) of November 6,
1946*

"Salt Lake City's Atomic Post No, 4355, Veterans of
Foreign ?i^ars, this week unanimously went on record
'to encourage and solicit Japanese American veterans
of overseas sei*vice to become members of this great
American organisation' •

"The resolution noted 'there has been a conspicuous
absence of Japanese Anerican veterans of this -war on
Veterans of Foreign Wars memberships' and declared
'there have been groundless inimors of discrimination
in our ranks.'"

As mentioned earlier, this post later took the lead in the success-
ful effort to secure the repeal of the Utah Alien Land Law,

A similar lead was taken by the VFVf in Northern California. As
reported in the May 31, 1947 issue of the Pacific Citieen;

"Sacramento— -The Golden Poppy Council of the Veterauas
of Foreign ?mrs, comprising 34 posts in northern Cali-
fondla, unanimously requested on May 26 that Governor
Warren strike out the Alien Land Law enforcement fund
of $75,180 from the state budget,

"'Japanese American veterans by their exemplary war
record have earned desei'ved justice for themselves
and their families', the YFN communication to Gov-
enor Vy'arren stated, 'No other class of citizens or
veterans is being thus penalised because of ancestral
origin. Forward-looking Califomians concur with us
that class legislation of this type must be wiped out.'"

Non-veteran Japanese Americans do look to the Nisei with military
service records to take the lead in efforts to better the position of
their group. Thus a Nisei leader of national prominence among them
stated:

217

"We have run across many types of Nisei GIs« Most of
them are retiring, not even having the interest to
join the various veteran's organizations. This is
most deplorable because these men are in the best
position to speak up for all Nisei and persons of Japa-
nese ancestry. It seems to us that the sacrifice made
by donning a uniform will have been in vain vmless the
Nisei GIs transform themselves for the cause of elimi-
nating racial intolerance and prejudice.

•♦l/'ie are looking forward to the Nisei GIs assvuning the
leadership of their own communities, ^.^e hope to see
more and more oast aside their indifference or modesty
and become crusaders for a cause— a more tolerant
America with equal rights for all, regardless of race,
color, creed, or ancestry."/ 14

A nvimber of segregated posts of national veterans organizations
have been established. The first to include Japanese Americans was the
Cathay Post of the American Legion in Denver which vras set up early in
1946 by Chinese American and Japanese American veterans. An inteirriew
with one of its Nisei officers provides a strong statement of the view-
point of those favoring segregated organization:

"Hank went into a long spiel defending his segregated
Nisei veterans' organization, and vjas bitter toward those
who criticized his outfit on the basis that it was
segregated and consequently bad in the long rtm. He
was adamant in his belief that the Nisei, veterans or
non-veterans, must unite in a body to fight off discrimi-
nation and to advance themselves. He is thoroughly con-
vinced that this is the only course the Nisei can follow.
Some pertinent remarks he made are as follows:

"'One Nisei veteran is a member of the American Legion*
Post No, 1 here. It is the leading Caucasian Legion
Post around here. He told us, we're segregating ovu*-
selves and that this was bad. Just because he's a mem-
ber of a Caucasian outfit doesn't mean much. He doesn't
mix in with the Caucasian members. They don't accept
him on an equal basis. Sure, when he goes to the regu-
lar meeting, they pat him on the shoulders and say
hello, but outside the meeting he is a stranger to the
rest. Where does that put him. If I am going to be a
member of any organization I want to feel that I'm the
equal with the rest and I want to be treated as a friend
not only at the meeting but outside the meeting.

218

"'We get to meet more big shot Caucasians than he can
being a member of a Caucasian outfit. For instance,
the Lieutenant Governor of the state has dropped in
to see us; the attorney general of the state has in-
vited us; the city judge knows us well. Lot of other
big shot Caucasisms visited us or know us well. Now,
the sole reason why we have been -able to meet these
big shots has been that we have a segregated post.
Tliey all know us better this way. We would never have
been able to meet if we were siBply members of a Cau-
casian post.

"'Sure they accept you in the Caucasian organization,
but they don't want to associate with you outside the
meetings.

"•We have some Caucasians in our post. I told them
this. If they wanted to Join our post they must be
willing to mix in with the rest of us freely. I want
them to be willing to visit me at ny home and meet my
family, and I want to be able to visit them and their
families. At a dance I want them to be willing to
dance mth my sister and I want to be able to dance
with their sisters. I'm not asking them to let me
marry their sisters. Ho, I just want them to accept
me 6ind the other Nisei as real friends.

"♦Lots of the Nisei and Issei don't like our post be-
cause it's segregated, and that it has both Nisei and
Chinese. They don't realize that we can do more good by
being segregated than just joining a Caucasian outfit.

"'Now you take L. Dance hall. One of o\ir boys was
turned away from the dance, I called the manager and
just told him. I also called the leaders of the local
Legion Post, and they promised to help us. Now they're
letting Nisei in the dance hall. Yfhy? Because as an
American Legion Post we have a powerful voice,

"'I know Judge R. well. He told me that we Nisei got
to fight for our rights if we want to get anywhere. He
told me if we didn't we wouldn't get anything. Further-
more he stated, if we didn't he didn't want to know us
as his friends.

"'The Nisei around here are too contented. They don't
care to protect their rights or fight for them. '"/l

749181 O - 47 - 1-5

219

In the other extreme, ho-wever, a Nisei veteran of 23 months in
the Pacific in a letter to the headquarters of a national veterans
organization stated the following view concerning the formation of seg-
regated posts:

"I understand you are attempting to create a separate
Post for Nisei ex-servicemen of World War II » I think
this move is un-American.. .Some say that Nisei cannot
"be assimilated into the American Way of life»,,How can
Nisai be assimilated if they are placed on racial basis
and segregated into separate posts I This is sin5)ly
'Jim Crowism' all over again. • .my membership will go
to that group that will accept any American regardless
of race, color, or creed. .."/IS

After the formation of a segregated Yeteran of Foreign Tiars Post
in Sacramento, a prominent Nisei wrote:

"The formation of an all Nisei post of the Veterans
of Foreign Yfars in Sacramento is a most unfortunate
thing that could have happened for the future of all
persons of Japanese ancestry. The desire to get to-
gether is understemdable. However, to organize a seg-
regated post under an already existing national orgajii-
zation is merely encouraging those who desire to keep
the Nisei separated,

"In matters of this nature, the Nisei veterans should
realize that there is an vmder lying principle which
should be respected. If we are going to fight against
discrimination of any kind and nature we must be care-
ful not to do anything that would lend color of sanc-
tioning such practices. Once we indicate that seg-
regation is permissible or acceptable, it is going to
lead to more importeuat or vicious tjrpes of discrimina-
tion. And we would have no basis to protest once we
have conceded the validity of such segregation through
our oTOi acts,

"There may be an inconsistency in saying that the
formation of the 442nd Combat Team was approved, and
that a segregated vetersms post should not be opposed.
In defense of the combat team, the circumstances under
inAiioh it was formed should be taken into consideration.
The draft had been suspended. The only way in which
the Nisei could fight for their country was through
this combat team. And only volunteers were to be ac-
cepted after oaxeful screening. Those who did Join

220

this now famous unit all know how difficult it -was to
get into the Anny, The reason which our friends in
the V.'ar Department gave as theii* justification for the
formation of this segregated unit was that this was
the best .my in which the loyalty of the Nisei could
be highlighted. Subsequent events proved that these
friends were sincere. And the 442nd Combat Team served
the purpose of glorifying the military feats of the
Nisei GIs.

"The 442nd Combat Team should be the first and the
last segregated unit of Nisei soldiers. Hereafter
every Nisei should be admitted into the Anny on the
same basis as any other Ameidoan citizen, and they
should be attached to whatever vmit they are capable
of doing the most good for the am^d forces and their
country,"

In furtlier analysis of the nature of segregated posts he oontinuedj

"Where the hostility towards persons of Japanese an-
oestiy is not marked, there is no indication of the
Nisei being asked to form a separate post. Such seg-
regated practices are the brainchild of those who are in
favor of Jim Crowism,,,

"The Nisei vetersms have made great sacrifices for the
future of all persons of Japanese ancestry in this
eountiry. It would be a shame for them to undermine
all the good by condoning and approving Jim Crowism
by taking the lead themselves,. .The time is ripe for
the breaking down of social barriers. And the vet-
erans would be an ideal group to spearhead a drive in
this direction. The objective is not going to be at-
tained by our veterans creating a clannish group of
their own."/l6

The root of the dilemma concerning the kind of organization which
will most effectively serve Nisei veterans is the fact that there are
unsolved problems of adjustment of a nature special to Japanese Ameri-
cans, In addition, there is a feeling on the part of many that there
oan be greater fellowship if Nisei meet as a group.

One solution to this dilemma as well as an approach to special Japa-
nese American problems has been the establishment of local veterans
organizations in at least six cities across the country, TIThile these
are segregated, with membership limited to Nisei, individual members
have been urged to join local chapters of the national organizations,

221

In Seattle, for example, the president of the Nisei Veterans Associa-
tion belongs to a national veterans orgsmization, as do a few other mem-
bers.

A prospectus, put out by a group of Los Angeles Nisei veterans which
later incorporated as "The Nisei Veterans Association", provides a clear
exposition of the intent and plan of activity of these local Nisei vet-
erans groups:

"Why a Nisei Veterans Association?"

"Because a united effort is needed to fight for toler-
ance that is still far from being a perfect reality.

"Because a orgemization is needed to act as spokesman
for Nisei veterans and act as contact with other organi-
Eations, veteran or otherwise,

"Because with an organization of all Nisei vets oxir
voice will be louder when speaking in a national vet-
erans organization. We speak in national veterans organi-
zations by individual members of NVA Joining those organi-
zations *

"To help Nisei vets get jobs with a free employment and
welfare sei*vice,

"So that we can get together and hash over old times
without someone giving us a blank look of ignorance of
what we ' re talking about,

"To get athletics rolling among Niseis,

"To pool our resources to undertake business enterprises
to become financially independent,"

A list of the more specific objectives of the Association included:

"A» It is our hope and intentions that someday we will
have a clubhouse of our own. A place where veterans may
gather for a bull session and be understood, A place
where refreshments may be obtained at a reasonable price,
A place where veterans may be able to satisfy their urge
for army type of relaxation. With support from all Nisei
veterans, this project, we feel, is not an impossibility
and should be realized in the very near future.

222

"B. We realize that regardless of our vfar record,
everything is not peaches and cream for the Nisei vet,
Ne are still being discriminated, T,'e are not free to
purchase homes irtiereever we please. If we do purchase
them, we are not allowed to live in them,

"C* We feel that all Nisei should enjoy all the privi-
leges of being Americans, socially, economically, and
politically. Politically, we do have the franchise to
vote, lie can see no reason why it should end there.
We feel that the only barrier is racial. It's up to
us to break down that racial barrier,

••D, Economically, jobs are now open to us- that were
never open to us before, Tet there are max^ skills
that we Nisei vets do have but cannot apply because
jobs are not open to us. Those jobs can be opened euid
they are being opened. Slowly, yes, but at least
progress is being made,

"E, Socially, the barrier lies greatly within our-
selves. It is our refusal to mingle with others that
is retarding progress. We have to step forward to be
accepted. No one is coming more than half way to meet
us. There are many who are willing to meet us but can-
not because we refuse to meet them. Through our or-
ganization we hope to be able to rectify the situation.
The veterans path in Ihis respect will be the easiest,

"P, We did fight and did our part in the war and we do
feel that others should now do the fighting for us.
But, unless we fight for ourselves, no one is going to
fight for us. The sooner we wake up and realize it
the sooner we'll be able to have those things that we
want,"

"1/lhy not Form Into a Post of a National Organization?"

"The organizers of NVA feel that by organizing into a
post of a national veterans organization we will be
asking those organizations to segregate against us,

"Only one organization to date has come out with a de-
finite statement that there shall be no segregation in
any of their posts. That organization then would be
the one for us to become part of but we feel that with
a mixed membership we will not be able to concentrate
sufficiently upon those problems that sire peculiar to

223

the Niseis Our interests will necessarily have to be-
oone more diversified and the unity of purpose will be
weedcened*

*We do realize the strength of national veteran organi-
zations and what they can do for us, if they will.
Therefore, it is the policy of HVA that all members
Join a national veteran organization and carry on our
fight in those organizations. Not only to break down
prejudice within those organizations but to obtain their
support upon questions that are of vital importance to
the Nisei."/l7

So far, there has been no apparent desire to form existing local
Nisei veterans associations into a national group.

There is no generally accepted approach to the question of organi-
zation among Nisei veterans, but of the three outlined above, that of
the segregated local with members belonging to national organizations
seems to have the greatest number of adherents. At the present writing,
however, not more than one in 20 of the eligible Nisei veterans are mem-
bers of such a group, with an additional scattered membership in na-
tional veterans organizations.

Relations with other minorites» Attitudes of Japanese Americans
toward Negroes, Mexicans, and other minority peoples vairy as greatly and
in about the same proportion as may be found in the general population.

One result of the evacuation was to place a large number of Negroes
in the former Little Tokyos, As we have seen, adjustments have been
made so far with no appreciable trouble. Die fact that the Japanese
businessmen have a considerable amount of trade with Negroes, which
they did not have before the war, has already resulted in some shifts
in attitude. In general, Negro attitudes towards Japanese Americans
have been friendly. Themselves subject to discrimination, many Negro
leaders have viewed the evacuation as an instance of racial discrimi-
nation and in consequence, their sympathies have been with the evacuees.
There is, however, some resentment of the favorable attention and the
community assistance given Japanese i\mericans.

Instances of tension have not been vtnknown. Early in 1947, there
were a series of robberies in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles,
Assignment of additional city police eventually provided a partial so-
lution to the problem, but for a time there was active danger of racial
trouble. The following report carried in the Pittsburgh Courier of
March 15, describes the sources of the difficulty, both in terms of the
immediate causes of tension and in the social situation:

224

"Japanese merchants in the &re& began to wonder if the
crimes directed against them were inspired by a group
of colored criminals. PVom these wonderings, evolved
a plan conceived by the Japanese merchants to place on
the streets a patrol of their own. Ex-servicemen~Nisei
soldiers— jwere employed to prowl the streets of the
district to add to the services furnished by the city.

"Fearing an actual racial issue as a result of this ac-
tion, because of its unilateral character. Reverend
Kinglsey and Eiji Tanabe called a meeting of Japanese
merchants of the area to discuss the now dangerous
situation.

"When colored residents of the sirea discovered the vigi-
lante like patrolmen on the streets of the vicinity, ru-
mors began flying,

"Among these rumors was one with a bitter in?)act. Word
was spread that the Japanese desired to rid the comraunity
of the colored residents. Traced through many channels,
this rumor was disproved.

"This fact revealed the necessity of immediately plan-
ning some solution to the situation.

"At the meeting, it was shown that for the Japanese
merchants to cry out sigainst the colored residents be-
cause of criminal acts by a very small group, was un-
sound. By the same token, it was pointed out that
colored residents of the area who catered to a racial
outlook on the situation were cotirting trouble.

"Walking through the surea, one may see Japanese and
colored members of the district apparently mingling,
but close observation will reveal that the association
of the two groups is merely one of forced mingling. In
very few of the Japanese establishments are any colored
employed. This cannot be observed where colored es-
tablishments are concerned, because of the lack of the
latter.

"Pilgrim House. There is one show in the vicinity, whose
patrons in the main are juveniles of both groups, and in
a small way, a few of the adults. Only at one establish-
ment in the area may one see free mingling of the groups,
«uid that is at the Pilgrim House, where very young chil-
dren are kept while their parents work or shop.

225

"At the House, children play together freely. During
the hours when they sleep, they are all bundled to-
gether in the ssune bed, or beds. This ends, when one
leaves the vicinity of the houses. The scene then be-
comes one where the people are together, but at the
same time are very distant,"

Among Japanese American leadership there is some division of opin^
ion whether their group should become involved in problems relating to
discrimination against Negroes, In a number of cases the JACL has ap-
peared as a "friend of the court" in legal actions resulting from re-
strictive covenants on residential property where Negroes were involved.
It also entered a case seeking to prevent the segregation of Msxican
school children under the California laws. It is perhaps worth noting
that the issues concerned legal and constitutional rights rather than
personal relationships.

Conversely, the degree of economic and social discrimination af-
fecting Japanese Americans is so far below that placed upon Negroes,
Mexicans, and most other minority groups, that there is very great hesi-
tation eanong many in associating themselves with problems which do not
immediately concern them, Japane'se Americans living in cities which
maintain a segregated social pattern may attend white schools, use white
playgrovmds, and be admitted to all hospitals. The fear on the part of
Japanese Americans that identification with efforts to open these insti-
tutions to Negroes might result in added disabilities to themselves has
undoubtedly had a deterrent effect on closer association between the two
groups.

Beligious institutions and activity. Indications are that the
proportion of Japanese Americans vriio claim chxirch membership and who
attend regular religious serTrices is about the seme as that of the gen-
eral population. One notable difference is the adherence to Buddhism
of about half those Japanese Americans who have religious connections.
In the postwar period, religious activity has shown many siirdlarities
to the prewar pattern, although not without stress. In the East and
Midwest, there is proportionately larger attendance outside segregated
churche s •

The question of religion is eua intensely personal matter and no
attempt was made to gather information concerning religions beliefs.
Apart from such personal matters, the development of religious insti-
tutions does throw light on certain phases of social adjustment, par-
ticularly that relating to participation in wider community affairs,
smd it is from this standpoint that the following material is presented.

226

Christian* In earlier chapters, mention has been made of the
strong leadership furnished by ministers and lay church people in se-
curing acceptance of Japanese Americans in communities new to them.*
As Nisei began to arrive, they viere much sought after as speakers to
women's circles, young peoples groups sind the like. Opinion in a par-
ticular church was not always unanimous, but there was usually someone
who took warm interest in the novel task of assisting the Nisei, V^ile
there is no evidence that this attention was in any way related to
proselyting for membership, in all of the cities of the Mdwest and East,
efforts were made to bring Nisei into the churches. Farriers that may
have existed to participation in church life were seldom greater for
Japanese Americans than for other new comers to a community. Everyvjhere,
the churches and schools were the institutions most receptive to the
evacuees*

To further the religious development among the resettlers, the
Home MLssions Boards of many of the Christian denominations assigned
Japanese American ministers to such communities at Chicago, Cleveland,
Minneapolis, Cincinnati, and New York. The emphasis was placed on at-
tendance in regular churches of the community.

The results of these efforts were not imiform. In most communities
having a sizable Japanese American population, there have been several
distinct types of development among Christians, A considerable number
have participated in regular church life. In Chicago, for example, a
survey made in June of 1945 indicate attendance at 100 Protestant
churches. In these, 200 had taken out membership, and an additional
275 attended regularly; another 500 attended occasionally. A fair num-
ber sang in church choirs emd taught in Sunday schools. At the sajne
time, several hundreds were meeting regularly in a Sunday evening ser-
vice attended primarily by Nisei, Two churches have been established
for Japanese alone,/l8 In Cleveland, a very similar development took
place on a smaller scale. There was attendance in regular churches, a
virtually all-Nisei evening service in one of the downtown churches,
and a Japanese language church for the older people. The largest num-
ber to attend any one institution came to the Nisei services, which Vv'as
also true in Chicago,

One Chicago chviroh Trtiich sponsors the Nisei evening service has
co-pastors, a Caucasian and the other a Nisei, While the evening seirvice.

♦The Maryknoll Mssion of the Catholic Church has had a definite pro-
gram of taking care of the needs of its members among the Japanese
Americans, During the war it was active in the centers, and in the
postwar resettlement period it has again been active in fulfilling
spiritual as well as the social needs. However, since the adherents
of the Roman Catholic faith are few among the Japanese Americans, a
detailed discussion of this group will not be given,

227

•which is served alternately by -ttie two men has remained largely an ex-
clusive Nisei affair, during the past year the general morning seirvic©
has had an increasing Japanese American attendance. A clue to the be-
havior of the Nisei with relation to participation in all-Nisei as comr-
pared -with general church services was contained in a remark made by
the Nisei co-pastor of this church;

"^Vhen I came to this ministry in 1943, I did not believe
it could work. I could not believe that I could share
the deepest secrets of niy being ^^^iih a Caucasian.
There were things I was sure he could not under s tand « "/l

Three years later, the events of this ministry had changed his
mind. In discussing this, he came back frequently to specific experi-
ences—in the church seirvioe, with the sick, in conducting funerals, in
performing marriages. He felt certain it was these experiences, rather
them a conscious effort at belief, that had resulted in his present
confidence of fellowship in his church. Asked to explain the growth
within the past year of Nisei attendance at the regular church services,
he offered:

"I think the Nisei saw that I was being fully accepted
in all of the church life. This gave them confidence.
Then I never have talked about integration. The .nurch
is God's House, and that is where we have placed em-
phasis. All can come to worship without a feeling of
special obligation. "/l

In both of the Japanese churches in Chicago, seinrices are conducted
in Japanese and English, and each supports two full time ministers.
Both are elaborately organized with young people's groups, Issei groups,
prayer meetings, church clubs, and church newspapers. In each, the
social life for Issei end Nisei members revolved almost completely a-
rovmd the church program.

In Denver, religious activities have taken much the same pattern
as in Chicago, although that city had a segregated Japanese church prior
to the war. There is some participation in the regular church services
of the city, but greater attendance in the all-Japanese churches. At
the end of November 1947, the Nisei of Denver were hosts to "The Yo\mg
People's Christian Conference of the Intermountain Circuit" with an
attendance of from 125 to 250 Nisei at various sessions. The field re-
port concerning this event provides social data and obseirwation of con-
siderable interest:

"This conference which dates back to 1930, is the 13th
of its kind.

228

"The conference theme 'Now to Live' was well emphasized
and fron all indications t«11 received by the delegates,
(It is perhaps worthy of note that all of the listed
speakers were Caucasians). Many were heard to have ex-
pressed the feeling that this conference v/as one of the
"best from all aspects, A good deal of this feeling stems
from the fact that a dance was held following the usual
conference banquet, "/l

Hie person reporting then commented:

"Speaking of many individuals who attended the confer-
ence, I was convinced that this annual conference met a
definite need of the young Kisei Christians. Most
people felt that this annual affedr will be perpetuated
for years to come. One Nisei who had attended every
oonferenoe since its inception in 1930, talked about
getting the yovinger Nisei to attend the conference and
to shoulder the burden of planning for the annual affair
as the Nisei liks him were getting old (he was about 30
years of age) and ready to graduate from the group.
This only underlined the desire of the Nisei of perpetu-
ating the annual affair,

"Especially for those Nisei, mostly farmers, who lived
away from Denver, this conference is something they
look forward to with great anticipation. For one thing,
the conference provides them an opportunity to meet
other Nisei, either to renew or make acquaintances. It
has seirved to some extent as a promulgator of romance
between Nisei boys and Nisei girls, which in seme cases
resulted in marriage.

"Msmy reported to me that most of the Nisei come to the
conference purely for the fun and entertainment it pro-
vides, not so much, for the religious inspiration that
it is designed to provide. This seems to be verified by
the attendance at the banquet sind dance held on Saturday
night, which was the largest of any of the various func-
tions staged during the entire conference. Many of the
Nisei further reported that if it weren't for th« banquet
and dance, many irould not come to the conference. As a
matter of fact Rev, S, advisor for the annual conference,
admitted very frankly that the dance which followed the
banquet on Saturday night was included in the conference
program for the first time in the conference's thirteen-
year history, because it was felt that it would seirve as

229

an inducement to the Nisei to attend the conference.
The ministers prefer to call the social functions as
•fellowship'."

The person reporting further stated:

"Rev. K. Chairman of the Colorado Committee for Fair
Play, retired Congregational minister who had served
as missionary in Japan for over 30 years prior to the
war, an active community leader in assisting Msei and
Issei fight various forms of discrimination, and ar-
dent advocate of Nisei integration in the larger com-
imjnity, strongly felt that the segregated Nisei Chris-
tian Conference was bad from the standpoint of Nisei
integration. He is very strongly for the quick break
up of segregated Nisei Christian churches and for Msei
joining established Caucasian churches. He believes
the continuation of segregated Nisei units mil only
tend to perpetuate discriirdnation and prejudice against
the Nisei and that best remedy for this is for the Nisei
to abandon their segregated units and lose themselves
as members of Caucasian organizations,

"Although there is much to be said in favor of Rev.
K' s arguments, the fact remains that throwing overbosird
all existing segregated Nisei tinits will not necessarily
solve the whole problem of assimilation. The bulk of
the Nisei are not ready to accept membership in Cau-
casian organizations and feel at home. They still pre-
fer to cling to their own group. They seem to feel
much more at ease in their own group. Yfithout, say the
segregated Nisei churches (Christian), it is doubtful
whether any significant ntmber of Nisei will join Cau-
casiem churches or even attend the church service s."/l

Another reaction, from a Nisei of broad contacts and outlook, will
serve to fill in the picture. The following is taken from a field notes

"I regret somewhat ever having gone to the K' s with you.
K., with the zeal of a missionary, is pressuring me to
attend his church. I couldn't turn him down every week,
so have gone a few times, and now he is working on me to
take a more active part in its function. All that is OK,
but I have a lot of other interests v/hich are closer to
me, and my plight now is to find some sort of compromise
in which I will be satisfied and also in which K. will
not feel slighted. It's a problem."/l

230

Postwar Christian activities on the west coast have differed from
those in the Midwest and East since there have been prewar institutions
to which to return. These had been conducted along segregated lines
before the war. After the evacuation, most of the buildings were put
to other uses. In some cases, as other racial groups filled up the
Little Tokyos, new segregated congregations made arrangements to use
the buildings. In a few cases, interracial congregations were estab-
lished. Even those buildings which remained idle during the war were
put to use as hostels after the coast was opened. For the year after
the recision of exclusion, in heirdly any locality was a church building
immediately avedlable for services of the kind held before the war.

With one exception, the Home Missions Boards of the Protestant de-
nominations detennined that their racially segregated Japaziese churches
should be abandoned, with the people being asked to attend regular
churches. Ministers of the former Japanese congregations were to be
assigned to work with the Caucasian churches, and btiildings used for
interracial congregations or put to other use. The returning Japanese
Americans were thus faced with the issue of religious participation in
the -vfider community, although the issue arose in a somewhat different
setting thsm in the East.

Reaction of the returning Japsmese, most of -vrtiom had come from the
complete segregation of the relocation centers, was definite. The prob-
lem of language among the Issei, which had been a partial basis for the
formation of segregated churches before the war was still in evidence
after their return. Ministers, many of whom spoke very little English,
felt out of place in an unsegregated program.

As one Issei minister stated:

"Pacts cannot be overlooked. The Japanese group is one
of the smallest minority. The population of Negroes,
Caucasians, and Mexicans is large. In all of them you
sure bound to get a certain number of intelligent, broad-
minded people who are interested in the problem of in-
tegration. In their church services, they get together
and make a sizable group. But for the total population,
they make but a small percentage* One cannot expect to
have a larger percentage of Japanese interested in inte-
gration in proportion to the entire Japanese population.
The people tiho have returned to the west coast are the
most conservative, have lived together in Japanese com-
munities, and -Uierefore one cannot expect Japanese on
the west coast to become integrated too qui okly « **/l

Concerning the same problem, a Nisei yo\ing peoples' worker in an
interracial church remarked:

231

"The trouble is the top bracket laid do-wn a policy of
non-segregation but did nothing on the action level to
make it -work. There -was no consultation with the Japa-
nese. This is one of the reasons why Japanese Chris-
tian groups have had such a difficult time getting
star ted, "/l

A Nisei minister contributed the following:

"The Christian churches have gotten a late start because
of confusion over their purpose. The Buddhist and the
Catholic chiurches from "the beginning have set the policy
to take care of only Japanese. The other churches were
not clesa*-cut because they felt that some sort of inte-
gration should begin, and so Japanese participation was
small, "^

Along this same line, an Issei layman stated:

"The entire approach is based on a very poor argument,
and it is hampering our Christian Church program. We
are very far behind because the Church board wants in-
tegration while the Japanese are still suffering from
the effects of being segregated in camps. Many of us
still want things Japanese whether it is people, food,
picture shows, and so forth. "/l

In addition, there was resentment on the nart of Japanese church
people over what they considered unfair handling of chvirch property.
The full impact of personal property losses through vandalism hit the
people only after their return. Efforts to put church property to in-
terracial and other use becsjne identified with personal loss and many
felt that this was only another instance of breach of trust.

Not so plainly stated as this, but clear in implication are the
remarks of a member of the board of one of the leirger Japanese churches
in Los Angelest

"Vthen we left for evacuation, we did not know how long
we were goitig to stay. So we told the church board that
we would be back some day, and that we would like to
have the church back for the Japanese. It was a verbal
agreement... The Church bosird is morally obligated to re-
turn it to us. You see, when the church was built, the
Japanese paid for one-third, the church board one-third
and the national board one-third, and the church
was built for the Japanese."/!

232

That the problem is many-sided is indicated by the comment of a
Caucasian interested in 7ri.de social participation by the Nisei:

"After trying to v'crk into a number of churches in
Seattle as a member of Nisei groups who desired to
attend a 'mixed church' , I can tjruthfully say that
the atmosphere, the chances for recognition, and
social as well as religious participation was not
satisfying to the Nisei nor to me, and as a result
of these experiences, they cease to attend these
chxirohes. All of us do the same sort of thing in
regard to attending one church or another, or none.
If the group vdll not fulfil our needs, we cease to
attend and will go to some other group that mll,"/l

By the summer of 1946, there had been a general abandonment of the
effort to prevent the reestablishment of segregated churches. There is
evidence that once this was done, leadership among Nisei religious
workers became more active in the direction of eventual broad religious
participation with the vdder community. Thus at the end of November,
the Pacific Citizen carried the following note:

"The reactivation of the Nisei division of the Southern
California Church Federation v/as discussed at a retreab
attended by 30 Nisei and Issei ministers and other full
time religious workers at Pacific Palisades on November
19 and 20.

"The consensus of opinion in the discussion on the pro-
posed reactivation was that such a move uniting Chris-
tian groups would be an asset in the development of wider
social relationships and in the consideration of the com-
mon problems and opportunities which concern Nisei. "/l9

In the same vein, the young people's worker quoted earlier stated
his objective and inethod of approach as follows:

"Get a group together, and then by a process of education
get them into a wider circle. Others don't agree with me.
C. (a Caucasian co-worker) feels that if there is no
segregated program, they will join an integrated pro-
gram, I maintain that it can't be done because the
Japanese have been the most segregated group these past
few years; those who are ready for integration are back
East, and the need for emotional security is first met
within their own group. "/l

233

That the churches where services are conducted in Japanese do not
entirely serve the needs of the Nisei vfas indicated by the remarks of
a young respondent:

"I don't much like to go to Rev, I»s church, I can't
xinderstand either his Japanese or his English,"/!

Generally, the past two years on the west coast has been one of
continual adjustment to new situations, cominunitiss were being built,
and it has essentially been a "settling down" period, "When Christian
churches found it difficult to fit into the non-segregated program,
they reverted to segregated churches but vriLth the hope of eventual as-
simlation into the wider community. Varying degrees of progress has
been made in this direction. Present indications are that Nisei re-
ligious leadership in west coast cominunities is oriented in this direc-
tion.

Buddhist > Unlike the Christians, Buddhists among the Japanese
Americans had no problem of participation in wider community churches.
They have, however, had a nvunljer of special problems relating to their
orientation to Japan,

At the outset of the vfar, most of the Buddhist priests were in-
terned by the Department of Justice, Later, almost all were released
to the various relocation centers, where a strong Buddhist program was
maintained. By 1943, a young people's Buddhist program had been set
up in Chicago, and in 1944, a young Buddhist priest arrived to estab-
lish formal services. By 1945, small Buddhist congregations vrere meet-
ing in Cleveland and Detroit, In both these cities, the setting up of
a Buddhist program was the subjecb of a newspaper article, in which
comment was friendly. In these early efforts, the principal leadership
was taken by young Nisei, and except for differences in ritual, the
program vras very much like that in Mie Nisei Christian services already
described.

By the simmer of 1946, four Buddhist churches had been established
in Chicago, In numbers, the Shinshu church, a liberal sect, is the
largest. The inabiliiy of the Shinshu priest to speak English has meant
that all services have been conducted in Japanese, horrever, reports in-
dicate that his sermons are delivered in popular rather than traditional
style and attendance has averaged between 300 and 350 at the weekly
services, and is mostly Nisei, An active social life has developed
around this church*

The second largest, known as the Non-sectarian Buddhist Church is
headed by a priest who has long felt that Buddhism in the United States
should break completely away from Japanese cultural and religious dom-
ination. Services are held both in English and in Japanese, and the

2%

organization of services is much more along the line of Christian prac-
tice than among the regular Buddhist churches. This church includes
20 to 30 Caucasians among its membership.

The remaining two Buddhist churches in Chicago are small, and of
fundamentalist doctrine.

The young peoples Buddhist movement in New York has likewise had
vigorous growth. In the svunmer of 1946, an Eastern Young Peoples Bud-
dhist League •was formed at a conference in Chicago, vith representation
from all of the Buddhist groups east of the Mississippi, At this meet-
ing, an ambitious program to set up a Buddhist seminary in the United
States was adopted. There were indications that the Buddhist hierarchy
in tian Francisco was dubious of this course, and the plan was later
changed to provide scholarships for prospective Buddhist priests in
American viniversities, with the question of final training— whether in
Japan or the United States—left open.

In Denver, a prewar Buddhist temple was available to resettlers.
As in other cities, in addition to religious services, a strong social
and athletic program was built around this institution.

On the west coast, the reestablishment of Buddhist congregations
has been erratic. As with the Christian churches, most of the temples
were either in other use during the war-- the Seattle temple was used
by the Navy— or they were utilized as hostels after the recision of
exclusion. In Los Angeles, -where there had been 28 Budrlhist congrega-
tions before the war, all but six of the buildings had been damfiged
to such an extent as to be unusable- without extensive repair. One of
the largest of those reactivated in that city is the Betsuin church.
Although the services are conducted entirely in Japanese, their present
membership of Nisei is between 350 and 400; much larger than before the
war, A strong attraction to the Nisei has been a vigorous social and
athletic program.

As noted earlier, the question of participation in vfider comniunity
churches triiioh plagued the ear?.y efforts of the Christian churches has
not been a problem viith the Buddhists, There is some evidence that the
Buddhist groups exploited this fact at the expense of the Christian
denominations. Thus, a young Christian leader remarked;

"The Buddhist church does not have a plan beyond their
own group. They do not fit into the integration pro-
gram because of its oriental leadership and philosophy*
They are pushing ahead fast in membership because they
see the needs of the young people, and can furnish
spiritual security to the older folks. They have
pcurties, weiner bakes, athletic prograffls, festivals, etc.

749181 0-47-16

235

In other -wordB, they are doing what some of the social
agencies should be doing. "/l

It may be noted, that among the yoiinger Nisei, the lines between
the Buddhist and Christian churches have not been too tightly drawn.
A nvonber of instances are known, for example, of Nisei who have played
on athletic teams sponsored by both groups. Among the older people,
there is more rigidity in church attendance, but it is apparent that
severe presstare is not placed upon children in Buddhist homes who may
desire to attend Christian Sunday schools*

There is some discontent with traditional Eei*vices. As an example,
a Seattle Nisei remarked that she was "unable to understand the Sutras"
and her mother, who spoke Japanese fluently, admitted that the Japanese
used was formal and understandable only to the religious student, Biere
is some general feeling among the BuddMst lay people that Buddhism
must be modernized if it "is to hold the young people". The movement
in Chicago for "Buddhism in America" and the Eastern Young Buddhist
League program for Ameriosm training for the Buddhist priesthood is
indication of general recognition of this problem.

Recreational and social activities. Because of language difficul-
ties, and the effects of the war — including both economic dislocation
smd loss of status—Is sei recreational and social activities are seldom
of a group nature, nor is there much participation in wider community
groups. There are, of course, exceptions. In Cleveland, for example,
an Issei mother of children in high school has been very active in the
Parent Teacher Association, and is chariman of the district council of
the Camp Fire Girls, There are Japanese checkers, poetry, and singing
clubs in a number of cities. In the sxramer of 1946, a Sumo (Japanese
wrestling) tournament held in Chicago drew 500 Issei spectators and
friendly comment in the Chicago press, A Japanese checkers tournament
in Los Angeles drew 150 contestants and spectators. In September of
1946, a Nisei exponent of classical Japanese folk dance brought several
hundred Issei and Nisei spectators to a Denver theater, Early in 1947,
a moderniiied Japanese play drew crowds of Issei and Nisei in New York,
These were exceptional occasions, and aside from religious sei-vices,
there has been very little other Issei group social activity.

Full description of Nisei recreational and social activities is
difficult. In no other kind of activity is the prewar exclusive all-
Nisei pattern so completely repeated. At the same time, the present
social pattern is almost entirely similar to that of other Americans
of the same age level and economic status. Groups are formed on the
basis of common interest and background; the activities revolve arotmd
dances and athletic activity common to all American young people. Thus
a St, Patrick's Dcmce could be sponsored by a girl's basketball team and

236

held in the Nichiren Buddhist Temple in Portland mthout comment ./20
In addition, there is a great deal of individual participation in the
general community life which escapes notice. The Nisei or the vernacu-
lar press very frequently oeo-ries items such as the following, indica-
tive of contacts irtiich do not attract the attention that all-Nisei social
affairs command j

"CHICAGO— Dr. Randolph Mas Sakada, prominent Chicago op-
tometrist and second national vice-president of the JACL,
was recently elected treasurer of the Oakland-Kenwood
Lions Club«»/21

In Chicago, where 15,000 to 20,000 Japanese Americans are living,
an attempt was made to estimate the number of individuals participating
with some regularity in all-Nisei group activities. Including the JACL,
the veterans organization. Nisei and Issei religious semrices, and or-
ganized recreational activity, it is believed that not more than 1,000
individuals are included. How the remainder meet their need for social
outlet is not known. The great nvanber who have groTring families and
the pressing problems of establishing economic fo\indations evidently
spend little of their spare time in group activity.

When relocation first began, heavy presstire was placed upon the
Nisei to avoid congregation. In Chicago, for exeimple, they were ad-
monished both by friends in the community and by the Y/RA "not to appear
publicly in groups of more than three". As relocation progressed and
acceptance became better, the factors of common background and common
interest caused an increasing disregard of this admonition. The first
groups were formed around the chtirches. In 1943 the first all-Nisei
dance was promoted, and thereafter the amount and kind of social ac-
tivity grew. This expertence was repeated in most midwe stern- and east-
em cities, except that in some, the pressure for dispersion brought by
Caucasian friends was less severe*

In many respects, this pattern was repeated with the reopening of
the west coast, although over a shorter time span. Leadership in the
wider oonmunity attempted everywhere to provide unsegregated social out-
lets, and to prevent social congregation. In this, they were supported,
especially during the early stages of relocation, by many Nisei leaders.
By the summer of 1946, however, this emphasis had been largely if not
entirely abandoned by the Nisei,

During all of 1946, the number of Nisei athletic teams grew very
rapidly. In Denver, on Labor Day a Tri-State Baseball Tournament
brought together 12 teams from Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, and played
before a crowd of 800, In Los Angeles in late September, a baseball
game between the Monterey Presidio All Stars and the Los Angeles Nisei

237

All Stars drew 2,500 spectators. Similar crowds gathered to witness
athletic contests in other cities.

By the spring of 1947, bo-nling Leagues were in progress in Los
Angeles, San Jose, San Freincisoo, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, and
Chicago. The climax of the bowling season cam© in March when a nation-
wide Nisei bowling tournament was sponsored by the N&tional JACL in
Salt Lake City. Over 200 bowlers came from Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado,
Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and California,

Meanwhile, basketball tournaments were equally popular. Sectional
tournaments were held in San Jose and Seattle. In Salt Leike City, the
12th annual Intermountain Invitational Tournament was contested by eight
teams representing Colorado, Washington, Idaho, and Utah. In Chicago,
a basketball tournament sponsored by the Chicago Nisei Athletic Associ-
ation attracted teams from New York, Seabrook Frams of New Jersey,
Minneapolis, Philadelphia, itetroit, and Cleveland.

At the same time enthusiasts of less strenuous sports were getting
together. In Seattle 62 golfers vied for the Pugent Sound Golf /Associ-
ation trophy. Skating parties in Los Angeles drew 700. Moving picture
shows and celebration of the "Hema-liatsxu'i", commemorating the birth of
Buddha were held in San Francisco and Chicago.

Indicating that sentiment does not entirely run one v/ay, at the
University of California, a proposal to reopen the Japsmese Students
club house was opposed by a majority of the Nisei on the campus, and
the club was not reactivated »fzz In San Francisco, the Buchanan Street
"YMCA, which had been used exclusively by the Japanese before the war,
and by Negroes during the war, was set up during February as an inter-
racial YMCA-YWCA with Nisei, Negro, and Caucasian secretaries .^3

In Los Angeles, controversy arose between wider oommuxtity leaders
and the Japanese American group oonceinu.ng the use of a girls dormtory.
This had been paid for by the Japemese community before the war. It was
left in the hands of the 7WCA during the weo' and had been put to malti-
racial use. When the 7WCA board desired to continue on this basis, Japa-
nese leaders strenuously objected. However, yfa&'o. the building was
eventually turned over to the Japfinese, four Nisei girls in residence
protested. At the last report, the Japanese boco'd was satisfied that
it had regained control, and the racial composition of the residence
had not been changed.

Many Nisei leaders idio have accepted the inevitability of all Nisei
activity have sought to use suoh activity as a means of gaining ultimate
participation in the wider community. For example, in Cleveland, a Nisei
boy's worker at the metropolitan YMCA acted as sponsor for a Nisei soft-
ball league. His purpose was stated as follows «

238

"It is true, it would b6 better for the kids to go
into the Municipal League, but they just aren't ready.
There aren't enough ballplayers for that kind of com-
petition* After they have played together for a year
or so, I'm going to see to it that they do enter the
League* If they can do it as members of non-Hi sei
teams, so much the better* Anyhow, they'll get some
confidence in their playing ability*"/!

Reactions among the Nisei and their fid ends in the wider community
have been varied. In September 1946, a west coast YWCA general secretary
stated}

•^FOien the Nisei cane back, we did eveiything we kneTr
to get them to particii)ate in our regular progrsm*
But the girls don't come* I feel almost defeated*"/!

Many others among the Caucasian friends of the Nisei, whose hopes
for the end of Little Tokyo social life have not been realised, share
this feeling*

Comment, carried in the Japanese American press, is indicative of
the range of group opinion. Thus, an article carried in the Rocky
Shimpo of June 23, 1946, noted:

"One of the finest things the Denver Nisei have staged
locally was the fluby Yoshino benefit recital at Phipps
auditorium, June 22,*, She is recognized as the out-
standing Nisei lyric soprano in America,,*

"Among the 350 people attending the concert, more than
a hundred were Caucasians* TTe can feel self justified
for our existence in America, for Nisei talent can con-
tribute to the cultural life of the community* And we
can be proud to present progrsims, such as this concert,
to Caucasian audiences, on the basis of their recognized
artistic worth*

"Too often in the past, whenever a fellow Nisei became
prominent in any field, we were soon busy trying to tear
him down, to criticise and oavil, without constructive
or reflective consideration that the success of even one
Nisei tended to raise the general level of us all and to
aid in our eventual assimilation into American life and
society*

"It is soiind policy to promote the advancement of any
Nisei with talent or abili-ty~for mutal benefit. A

239

disinterested Caucasian, a man-on-the -street, reading
newspaper notices of an all-Nisei concert cannot help
but think, ' Hmmmnna, I guess not all Japs are just dirt
farmers'...."

Concerning the visit to Denver of Kansxana, a Nisei exponent of
classical Japsmese dance forms, the Rooky Shimpo of September 6, 1946
commented :

"Oriented Sirt suid culture, when portrayed by an artist
as gracious and lovely as Kansuma should be capitalised
upon by the Nisei community, because whenever any Nisei
gains public attention the publicity redounds to the
benefit of all Nisei.

"Now that the war is over, it is felt that we Nisei have
nothing to be ashamed of or to regret our Japanese back-
grottnd, but that we should exploit and advsmce all that
is beautiful and artistic in art and culture, despite
the fact that it had its origin in Japan. We need to
remember that there was much that was good in preweo*
Japan."

The Nisei "Weekender carried the following in its January 16, 1947
issue:

"The Japanese Americaji community in New York seems to
have found its stride for 1947. Already an ambitious
entertainment project featuring a three act play has
been presented by a local organization with more pro-
grams, benefit perf ormajice s , dances, and tournaments
being planned. Naturally enough, Japan relief is one
of the major projects for 1947,

"All this activity indicates a mature, settled com^
munity with a regulated life of its own. But somehow
we feel a conflict of interests in many of the activities--
a lack of cohesion. Furthermore, we feel a lack of real
direction and purpose. Following the frenzy of the
everything-for-the-war-effort years, we've yet to make
long-range plans for our little community.

"But on various sides, individuals, from Gotham's lead-
ing Japanese businessmen to Nisei Taro-Suzuki hanging
around the 97th street bowling alley, have been talking*
Nisei and Issei ought to get together, says one chap*
Welfare work should be coordinated. They're too many
outfits duplicating each other, says another.

240

"•Khy should we have four churches, queries still
another* Wish we had a decent meeting place, chimes
a fourth. Someone should start a marriage brokerage,
says a frustrated Kit«i who has been looking vainly
for a wife. V/e should try to unfreeze the $40,000
in frozen assets owned by the Japanese Association
and use it for the community good, suggested a promi-
nent Issei businessman who has been noted for his
sagacity and community spirit.

"One of the most interesting and oft heard sugeestions is
that of the 'community center'. There are many versions
but the proposal generally is this:

"'A conmninity center, providing an adequate hall with a
number of smaller rooms for recreation and meeting
purposes, is needed. It should be non-organizational,
non-denominational, and open to all groups. If there
is enough room, office space can be rented to organi-
zations such as the JACL, JACD, and the Greater New
York Committee for Japanese Americans, thereby defray-
ing part of the cost. Another suggestion for augment-
ing income is to operate a snack bar and to jrun a gift
shop offering Japanese Amerioan craft goods, Ydth
properly publicized eadiibits, featuring Japanese Ameri-
oan artists, considerable interest oould be aroused in
the non- Japanese community. •

"There is no danger of developing a Japanese ghetto,
say these advocates of the plan, as long as emphasis
is placed on democratic methods,"

A release issued by the Chicago Resettlers Committee suggested;

"On the eve of their fifth year of residence in Chi-
cago, roBLny of the 20,000 Japanese American resettlers
here have not yet found a world where they can feel
at home,

"Not only do they not feel at home here, but they are
also beset by unwholesome influence that obstruct them
from growing in that direction. These same unwholesome
influences may yet claim many more of them in 1947 as
casualties on the Chicago police blotter,

"The challenge now of the unfinished job of relocation
is clear. Either the churches, social agencies, and
ownmunity leaders act with imagination and foresight to

241

provide competing social- recreational outlet for

these young people, or else we shall surrender them

to the ranks of our czdne and delinquency statistics »**/24:

Somewhat more critical, an article in the Oregon Nippo of January
18, 1947 stated:

"Speaking in generalities, the average Nisei, insofar
as a social life is concerned, is a very gregarious
fellow. There is nothing he would enjoy more than
a good dance, a good bazaar, a good carnival, etc.
However, his gregarious sociability, if we can so
coin a term, is pretty much limited to his own group
and he rarely makes any effort to break out of the
society in which he allowed himself to become a part.

"This particular Nisei, of whom we are all (to some
degree) prototypes, is probably the same individual
who complains bitterly about the job situation, dis-
crimination, eto», €uid yet, he blithely goes about
his easy ways --unconsciously hoping that some enter-
prising fellow will make the way easier for him. He
probably studies hard to receive his college degree
and vindictively asserts that he isn't going to end
up as a vegetable peddler at the market place, but he
does little or nothing to prevent such an inevitabil-
ity."

Securing mature leadership for Nisei social activites has been a
problem often mentioned in the vernacular press and during interviews.
Thus, the Progressive News of March 24, 1947 carried the following
under a Los Angeles date line:

"This Southern California community mbh its large
Japanese and Nisei population has almost returned to
'normal' and the Lil Tokyo of prewar days is being
resumed again with its numerous clubs for youths of
all ages. The biggest need at present is for club
advisors and club counselors for all of these various
organizations that are springing up like mushrooms.

"Nearly all of them are all-Nisei affairs. They need
adult leaders with a wide range of perspective on race
relations, a clear and definite understanding of the
assimilation and integration program, and a well-
informed political consciousness.

2A2

"Most of the older and more adult Nisei, say those in
their thirties, are not readily available because the
men are busily occupied vdth resuming their evacuation-
shattered businesses, and the women are nearlj' all tied
down with children and family duties. Those in their
late 20' s or over 25 age group, are either unwilling
or unqualified, or not socially conscious enough to
volunteer for such a 'labor of love' as assisting the
yoxuager Nisei."

Similarly in Seattle, a meeting called to discuss the formation of
em organized recreational council was described:

"About fifteen couples gathered for a buffet supper and
a discussion period after it. This was one of the first
social occasions together since their return to Seattle,
and there was much hand shaking and exhanges of informa-
tion about their activities since they last met. But the
discussion of the proposed organization which came later
failed to arouse the kind of enthusiastic interest which
the interim committee had hoped for. Each person present
seemed to realize the responsibility of the group to do
something about helping organize the community, but they
were clearly afraid to becoms involved in anything which
would occupy much of their time and energy. Most of
those present were concerned more with their immediate
personal problems of reestablishing themselves economi-
cally, €m.d it was difficult to arouse discussion about
oommunity problems ."/l

Thus, as with many other phases of postwar social adjustment, the
pressure of work has held back the development of leadership.

The following section will deal more generally with the matter of
social participation in wider oommunity affairs. Before going into
this discussion, the following from a graduate of a west coast uni-
versity is worth noting:

"At the Pan Hellenic tea, to whioh delegates from all
women's organizations were invited, I happened to sit
next to a very charming girl who soon was telling me
about a party put on a few nights earlier by her
sorority. If I hadn't been able to tell her in re-
turn of our Nisei Women's Association party , of my
clothes, my date, and what we all said and did, I'd
have felt pretty badly. But it turned out our experi-
ences were very much alike. The girl respected me and
I felt her equal, I think our groups served a real
purpose »"/l

243

Participation in Wider Community Activities

The earlier sections of this chapter have provided information con-
cerning the range of participation in vdder community activities. In
the present section, an attempt will be made to draw together the re-
curring themes in this phase of postwar social adjustment, and to pre-
sent Japanese American comment. The question is not new; it formed the
burden of endless prewar discussions among Nisei concerning the "Nisei
problem" — the problem of finding a recognised and secure place in
American life. As we have seen, Issei contacts in the wider community
have not been frequent, and the remaining discussion will be limited to
matters concerning the Nisei and the Sansei.

The preceding pages of this report have demonstrated that the range
of adjustment is very great j from the infrequent contacts of the resi-
dent of a segregated district whose employment is in a Japanese business
establishment, to the broad contacts of the person who lives away from
other Japanese and is employed in a non-Japanese establishment. It has
become evident, also, that the question of participation is different
for a Nisei living in an CMo or California village, than for one living
in a metropolitan area*

The term "Japanese community" which has been used throughout this
report has an ambiguous meaning when applied to the postwar period. The
fact of congregation does not, in itself, produce a community. Moreover,
because of the dispersal to the East and l^dwest, much larger numbers now
live in the general community, away from close proximity to other Japa-
nese. As we have seen, the evacuation largely destroyed in-group con-
trol over the sources of livelihood, and this means of enforcing uni-
formity of behavior has not been replaced. Group loyalty is not suffi-
cient to insure patronage of Japanese business establishments if goods
are better or cheaper elsewhere. If this was increasingly true before
the war, the evacuation brought the development to its logical end. To-
day, there is little durability in Japanese community relationships, ex-
cept for those activities taking place after working hours. The Japanese
community has too little to offer in terms of prestige or economic ad-
vancement. Essentially, it is in social activities and the feeling of
common identity that the postwar "Japanese community" loosely may be de-
fined.

The aspirations of the Nisei and their children are toward the same
economic and social goals as those of other Americans, They wish to be
secure in employment or business enterprise, to live in favorable
neighborhoods, and to be able to develop their social relationships
according to their individual tastes and desires.

2A4

The five years from the beginning of the war to 1947 have carried
a large number of Niaei from a position of dependence in the family, to
one of self reliance. The process of acquiring maturity would have
taken place if there had heen no evacuation, but was accelerated by the
events following Pesirl Harbor. The evacuation significantly weakened
the authority of the Issei generation in the family. Nevertheless,
family needs are recognized by the Nisei, and this contributes to group
solidarity. At the same time, there is some remaining conflict in the
home as Issei and American cultural patterns clash, and although this is
less severe than before the war, such conflict does help to produce an
unsettled individual.

The evidence indicates strongly that the more obvious aspects of
the old world Japanese culture brought to America by the Issei have had
but little force in determining the outlook or the activities of the
Nisei. However, the fact that he was reared under the influence of both
Japanese and American culture, and that few have attained complete mastery
in the customs of either, has directly contributed to lack of social ease
in wider community relationships. If in Japan, and later in the Japanese
communities of America, his parents had found it necessary to foresee the
results of their social acts before acting in order to conform to rigid
custom, their American sons and daughters more frequently found it necess-
ary to give thought and energy in meeting the cultural demands of both
the small Japanese society and the larger American society, A result has
been a constrained and self-conscious individual.

In comparison, Americans of long resident European ancestry, used
to moving in a society yrfiere social errors are of less moment, are under
less compulsion to analyze their social acts in advance, and are more
prone to act first and then seek to rationalize their actions where call-
ed upon to do so. The American way gives more spontaneity, directness,
and bluntness to social interaction. Many Nisei are lacking in this, and
there is some difficulty experienced among them in mixing with people irtio
move along spontaneously in their social relations.

In this vein, a Nisei wrote:

"Most of the Nisei are not prepared psychologically and by
experience to lose themselves in the larger community. Most
of the Nisei I've talked to have told me themselves that they
preferred to stick to their own group, largely because they
feel much more at ease in their own group.... The Nisei must
first replace the fear he possesses with confidence. One way
this can be accomplished is by being active in his own group
which provides him with opportunities for developing leader-
ship and in general gives him a sense of security." ^5

245

The feeling of being set apart is strong. This feeling has its
roots in the historical development of the group in America, and was
greatly strengthened by the experience of the evacuation when the fact
of common Japanese ancestry was of overruling importance. Segregated
Army service, while designed to improve public acceptance, nevertheless
developed group feeling. The continuing experience of discrimination
has reinforced this feeling at many points. In the open situation which
developed as public acceptance became better during relocation, even
favorable attention further bolstered group feeling. Pressure placed
upon the Nisei to avoid congregation added to group feeling. The in-
tense emotional experience of the evacuation received fresh fuel when
the Nisei were advised to "avoid public appearance in groups of more
than three."

There are few Nisei ?Tho do not agree to the desirability of broad
contacts outside their own group in addition to those within. But when
Caucasian friends urged them to cut off contact with other Nisei, the
admonition strongly suggested some fault in the Nisei. It appeared that
he was being asked to deny his background. Frequently the mixed activi-
ties proposed were of secondary interest. A few Nisei are intensely con-
cerned about general racial and minority problems, but the number is
proportionately no greater than among the total American population.
Participation in multi-racial activities, a type of activity very fre-
quently proposed, has received but lukewarm response.

Difficulties relating to this aspect of the problem of participa-
tion in the wider community are well stated by a Nisei respondent;

"The difficulty with the integration program is that no
one is clear as to what integration means. Presumably,
it means establishing more contacts with the majority
group and relinquishing some of their in-group contacts.
Presumably it means picking out some individuals or groups
of the majority group with whom the Nisei 'ought to* cake
friends, and establish relations with them. But I note
that most Nisei feel an unnaturalness and irrationality
about such an approach, as well they might. They feel a
difficulty about building up relationships which do not
result from the natural impulses of the individuals in-
volved. Elsewhere, I have noted the discussion of a
group iriiich has arrived at a 'to hell with them' atti-
tude in regard to participating in an international club.
I think such a revolt is inevitable where 'integration'
is presented as a responsibility of the Nisei, and yet
where the basis for it is lacking." /l

246

The fact that Nisei do encounter differential treatment is a mate-
rial factor in the formation of attitudes and in determining the will-
ingness of an individual to venture participation outside the Nisei
group. The expectation of discrimination varies considerably between
individuals, and with a particular individual there are changes in the
light of experience. At the one extreme of attitude is a young Nisei
business man who spoke bitterly of his indefinite leave card, given him
when he left the relocation center, as his "parole ticket," He stated:

"Pressure from the outside makes the Nisei irtiat they are.
You can't assimilate, people won't let you." /l

Another Nisei believes:

"Experience has shown us that the Nisei must be ten percent
better than the next guy to win acceptance in this predomi-
nantly white man's country ."72 6

A writer for the Progressive News approached the question more
positively, but from the same viewpoint:

"No one can contest the ugly fact that there is discrimina-
tion. But to know of its existence and to oppose it is one
thing; to let it cower you into inertia and passivism is an-
other. There is no ease, but there is satisfaction in fight-
ing against intolerance from within the ghetto into which
one has been pushed. There can be no escape if we accept
the judgment of prejudice as complete and final. Only in
striving against what is wrong, only in active participa-
tion to break the bonds that bind us are we to measure the
success of our quest to become a part of this American com-
munity." /27

In some instances, it has been attention, rather than overt dis-
crimination that has caused self ccnsciousness, as for example the ex-
perience of a young Nisei woman in Cleveland during her first months
after leaving the relocation center:

"Ify husband and I would be waiting for a street car, and time
after time I'd say, 'let's wait for the next one.' Ify hus-
bsind was understanding and never asked me the reason « Final-
ly, the matter had to be settled and so I explained that in
some of the street cars - the ones we passed up - seats
faced each other across the aisle and I just couldn't force
myself to sit there and be stared at. Well, we both laughed,
and the next time we took the first car that came along. I
decided that the woman across the aisle was admiring my hat.
Now it doesn't bother me anymore."/!

247

Speaking of attracting notice, a Washington, D. C, Nisei woman
remarked:

"It might be a matter of imagination, I know when I used
to go around with a chip on my shoulder, I thought every-
one was looking at me. But, golly, its so silly." /I

In an article captioned "I'm tired of being a gtiinea pig" a
writer for the Pacific Citizen expressed yet another viewpoint:

"I'm an average Nisei.

"Time was, before the war, when I went my happy and uncon-
scious way to school, to work, to the movies, and the hom-
2j.ng alleys. Today I live the life of a goldfish, and my
glass bowl is getting mighty cramped.

"For four years I've been — not myself, an individual
with God-given traits and man-made surroundings — but a
Nisei, and as such I've been open to discussion and dis-
section by nearly every social scientist and anthropologist
and writer and social worker in the country.

"I've been probed and dissected and discussed and directed
till I am but a shell of flesh surrounding a well-nutured
inferiority complex." /28

In commenting on reactions of this nature, a Bespondent whose ob-
servation of Nisei problems has been close, suggested:

"The reason the integration idea is so much on the con-
science of the Nisei is that the present discrimination
against them is not of a clearly defined type --as against
certain other groups — giving rise to the idea that the
failure to integrate is the 'fault' of the Nisei, Actu-
ally, a form of discrimination or of segregation is im-
posed on virtually all Nisei which they may not have
analyzed but to which they nevertheless respond.

"This takes the form of differential attitude and behavior,
of the majority group, toward the Nisei. VJhether the major-
ity group member is particularly friendly or cool, the ef-
fect on the Nisei is the same in the sense that they regard
the other as responding to them as Nisei. All the influ-
ences in newspapers, informal conversations and day-to-day
business and social activities which bring up the identity
of the Nisei as a group tends to reinforce this sensitivity
of the Nisei.

248

"In the last analysis, it is the fact that the Nisei suspect
they are being treated differently, or will be treated dif-
ferently, which is at the crux of their difficulty in com-
pletely dropping their identity with the Nisei group. I be-
lieve there are certain rational grounds for this belief.
Their experiences on the west coast and during the war gave
plenty of support to this belief. Even today it is known
that there are limitations in housing and job opportunities,

"It may be true that very few Nisei ever encounter any seri-
ous discriminations which matter, but rather the little ex-
periences of overhearing the word "Japs" or of noting a
glance of hostility or curiosity which build up the self
consciousness and sensitivity of the Nisei. Above all,
there's no escaping the racial badge, and the Nisei proceed
in their out-group social relations on the assumption that
racial minorities are subject to discriinination. All this
serves only to point to the fact that the Nisei regard
themselves as being different from Caucasians, and that
they behave towards Caucasians accordingly.

"1 believe most Nisei approach Caucasian strangers with an
awareness of racial difference, and with a sensitivity
either to possible hostility or to whatever possible atti-
tude the other may have because the individual is a Nisei.
This is a matter of self protection, an armor against possi-
ble damage to one's self regard." /l

In his conscious efforts to better his group. Nisei have faced a
two-fold dilemma. Through segregated organization, it is often possi-
ble to bring Japanese American needs more forcibly to public attention.
But in establishing segregated organizations, individual contact and
the experience of participation in wider community groups is largely
cut off, except for top leadership. In addition, there is belief on
the part of many that organization draws unfavorable attention, and
that the better way to work out specific problems is through individual
action. The fact that there are special Japanese American problems,
such as the securing of legislation to compensate for evacuation losses
or to gain the privilege of naturalization for Issei parents contributes
to the maintence of group solidarity, but also to individual antagonism
toward leadership ydthin the group.

Much of the purely social all-Nisei activity has been carried on
by those in the teens and early twenties, the age group in which the
largest proportion of the Nisei are to be found, ^uite normally, in
such a group, there is major interest in the opposite sex. Thus a
field report stated:

249

•• ...as many of the Nisei (both men and women) have told me.
'It is eaqjected that we marry other Nisei, and about the
only place where you have a chance to meet any number are
at our type of social affairs. ' '• /I

Mixed social outlets, urtiich may be freely available to individual
Nisei, may be less receptive to larger numbers of a visible minority
group. In a community where there are a fairly large number of Nisei,
it is difficult for all of them to gain access to groups that are con-
genial and will allow them to play basketball, baseball, and bowl.

To conclude consideration of the subjective factors which have
tended to make participation in the wider community difficult for Nisei
without reiterating that the range of adjustment as between individuals
is exceedingly great, would not do justice to the present social situa-
tion. The Nisei are in a transitory position, with their non-English
speaking Issei parents on one end and their Sansei children on the other,
Most Nisei tend to restrict their social life to Nisei groups, but every
Nisei has some contact in the wider community and there are a sizable
number whose ability to move without strain in the wider community is
unquestioned, either by themselves or others. Finally, the fact that
all-Nisei group activity commands attention should not obscure the evi-
dence that such groups represent but one phase of social activity, and
provide social outlets for only a portion of the entire number of Japa-
nese Americans.

In the total range of the postwar economic and social adjustment
of the evacuated Japanese Americans, there are many impersonal factors
which lead in the direction of wider participation. Many more than be-
fore the war now live in unsegregated districts irhere they are rapidly
acquiring neighborly relations with people of all sorts. Similarly,
contact with other Japanese people at places of work has been greatly
increased by dispersal and the breakdown of the prewar Japanese economy.
The Nisei's broadened postwar experience permitted a columnist for the
Pacific Citizen to write:

"If assimilation means becoming part of the lifestream,
then the Nisei are in truth Americans. They have graduated
from the vital statistics class to people vrtio live and die
and make news in the process.

"Last week there was an explosion in Los Angeles that made
the front pages of virtually every newspaper in the country.
Two of the victims were Nisei girls, one a chemist whose body
was blown to bits and who was listed for many days simply as
'missing'.

250

"A Nisei became a sheriff's deputy in Los Angeles County,
the very place from which he had been run out five years
earlier as a hazard to the war effort,

"A Nisei was making basketball history with the University
of Utah and another was being talked up as a 1948 Olympics
swimming team threat. The Nisei were being lauded in the
Utah State Legislature and the State of California was try-
ing to deprive them of their land,

"Nisei were teaching ijJiglish to blond and blue-eyed students
whose families have been in America for generations; Nisei
were taking their parents to apply for their first citizen-
ship papers,

"Nisei were being born and dying, being held up, being in-
volved in automobile accidents, being married and divorced,
talking and worrying about their problems and being more and
more a part of the American scene so that in a few years,
perhaps, no one would even think of them as different. "^9

A closely connected factor of long range importance is that many
of the Nisei coming into a position of social leadership have had wide
experience in the Midwest and jiast in unsegregated activity. Having
themselves broken through the shell of the limited Nisei world, many
of these are looking toward wider contacts for the young people with
whom they work, yet have retained the patience to contribute to the
immediate social needs of the Nisei whose experience has been narrower.
Their goal is not to cut themselves or other Nisei off from contact
with Nisei, but to broaden their experience so that there may be natural
participation in all types of groups, and between all sorts of individ-
uals wherever interest leads.

The attitude of many of these leaders has been summarized in the
following:

"Looking at the whole problem realistically the best we can
expect most of the Nisei to accomplish is to maintain their
segregated community and organizations, but to branch out
into the larger community gradually. The Nisei must first
replace the fear he possesses with confidence. One way
this can be accomplished is by being active in his own
group which provides him with opportunities for developing
leadership and in general gives him a sense of security.
The segregated organizations can be a means toward main-
taining a close tie with the larger community. The unpre-
pared Nisei might withdraw even more tightly into his own

251

749181 O - 47 - n

group if he meets rebuffs in his attempt to mingle in the
larger community. Of course, I agree that the Nisei should
continuously strive toward the goal of complete assimila-
tion, despite rebuffs that he may meet, and those Nisei uriio
are now prepared to do so ought to follow this course un-
swervingly, not only for his own benefit, but also as an
example to other hesitant Nisei." /I

A second element in this viewpoint was stated by a Pacific Citizen
editorial:

"Actually, the truth gained from four years of resettle-
ment work was that integration cannot be forced. Neither
the country nor the Nisei were prepared for the kind of
complete integration that is the American dream — but not
necessarily the present American system. The fears and
suspicions conjured up by the evacuation were too strong
to be overcome within a short period." /30

The directicai given by leadership will be crucial in determining
the eventual social result of all-Nisei activities, but in wider con-
text, it will be the personal experiences of individuals which will
define the Nisei's conception of his place in American life.

252

Chapter VI

RESETTLEMENT

The future of persons of Japanese descent in America lies with the
Nisei and Sansei generations. That future will be conditioned by two
primary factors: the presence or absence of economic discrimination,
and the beliefs iriiich Americans of Japanese descent come to have about
their acceptance in American life. The fact that Japanese aliens have
been and remain ineligible to citizenship has set a standard that has
affected alien and citizen alike, both in law and in the attitudes of
other Americans, The manner in which the people of the United States
dispose of this issue will be crucial in determining the place in Ameri-
can life which the Japanese American will come to occupy.

In the long run, beliefs will conform to the reality of the objec-
tive situation. The postwar period has provided a variety of experience
to a people whose range of aspiration, activity, and attitude had been
very great, but who had been drawn together and their common ancestry
emphasized by evacuation. The trend of public opinion is running strong-
ly in the direction of equality. In many cwnmunities , tolerance, which
is essentially negative, is being replaced by positive acceptance. How-
ever, the evidence shows that those Americans who may have Interest in
the solution of the problems of Japanese Americans may expect- but small
reward for their efforts if they limit their activity to an attempt to
prevent congregation and in-group social participation. It will be his
ability to secure employment and adequate housing in equal competition
with other Americans, and the continuing experience of day to day con-
tacts that will slowly define the Japanese American's conception of his
place in Americaui life.

The superstructure of renewed Japanese community life has been
erected, but its foundations are insecure. If special Japanese Ameri-
can problems persist, the roots of these communities may be expected
to deepen, and the people to withdraw further from participation in
the wider community. If special problems are solved in a manner that
will permit adequate satisfaction of the human needs of the members of
this group, the fact of broader contact may be expected to provide
wider participation in all phases of American life.

253

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Appendix A

SEATTLE SAMPLE SURVEY

As noted In the foreword, data for Seattle was contributed by S«
Frank Miyamoto and Robert W* O'Brien, members of the faculty of the Uni-
versity of Washington. In addition to ocntributions to the study in the
form of field notes, they furnished to this report the findings of an in-
dependently conducted survey based on a random sample of the total Japa-
nese population of Seattle. Material dealing with economic adjustment
was included in Chapter III. The following chart and tables provide the
only known set of recent data on population distribution in any of the
west coast cities. Notes concerning the methods used in conducting the
Seattle survey will be found on subsequent pages. Data for 1935 shown
in the chart on the preceding page was taken from a special compila-
tion made by Forrest LaVlolette and Frank Miyamoto on the basis of the
fourth census of Seattle Japanese made by the North American Japanese
Chamber of Commerce. The 1947 data is from the Miyamoto-O'Brien survey.

Table 1

Japanese Population

of Seattle by Nativity and

Sex: 1940 and 1947.

Year

Total

Native Born

Number %

Total Male Female

Total Male Female

1940
1947

6975 100
4692 100

4099 59 2092 2007
3043 65 1541 1502

2876 a 1654 1222
1649 35 920 729

Source of data: United States Census, 1940, Vol. II Part 7, Table A36,
p. 401. 1947 figures from O'Brien-Miyamoto Survey.

Table II

Marital Status. Japanese Population of Seattle by Nativity and Sex; 1947

Nativity

Single Married Widowed Divorced Separated

Native Born - Males

Females

1117
1037

416
455

8

2

Foreign Bom - Males

Females

145
13

705
610

59

106

11

8

Source of data; O'Brlen-idlyamoto Survey.

255

749181 0-47-18

Table III

In-odgratlon to Seattle - Japanese Population whose last jare-evacuation
address was not Seattle.

Frcm the State of Washington 484

From other Pacific Coast States 90

From Kocky Mountain States 3

From Uidwestern States 14

From Eastern States 2

From Hawaii 8

From Alaska 15

Total In-migration 616

Source of data: O'Brien-Uiyamoto Survey

Notes on Seattle Survey Methodology.

A list of known addresses of the Japanese population of Seattle was
used as the universe from which the sample was selected. This list was
constructed from name lists available through various organizations. As
checks were made to determine the adequacy of the final list, some under-
snumeration of children, housewives, and other dependents was evident,
but active and employable persons 15 to 20 years of age and over were
recorded with fair completeness. Although the catalogue was incomplete
for all individual names, it was believed that it would yield a virtually
complete file of all addresses at which Japanese Americans in Seattle
were residing.

Examination of the address cards showed a concentration in certain
tracts of a polyethnic area, with some dispersion into outlying tracts.
A five-fold stratification by census tracts — of tracts K, 0, P, M-Q,
and fall others" — was therefore used for sampling purposes. Because
of the variations in the size of the residential units being sampled, a
second stratification by the namber of families per address was also
used. These numbers were roughly determined by sorting out the individ-
ual cards to show the number of surnames of each address. On the assump-
tion that each surname represented a single family, five strata were de-
fined as follows: residential units having one-two, three-five, six-
twelve, thirteen-nineteen, and twenty or more families.

By random sampling, addresses were then drawn from each of the sub-
strata. Since the catalogue of addresses contained relatively few cases
of the larger residential buildings, the sampling fraction was progres-
sively increased for the latter strata. Thus, an approximately 10 per-
cent sample of the one-two family residences was taken, a 15 percent
sample of the three-five family residences, a 20 percent sample of the
six-twelve family residences, a 25 percent sample of the thirteen-nine-
teen group, and a 50 percent sample of all addresses with 20 or more

256

families. Using this procedure, 113 addresses were drawn from a total
of 867, approximately a 13 perceiit sample of all addresses.

Interviews were recorded on simple schedule cards and were carried
out by Miyamoto and O'Brien, aided by a corp of assistants, mostly stu-
dents. The instructions required that every person of Japanese ancestry
at each of the sampled addresses be completely enumerated*

257

Appendix B

STATEMENT

Of Mike Masaoka, national legislative director of
the Japanese American Citizens League Anti-
Discrimination Committee, Inc#, before the
President's Civil Rights Conmittee, Fay 1st, 1947,*

We persons of Japanese ancestry, citizens and aliens alike, have
many problems in common with other minority and racial groups in the
United States, At the same time, we have several that are peculiarly
euad exclusively our own.

Most of the latter stem from ovir wartime treatment, an unprece-
dented action that many have described as the greatest violation of
civil rights in American history.

The military evacuation of 110,000 persons, two-thirds of whom
were American-bom citizens, without trial or hearing, in the absence
of martial law and when our courts were functioning, began a pattern
for un-American discrimination- that still threatens the civil rights
and liberties of every citizen. If, as the Supreme Coxu-t ruled, "af-
finity" with a particular race is sufficient cause for trampling the
constitutional guarantees of any individual or group, it is our belief
that civil rights meem little in emergencies when they are needed most
as a protection against tyranny and oppression.

In view of what happened to us in wartime, we fear for the future
when man's passions may be aroused and reason is dimmed, when special
interests may foment hysteria and prejudice, ^.'e believe that if the
validation of civil rights is the concern of this Committee, then this
Committee must interest itself in presenting to the Supreme Court of

♦Released to the press bj'- JACL-ADC on V&y 1. Presented here as a rep-
resentative statement concerning Japanese American problems from the
viewpoint of a Nisei organization.

258

the TInited States another opportunity to determine the legality of
arbitrary and wholesale evacuation without trial or hearing. For the
precedent established by these decisions, as Mr, Justice Jackson pointed
out, "lies about like a loaded weapon ready for the use of any authority
that can bring forward a plausible claim for an urgent needl"

Hand in hand with the civil rights that were by-passed in the
spring of 1942 were property rights. The evacuees were forced to liq-
uidate their holdings without adequate government protection or super-
vision* Much we gave away; some we sold at a mere fraction of their
real value; more was left with presumed friends who in many cases "sold
us out" while we were gone; and the rest we stored in private or gov-
ernment warehouses of questionable quality.

Today, the government acknowledges that its facilities to protect
our property were not as they should have been. Through the Interior
Department, an Evacuation Claims Commission bill has been introduced
in the House of Representatives. A companion bill is expected soon in
the Senate,

Since the administration has acknowledged its responsibilily for
some of our economic losses, we urge this Committee to recominend to the
Congress prompt passage of H. R» 2768, the so-called Evaouabion Claims
Commission bill, as a matter of ooranion justice and good conscience.

We persons of Japanese ancestry know the meaning of a housing
shortage. We were evicted from our homes and now that we are permit-
ted to return, we find that our former accommodations are occupied by
members of other minority groups. We cannot purchase or rent housing
in other areas because of restrictive covenants that apply not only
to us but to several others. Thus, we are forced to either evict the
present occupants or to crowd in in what few facilities there are. In
either case, we are not improving community relations but creating race
tensions that may, tmless something is done to relieve the situation,
break out into ugly sores.

With members of other minorities who are the victims of this vi-
cious and untenable private practice, we recommend that this Committee
initiate action to repudiate and to void these racial restrictive cove-
nants that violate the spirit if not the letter of the Constitution and
the Federal Civil Rights Statute,

We know, too, -rAiat discrimination in employment is. We know what
it means to be unacceptable bo union membership, what it means to be
the "last hired and the first fired", what it means to have to work
harder and longer for less in wages. We know these things because we
have been forced to experience them, iJiat is why we believe in

259

legislation providing fair enaployaent practices in every industry and
every business*

Otir veterans know that certain vocational schools refuse them ad-
mission, that other schools have unvnritten quotas relating to their
entrance* That is -why we believe in equal educational opportunities
and facilities for all, regardless of race, color, creed, or national
origin*

Iffeen we first returned to our west coast homes, we found that some
persons fired upon our persons, burnt down our homes, and threatened
us TriLth violence* We know now, better than ever before, that federal
authority must be extended to protect the lives, the limbs, and the
property of every person everywhere in the land and that this authority
must be effective when local prejudices and hatreds run rampant*

lie believe in stronger, more effective Federal Civil Sights Stat-
utes that apply to individual as well as official action, in ajQ anti-
lynching law, in any measure that protects a person against violence
of any kind*

V/e believe, too, in the repeal of discriminatory laws based upon
race, especially when these laws are used as legal bases to destroy the
civil rights eind liberties of a group or of an individual.

Persons of Japanese ancestry eu:e among a few peoples who are still
"ineligible to naturalization" under our federal laws* Because they
are so classified, they cemnot become citizens of the United States
auad thereby are forever barred from over a hundred different fields of
employment, businesses, and professions that are closed by statutes to
all aliens by various states and municipalities*

In addition to these general prohibitions aimed against all aliens,
those of Japanese smoestry are subjected to several more by reason of
their "ineligibility" to naturalization, a legal device whereby dis-
crimination has been held to be constitutional*

Most damaging of these special anti-Japanese statutes are the
alien land laws of some 12 western states. At the moment, California
is by far the most active in attempting to escheat lands now under
the control and operation of American citizens, many of whom served
with distinction in the United States Army in the recent war*

Alleging violations of a law first passed in 1913 but seldom in-
voked until 1945, the State of California is escheating properties
without compensation of any kind. The State has enacted ex post facto
laws denying the use of the Statute of Limitations as a defense against

260

esoheatj it has shifted the burden, of proof from itself to the Japa-
nese defendant in contradiction of American principles of jurisprudence.

Designed to prevent the Japanese alien from operating land, it is
now being used to deprive American citizens of their properties without
due process and to threaten those fxmdamenbal concepts of decent liv-
ing that so msiny of us fought for overseas*

Under the alien land law, we citizens osuinot permit our alien par-
ents to live on the same land with us, or even in the same home* Tfe
cannot help our parents meet the ordinary expenses of living if our
fxrnds are derived from the use of land. In several cases, American
citizen spouses of alien Japanese have been forced to give up their
leinds because such meuried couples have no right to cultivate those
lands together.

Moreover, the State of California now contends that alien Japanese
may not lawfully lease commercial or even residential property.

We believe that this law violates the Fourteenth Amendment to our
Constitution and the Civil Bights Statutes because it denies to just
the Japanese the "equal protection of the laws".

The Supreme Court of the TMited States has agreed to hear arguments
on the constitutionality of the alien land law this fall* yie submit
that this Committee should recommend that the President direct the
Attorney General to appear in this case and to declare the government's
opposiidon to such laws as a violation of our national policy and civil
rights.

This classification of "ineligibility" to naturalization is used
in Califoniia to deny to Japemese aliens the right to engage in com-
mercial fishing, as a "conservation" measure the State now contends,
Japemese aliens, including the widow-mother of a Congressional Medal
of Honor winn&r, cannot receive an old age pension in that State, Japa-
nese parents, including many who lost their only son in battle, cannot
receive relief payments from the State on the same basis as others*

And on the national scale, many Japanese aliens whose sons served
in both the European and Pacific Theaters during World War II are sub-
ject to deportation. So are many Japanese aliens who contributed much
to victory, in counter-intelligence, in translating and interpreting
enenqr documents and materials, in map drawing*

To correct grave injustices and to permit these aliens who have
demonstrated their loyalty and allegiance through the years, we urge
this Committee to recommend to Congress the repeal of the few remaining
racial discriminations in our immigration and naturalization laws*

261

The passage of laws reiaoving race as -a qualification for natural-
isation, would not only remove the "heart" from the anti-Japanese legis-
lation of many western states but also the traditional "excuse" used in
enacting such disciriminatory legislation.

YJe are not so naive as to believe that the simple enactment or re-
peal of specific legislation will remove race prejudice. But we do be-
lieve that specific legislation that defines standards of conduct and
provides effective penalties for violations tends to curb deliberate
and malicious discrimination based on race, color, creed, or national
origin.

Supplemented by proper educational campaigns that demonstrate the
need for unity and good will among all segments of American life, fed-
eral legislation can be effective in the field of civil rights.

We persons of Japanese ancestry, together with other Americans of
all nationalities, religions, and color, look to this Committee to pro-
tect the hard-won rights of all minorities in lYorld Vfar II, to enlarge
those areas of opTDortunities that were opened up to us in wartime, and
to provide safeguards for our lives, limbs, and property against the
encroachment of vested interests and "hate" groups. We look to this
Committee to make more real the dreams, hopes, and aspirations of the
American soldier who fought and died that liberty and equality for all
would be more thaji a catchword.

262

' Appendix C

REFEBENCSS CITSD

Chapter I— RELOCATION

/l Adjustment study field reports

/2 Ylar Relocation Authority. Relocation of Japanese Americans.
Vifashington, D. C. May 1943, p. 5-6

/S Pacific Citizen, December 21, 1946, p. 4-5

/4 Progressive Hews. February 7, 1947, p. 1

/S United States Department of the Interior, War Relocation

Authority, The Eraouated People— A C^antitative Description
Washington, D, C, GPO 1946 Chart p. 8 (NOTE: Other figures
on departures shown in this section were computed from table
6, page 18 and table 10, page 30)

Chapter II— PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE

/l Adjustment study field reports

^ Pacific Citisen. July 29, 1944, p. 1

/Z Washington Post, October 11, 1945, p, 3

/4 New York Times, December 8, 1945, p. 1

/5 Pacific Citizen. September 21, 1947, p. 2

/6 Pacific Citizen. February 8, 1947, p. 3

/7 House of Representatives. Committee on Public Lands, Hear-
ings, No, 2 Statehood for Hawaii, GPO, Washington, D, C,
March 7-19, 1947, p, 63-64

/Q Pacific Citizen, November 30, 1946, p, 1

263

/9 Pacific Citizen. NoTember 30, 1946, p. 5

/lO Pacific Citizen, September 28, 1946, p, 3

/ll Pacific Citizen, November 9, 1946, p, 3

/l2 Pacific Citizen. December 22, 1945, p, 9

/l3 Takao Ozawa vs. United States, 260 U,S, 178

/l4 E, K, Strong, Jr, The Second Generation Japanese Problem,

Stanford University Press, Stanford University, California,
1934, p. 45-46

/l5 Yamato Ichihashi, Japanese in the United States; A Critical
Study of the Problems of the Japanese Immigrants and Their
Children. Stanford University Press, Stanford University,
California, 1932, p. 275

/l6 The Law Affecting Japanese in the State of California,
""" Compiled by Albert H. ElliotJ; and Guy C. Calden, members of
the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and
Supreme Court of the State of California. San Francisco.
1929, See: Fujita Case.

/l7 E. K. Strong, Jr. The Second Generation Japanese Problem.

Stanford University Press* Stanford University, California.
1934, p. 44 and 212

/l8 Carey McWilliams. Prejudice— Japanese Americans; Symbol

of Racial Intolerance. Little, Brown and Company. Boston.
1944, p. 65

/l9 Proposed Amendments to Constitution with the Propositions,
Laws and Arguments, Submitted to the Electors of the State
of California at the General Election, November 5, 1946,
Compiled by Fred B, Wood, Legislative Counsel,

/20 Pacific Citizen. December 28, 1946, p. 2 col. 3

/2I Japanese American Citizens League. Brief filed in the

Supreme Court of California October 31, 1946. L.A. No. 19533
(Mimeographed) The People of the State of California vs.
Fred Y. Oyama, etc., et al. p. 10-11, p. 12-13, 20, 22

/22 Supreme Court of the State of California. The People of the
State of California vs. Fred Y. Oyama, etc., et al. Petition
for Rehearing. L.A. No. 19533. p. 6 and 10

264

/25 San Franoisoo Chronicle (Bditoi'ial). October 25, 1946

Chapter III—jSCONOMIC ADJUSTMENT

/l Adjustment study field reports

/2 Fumiko Fukuoka* Mutual Life and Aid Among the Japemese in
Southern California with Special Reference to Los Angeles,
(Unpublished Master's thesis. University of Southern Cali-
fornia, 1937)

fz Files of the Pacific Citizen

/4 United States Department of the Interior. War Relocation
Authority, Final District Report of the Santa Barbara and
Ssm Diego Areas, (Unpublished, In file at the National
Archives) 1946

/s United States Department of the Interior, War Relocation
Authority, Pinal District Report of Sacramento Area,
(Unpublished, In file at the National Archives) 1946

/S Pacific Citizen, November 30, 1946, p, 5 col, 2

/? United States Deparianent of the Interior, Yfsir Relocation
Authority, Project Analysis Series No. 18 Part II "Issei
Relocation Probleias" p, 9 (Mimeographed) September 2, 1944

/8 United States Department of the Interior. War Relocation
Authority, Projeot Analysis Series No, 20 Part III "Back-
ground for the Resettlement of Rohwer Farmers", p, 26
(Mimeographed February 1945)

/9 Rafu Shimpo, June 12, 1946, p. 1

/lO Rafu Shirapo, December 21, 1946, p, 7

/ll Letter of May 15, 1947, From a Nisei ex-GI in San Francisco
to the Director of Resettlement Study

/l2 Survey in 1947 of "Some Changes in the Seattle Japanese

Community Resulting from Evacuation" by Mr, Frank Miyamoto
and Mr. Robert O'Brien, faculty members of the University
of Washington, (Unpublished) Table 5

/l2a Personal Interview with Mr, Takeda (psueda), March 18, 1947
during above survey

265

/l2b Table 6 from above survey

/l2o Table 7 from above survey

/l2d Personal Interview -with a Nisei male, January 24, 1947
dviring above survey

/l2e Personal Interview with a Nisei, December 18, 1947 during
above sxirvey

/l2f Personal Interview. December 6, 1946 from above survey

/l2g Personal Inteirview, March 12, 1947 from above survey

/l2h Personal Interview with a Nisei male, November 13, 1947
during above survey

/l2i Table II from above survey

/l3 United States Census: 1940

/l4 United States Department of the Interior, Yfar Relocation
Authority, Final District Report from Colorado Area,
(Unpublished. In file at the National Archdves) 1946

/l5 David Karsner, Silver Dollar— The Story of the Tabors,
Covici — Friede Inc., New York City 1932 (Eistorj'- of the
Larimer District)

/l6 Colorado Japanese Business Directory for 1946, Japanese
Newspaper ads, etc.

/l7 Chicago Nisei Business Directory, 1947, Published by
Kalifomias Enterprise

/l8 Chicago Nisei Business Directory, 1945-1946, Published by
Kalifomias Enterprise

/l9 New York Church Committee for Japanese Americans, The Survey
Committee, "A Social .Study of the Japanese Population in
Greater New York Area", Jure 1942, p, 11-12

/20 Nisei Weekender, January 1, 1947

/2I United States Department of the Interior, War Relocation
Authority, Community Analysis V/ashington Report No, 225,
"Brief Analysis of the Japanese American Community in New
York", p. 7, July 19, 1945

266

/22 Pacific Citizen, April 12, 1947, p. 5

Chapter rV~HOUSIKG ADJUSTMKMT

/l ' Adjustment study field reports

/2 Official Report of the Chicago Resettlers Committee as
published by the Rocky Shimpo. April 4, 1947, p, 1

/s Letter of December 4, 1946* From Mrs, Jane Davis, Secretary
of the Japanese Resettlement Committee, International
Institute of Alameda County, to the Director of Resettlement
Study

A Letter of December 2, 1946, From Mr. Robert C, L» George,
Director of the Japanese Project, International Institute.
SaxL Francisco, California, to the Director of Resettlement
Study

Chapter Y— SOCIAL ADJUSa/KHT

/l Adjustment study field reports

/2 Robert E, Park and Herbert E, Miller, Old Vjorld Traits
Transplanted, New York & London, Harper and Brothers,
1921, p, 269-260

^Z S, Frank lliyamoto. Social Solidaritjr Among the Japanese in
Seattle, University of Washington Social Science Bulletin,
Volumne II, No, 2, December 1939, p, 116

/4 Fumiko Fukuoka, Mutual Life and Aid Among the Japanese in
Southern California with Special Reference to Los Angeles,
(Unpublished Master's thesis. University of Southern Cali-
fornia, 1937) p. 17-13

/S Carey McWilliams, Prejudice—Japsinese Americans: Symbol

of Racial Intolerance. Little, Brown and Company, Boston,
1944, p. 123

/S Tom Shibutani, The Initial Phases of the Buddhist Youth

Movements in Chicago. October, 1944 (Excerpts from unpublished
manuscript prepared for Evacuation Resettlement Study
University of California)

267

/7 Jitsuichi Ifeisuoka, The Life Cycle of an Immigrant Institution
in Hawaii: The Family, Social Forces, Volumne 23, No, 1,
October 1944, p, 62

^8 Letter of February 25, 1947, From Mr, Robert O'Brien, First
Director of the National Japanese Student Relocation Cotmcil,
to the Director of the Resettlement Study

/9 Pacific Citizen, November 26, 1946, p, 5 col, 1

/lO JACL Reporter, January 1947, p, 1

/ll Rocky Shinqpo, January 8, 1947, p. 1

/l2 Pacific Citizen, April 5, 1947, p, 5

/l5 Pacific Citizen, June 29, 1946, p, 4

/l4 Utah Nippo, August 26, 1946, p, 1

/l5 Letter of May 13, 1945, From a Nisei veteran to the Veterans
of Foreign Wars Organization. (Filed with field notes)

/l6 Utah Nippo, January 20, 1947, p, 1

/l7 Nisei Veterans Association in Los Angeles, Mimeographed
Prospectus obtained August 1946

/l8 The United Ministry to Re settlers sponsored by the Greater
Chicago Fedei^tion of Churches, "Nisei Participation in
Church Activities in Chicago", June 1945

/l9 Pacific Citizen, November 30, 1946, p. 6 col, 3

^20 Oregon Nippo, March 5, 1947, p, 1

/2I Pacific Citizen, May 31, 1947, p. 8

/22 Niohi Bei Times, February 8, 1947

/23 Progressive News, February 8, 1947

/24 Report of the Chicago Re settlers Committee as published
by the Rocky Shimpo, April 4, 1947, p, 1

268

/25 Pacific Citizen, January 11, 1947, p, 5 col, 4

/26 Itocky Shin?)o, September 27, 1946, p, 1

/27 Progressive News, Jtme 7, 1947, p, 1

/28 Pacific Citizen. September 28, 1946, p. 5

/29 Pacific Citizen. March 1, 1947, p. 1

/so Pacific Citizen, August 31, 1946, p. 4 col. 2

269

The final reports of the War Relocation Authority may be
purchased from the United States Government Printing Office,

HRA - A STCRY OF HUMAN CONSERVATION $ .55

WARTIME EXILE - The Exclusion of the Japanese

Americans from the West Coast .45

IMPOUNDED PEOPLE - Japanese Americans in the

Relocation Centers .6p

7
I

THE RELOCATION PROGRAM ^35

WARTIME HANDLING OF EVACUEE PROPERTY .35

ADMINISTRATIVE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ViRA PR0C3iAM .30

COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT IN WAR RELOCATION CENTERS .35

LEGAL AND CC^JSTITUTIOIAL PHASES CF THE iSRA

PROGRAM .30

THE EVACUATED PEOPLE - A Quantitative

Description .60

TOKEN SHIPMENT - The Story of America's War

Refugee Shelter .35

270

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

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3 9999 06313 345 6

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