Japanese American Internment Camps

     The first Japanese arrived illegally in Hawaii with the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm community in search of job opportunities. Many Japanese had bad economic situations in Japan and they were hearing stories that America had bountiful jobs that paid good money. Because of such stories Japanese were looking toward America for jobs, while the Hawaiians were looking to Japan for workers for their plantations. By 1884, Hawaii signed an agreement with the Japanese government, making it legal for Japanese men to leave their country and come to work in Hawaii. Many Japanese took the opportunity and immigrated to Hawaii for work. Not all of the Japanese stayed in Hawaii, though. Many moved to the United States in search of work. These Japanese were able to find jobs in agriculture, aquaculture and business; and thus, they began earning money in their new country.

     During late 1800s and into the early 1900s, a large amount of Japanese came to America. (These first generation Japanese became known as the Issei.) As the amount of Issei that were in America grew, so did the unease of the American citizens, especially in California, where most of the Issei were settling. The Americans were afraid that the Japanese would take their jobs and farmers were upset at the great success the Japanese had in agriculture. The difference in their appearance also helped the Issei stand out to Americans and increased racial tensions. People would attack Japanese and sometimes signs saying things such as "Japs, don't' let the sun shine of you here. Keep moving." were posted by Americans. Although the government never forced the Japanese to move during this time, to the pleasure of the Americans, the government wrote The Gentleman's Act in 1907,which was an agreement between the Japanese government and the American government. The act stated that Japan would not issue passports to male Japanese. It prohibited male Japanese from entering the United States, however, this is when many Japanese women decided to come to America as picture brides. The brides came to marry a man that was chosen by their parents, friends, or teachers. With the coming of women, though, families were started and the Japanese population continued to grow. Finally, the Exclusion Act of 1924 prohibited all Japanese from coming to the United States. Other laws were also created by the government to restrict the Japanese in many ways. The government made laws that made the Issei unable to gain citizenship or own land. Despite all of the difficulties the Issei faced, though, they slowly became accustomed to their life in America and grew to love America more and more.

     The Issei made their own life in America. They would rent houses and start families. The men's job was to work and earn money, while wives would work along side their husbands, keep the house clean and raise their children, the second generation of Japanese in America who became known as the Nisei. Although many Issei were separated from their family and friends from Japan, they were not totally separated from the Japanese and their ways. Many Japanese settled into their own communities who would not only be their neighbors, but their friends. They would socialize with each other and all of the community would attend the same church, retaining their heritage yet at the same time, learning the ways of the Americans. Slowly America became a part of them almost as much as Japan was a part of them.  "Although both my parents loved America, they always held at the core of their being an abiding love for their native land." They were loyal to Japan because it was their homeland, yet, as they lived in America, it became their new home. They had worked in America, suffered in America and raised their family in America.

     To the Nisei, America was their home, and they were Americans even though they grew up in a Japanese household. They had been born in America, making them American citizens, and accumulated a few cultural practices of the Americans; nonetheless, non-Japanese Americans found it hard to accept the Nisei. The Nisei had no connections to the country of Japan, and it hurt to be rejected by their own country. They tried hard to be accepted, yet, no matter what they did, they were discriminated against. They went to school with white children and even had white friends; yet, the older they got, the harder it was to participate in events with white classmates. Many times, places such as restaurants and dance floors did not allow Japanese inside. Nisei began banding together into their own groups, where they would be accepted. "We Nisei were, in effect, rejected as inferior Americans by our own country and rejected as inferior by the country of our parents as well. We were neither totally American nor totally Japanese…" Despite the rejection of Japan and America, America was their true home and always would be.

     On December 7th, 1941, The Japanese-American's current home was attacked by Japan. The Japanese themselves were as shocked as other Americans; however, the government was quick to believe possible connections between Japan and Japanese Americans. Within hours of the attack, FBI agents went to Japanese-American's homes and took leaders of the Japanese communities to be questioned about foreknowledge of the attack and kept under watch. The citizens of American, themselves, were quick to believe that Japanese Americans would work with Japan against America. This mistrust added onto existing racial discrimination against the Japanese Americans made Americans voice ideas of moving Japanese off of the Pacific Coast. And as this urging removal of Japanese continued, President Roosevelt began considering placing Japanese in concentration camps.

     During October and November before the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt ordered an intelligence investigation to determine the loyalty of Japanese Americans in the West Coast. Carl B. Munson conducted the investigation and wrote a report in which he stated that the overall population of Japanese in the United States was loyal to the United States.

     "[The Issei are] probably loyal romantically to Japan. They must be considered, however, as other races. They have made this their home. They have brought up children here, their wealth accumulated by hard labor is here, and many would have become American citizens had they been allowed to do so… [The Nisei] are universally estimated from 90 to 98 percent loyal to the United States if the Japanese-educated element of the Kibei is excluded. The Nisei are pathetically eager to show this loyalty. They are not Japanese in culture. They are foreigners to Japan." (Munson Report) Despite the findings of this report, Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. The order stated, "I hereby authorize and direct.. to prescribe military areas in such places… from which any or all persons may be excluded…" With this order, preparations were made to place Japanese Americans in Internment camps. The Japanese Americans were told to leave the West Coast, yet, not many were able to do so as it was expensive and there were stories of how horribly the Japanese were being treated. Within time, though, papers began to list the cities that Japanese had to be "evacuated" from. The Japanese in those cities were given less than two weeks to clear out their house, selling possessions or packaging up their belongings to be kept in storage with either their friends or the government. Japanese also had to sell their own house in that limited time before they left. Hardly any of their assets were kept. The Japanese were only told to bring with them to the internment camps whatever they could carry. They were recommended to bring blankets, bathroom accessories, clothing and eating utensils. Whether they were able to accomplish all of their necessary tasks, at the allotted time, the Japanese had to go to Civil Control Stations to be transported to assembly centers, temporary places that they were kept until they were able to go to internment camps, or directly to internment camps for military necessity.

     There were 10 internment camps in the United States. Each internment camp was placed in isolated deserts of various states. Because of the placement of each internment camp, though, there were often sand storms. During wintertime, though, many internees had to worry about rain. The tar paper covered barracks that the Japanese Americans lived in offered very little protection from the elements or the various extreme temperatures of the seasons. Each barrack had 6 rooms that measured 16' X 20' to 20' X 24'. Many families were crowded into a barrack, each room housing a family of six, more or less. If you were a newly wed in certain internment camps, then you would be placed in the honeymoon room. Every room was very plain, sometimes with only boards laid on the ground as a floor over the dirt. The conditions of the barracks were not ideal. Sometimes cockroaches or rats were found in the barracks and hardly any privacy was offered. The walls did not quite reach the ceiling; therefore, whatever was said could be heard by the other people in the barrack. At times, the best privacy people could get would be to hang a cloth from the ceiling. Such additions to the rooms were common. Barracks only came with a stove, a light-bulb hanging from the ceiling, a window, and mattresses. (Later, camps ran out of mattresses and cots, so people had to sleep on straw filled bags.) While the Japanese Americans lived in the barracks, though, they were able to make their own furniture such as cabinets, curtains, or pictures, to make the rooms more homely.

     Every 20 barracks were placed in their own separate blocks. These blocks contained a mess hall, a laundry room, public showers, and public bathrooms to be shared by every person in the block. Sharing the bathroom and the showers was a problem, however, because it offered no privacy. The bathrooms were holes cut into two wooden planks that were lined up as rows. Eventually, the Japanese Americans made their own dividers for the bathrooms. The showers also did not have any dividers. Yet, while some buildings had to be shared by blocks, other buildings within the internment camps such as recreation halls, canteens, hospitals, and the post office, were shared by everyone. The entire internment camp was limited in how far people could walk from their barrack, though. Each internment camp was surrounded by the barbed wire fencing and guard towers with searchlights. Guards patrolled the fence boarder of the camp daily, making sure that no one escaped.

     While the Japanese Americans lived in the camps, they were given certain restrictions; they could not have liquor, the area between the fence and the barracks was to be stayed out of, everyone was supposed to be in their barrack by nine P.M., and lights were supposed to be turned off at ten P.M. Despite the restrictions, people were still able to think of fun activities.

      Recreational activities were limited because of the set up of the internment camps, however, the Japanese Americans were able to think of many things to do when they weren't working or learning. Aged Issei usually gardened, carved wood, studied ikebana, or practiced calligraphy. However, many Japanese Americans played chess, participated in sports such as basket ball, baseball, volley ball, sumo wrestling, and golf, read books, wrote letters, watched movies and theater, attended dances or joined clubs. Clubs such as the boy scouts or girl scouts which were available at the internment camps offered their own activities for club members to do. Boy scouts enjoyed carving names out of wood and girl scouts enjoyed knitting, sewing, and helping people. Christian or Buddhist services were available for those who wished to attend.

     Japanese American internees were able to buy three meals a day. Breakfast was from 6 - 7, lunch was from 11:30 - 12:30, and dinner was from 5 - 6. If people wanted to buy food, though, they had to wait in long lines just to get it. The food was prepared by internee cooks and cost about 45 per person, every day. The food usually was served with bread and potatoes, yet they could not eat all they wanted; they had to rationalize food because of the war. Later, the Japanese Americans were given more food choice selections when they started growing their own food and raising animals. If people wanted snacks, though, then they either had to buy snacks at the fence from local stores, or buy it at the canteen in the camp.

     Hospitals at the internment camps were mainly run by internees and certain medical visits didn't cost the Japanese Americans anything. However, for medical attention that is not usually offered at the hospitals cost money.

     Classes were also free and offered for all age groups. Middle School students used barracks for their classrooms where they were taught spelling. High schools were built and used to teach crafts and sports. Adults were offered classes in short hand and first aid, while Issei had a choice to learn English and Americanization. There were also classes on wrestling, boxing, weight lifting, tumbling and jujitsu. People had to sign up for the classes in advance, though, or else they could not take the class. The classes were about 4-6 hours long and tried to stay with the general state curriculum.

     Many jobs were offered in the internment camps: cooks, farmers, hospital workers, internal police, construction worker, clerical worker, etc. For working 176 hours a month, unskilled workers got paid $8.00, skilled workers were paid $12.00 and professional workers were paid $16.00. In addition, anyone who was working was given extra money every month to buy clothes. Later, jobs outside the internment camp were offered to the Japanese American internees. Such jobs would get them outside the internment camp and allow them to show their loyalty to America. However, to be allowed to work outside the internment camp, everyone had to take the loyalty questionnaire. (The questionnaire was also used to figure out who were the "disloyal" Japanese Americans.) The questionnaire asked them a series of questions, two of which asked, "No. 27. Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty wherever ordered? No. 28. Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, to any other foreign government, power or organization?" Those who answered yes to such questions were able to work in frozen food companies, hotels, or the 100th Battalion (and later the 442nd Regiment Combat) as soldiers, nurses, and translators, if they wanted to.

     The people who answered "no, no" to questions 28, though, were sent to Tule Lake as disloyal Japanese because Tule Lake had had the most "no, no boys" out of all of the camps. (Many Issei had refused to forswear any allegiance to the Japanese government, because they would have been without a country.) This act finally separated those Japanese Americans who were seen as loyal to the United States and those who were loyal to Japan. With the arrival of disloyal Japanese Americans, Tule Lake became heavily guarded by six tanks, extra military guards, and electric fences.

     Although life sounds generally simple and peaceful at the internment camps, deaths did occur, and not all deaths were caused by health problems or stress. The guards at the internment camps had guns and they did use them against people who were disobeying them. Guards took Japanese's life is they got too close to the fences. Often, they shot Japanese Americans with the excuse that the person had been trying to escape. They also used baseball bats and tear gas grenades. Yet, the guards did not just attack the internees because it was their job, they killed for pleasure. In a WRA Report in the summer of 1942, it stated,

   "He explained that the guards were finding guard service very monotonous, and that nothing would suit them better than to have a little excitement, such as shooting a Jap." Yet, not all guards had to kill to have fun, others decided to threaten the Japanese Americans. As two Japanese Americans were digging graves for people who had been shot by guards, they were told,

   "These graves are for the Japanese who died; if you don't do your work quickly, I will make you dig two more graves."

     The emotional impact on many Japanese is very strong. The Japanese were scared of what was going to happen to them, worried about family members that they had been separated from and humiliated that their loyalty had been in question by the nation that they had trusted. They had loved American, but they had been "trapped like rats in a wired cage" having committed no crime against the United States. Because of their experiences in the internment camps, they lost some of their patriotism and become angry at the situation that the United States had placed them in.

     On December 17, 1944, the government issued Public Proclamation Number 21which stopped all evacuations of Japanese Americans. The day after truly began freeing some Japanese Americans, though. The day of December 18, 1944, a conclusion had been made for The Ex Parte Endo case. It had been ruled that the government could not hold American citizens in certain places against their will. At this time, Nisei no longer had to stay in the internment camps, however, Issei were still held in them. All internment camps ended by March 20, 1946, though. After the internment camps closed, the government still had the problem of relocating the Japanese. Many Japanese had lost their assets because of the evacuations: either neighbors had sold the person's furniture, their old houses had been sold, and their own furniture that they had sold before they left were sold less than the actual price. Many places still did not welcome the Japanese, though, so the Japanese either had to live amongst racism once again, or move to Japan.

 

 

 

Bibliography

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    http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/KSD/SJ/Nikkei/The_Issei.html

 

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13) Wong-Asaoka, Ben. A Tale in a Japanese-American Internment Camp. 4 Mar. 2002   

      http://www.clarkhumanities.org/block3/0450.htm