Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/658/

The role of the media in influencing people's opinions

My dad, years ago when we were still young, said, “When you control the radio,” in those days of radio and newspaper, “you control the people's mind.” At that time I was too young to realize what he was saying, but as I grew older I realized Dad was right. What they read in the paper they'll believe. If they write anything they want in the paper that they want people to believe, they'll do it and the people will be against you. And when he found out that I guess the majority were against me because my stand... I was quite surprised, I would say. That you'd think that there would be more people that would think about this draft and say, “Is that right?” Now to myself, I thought, to start with, they have, they called me an alien, they had convicted me almost, in fact they did being a Japanese and an alien and unwanted enemy alien without any due process of law, and I thought that was very, very bad. And that I alone can't do anything but I'm gonna do what I planned on doing and hopefully that people would understand but then when the people took the other stance and said that I'm a draft evader I felt real sad that the people thought that way.


discrimination draft resisters interpersonal relations resisters World War II

Date: July 25, 1997

Location: Washington, US

Interviewer: Larry Hashima, Stephen Fugita

Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

Interviewee Bio

Nisei male. Born 1925 in Seattle, Washington. Spent prewar childhood in Seattle's Nihonmachi. Incarcerated at Puyallup Assembly Center, Washington, and Minidoka incarceration camp, Idaho. Refused to participate in draft, imprisoned at McNeil Island Penitentiary, Washington, for resisting the draft. Resettled in Seattle. (July 25, 1997)

Inahara,Toshio

Classified 4C - enemy alien

(b. 1921) Vascular surgeon

Azumano,George

Discharged from the U.S. Army after Pearl Harbor

(b. 1918) Founder Azumano Travel

Kato,Alfredo

Post-war experiences in Lima (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

Kato,Alfredo

Stereotypes about Japanese: past and present (Spanish)

(b. 1937) Professional journalist

Yuzawa,George Katsumi

Reaction to a 1942 speech by Mike Masaoka, Japanese American Citizen League's National Secretary

(1915 - 2011) Nisei florist who resettled in New York City after WW II. Active in Japanese American civil rights movement

Yuzawa,George Katsumi

Death of sister in October 1942

(1915 - 2011) Nisei florist who resettled in New York City after WW II. Active in Japanese American civil rights movement

Yuzawa,George Katsumi

First impression of New York City during war time

(1915 - 2011) Nisei florist who resettled in New York City after WW II. Active in Japanese American civil rights movement

Yuzawa,George Katsumi

Neighbors' sympathy after Pearl Harbor

(1915 - 2011) Nisei florist who resettled in New York City after WW II. Active in Japanese American civil rights movement

Iino,Masako

Interest in Japanese migration studies (Japanese)

Tsuda College President, researcher of Nikkei history

Hirabayashi,PJ

Experiencing discrimination as a child

Co-founder and creative director of San Jose Taiko

Houston,Jeanne Wakatsuki

The only Japanese family in Ocean Park

(b. 1934) Writer

Kogiso,Mónica

Identity crisis (Spanish)

(b. 1969) Former president of Centro Nikkei Argentino.

Kansuma,Fujima

Dancing in Japan as an American, in the US as Japanese

(1918-2023) Nisei Japanese kabuki dancer