Nisei Naysayer: The Memoir of Militant Japanese American Journalist Ji

[eseum]

I am 90 pages into the above book. So far, it is an interesting portrait of life in America for those of Japanese ancestry on the west coast. I have a few more pages to go to get into the internment. Mr. Omura encouraged resistance to drafting of imprisoned Nisei into the military, unless their lost citizenship rights were restored. He was arrested, tried, but not convicted, for his convictions.

 

Just as a note, I found this book in Portland, OR at Powell's Bookstore. If you love books then you should definitely stop at this store if you have the chance. I ended up spending over $200 and didn't even get through a quarter of the store. If I lived in Portland I would probably go broke.

[danb]

How the Japanese American were treated during the WWII was not right. Their lost of property, freedom and respect was unfair. I wonder if they had the right to vote and if they were, what their state of residence was at. Was their state of residence in California or where the state where their "relocation camp" was located in? Well at least they did not lose their right to be drafted!!! Thankfully this type of treatment would never happen today, right?

[eseum]

The Nisei were U.S. citizens by birth and many only spoke English, as was the case for Mr. Omura. Their parents, the Issei, were the original immigrants from Japan. Federal law prevented the Issei from becoming citizens. The majority of Japanese immigrants inhabited the Pacific coastal states. Mr. Omura was living in CA at the time WWII began, but he had lived in a number of other places before then.

 

Relocation camps were located in a number of states across the U.S. Some families ended up in camps in states other than those that they originally inhabited. Internment camps in the coastal states were located inland to prevent supposed spies from contacting enemy ships. Manzanar, which was a camp in CA, now preserved for historical purposes is one example.

 

Could it happen again? I would hope not, but unfortunately our better angels may still not prevent it from happening again.