エドワード・ヨシダ

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Sometimes, the research journey can create unexpected opportunities in the present day.

After the author wrote his Nichi Bei column on the maverick African American attorney Hugh Macbeth regarding his valiant efforts in defense of Japanese Americans during WWII, the author published an extended study on Macbeth in his book titled, After Camp, which was a winner of the Caroline Bancroft History Prize in Western US History. That write-up gained traction, leading to a renewed interest in the African American attorney. Later, Hugh Macbeth was honored during one of the Manzanar pilgrimages.

On top of …

The Great Unknown: Japanese American Sketches is the first-ever anthology volume of author Greg Robinson’s Nichi Bei Times and Nichi Bei Weekly columns as well as other selections taken from outside periodicals.

Naturally, the majority of this anthology portrays individuals of Japanese ancestry: Issei feminist and peace activist Ayako Ishigaki, author Kathleen Tamagawa, pacifist militant Yoné Stafford, journalist and poet Eddie Shimano, writer and educator John Maki, journalists Buddy Uno and Bill Hosokawa, attorney Masuji Miyakawa, NFL player Arthur Matsu, poet and photographer Jun Fujita, cartoonist Robert Kuwahara, artist and author Miné Okubo, sculptor Shinkichi Tajiri, gay rights activist Kiyoshi …

“There were no Japanese Americans left in Juneau at that time. It was a moment when this community came together in an act of quiet disobedience for the injustice of the internment.”

—Juneau resident Mary Lou Spartz

It was 1942. The valedictorian for the Juneau High School graduating class was affable John Tanaka, whose extracurricular activities included yearbook editorial board, honor society, science club, math club, photography club, and quill and scroll.

Unfortunately for John, Executive Order 9066—which authorized the forced removal of US citizens like him away from their homes and businesses on the west coast—meant that he would …

“The general term strandees, as applied to American citizens of Japanese ancestry, refers to those persons who had gone to Japan and who for various reasons had not returned to the United States before the outbreak of WWII.”
                                             —Frank F. Chuman, The Bamboo People

Whether through one’s own parents or grandparents—or through media such as books or film—many readers of this article are at least familiar with, and grateful for, Japanese Americans having shared their …

“In the heart of every human being there is a quest for truth, a quest for justice, a quest for peace, a quest for love, a quest for mercy. In the heart of each one of us, we have this longing for something over and above our immediate reality.”

For Masako Kimura Streling, this truth appears to have been a driving force throughout her life, even before she had fully realized it.

Yes, Masako is the eldest daughter of a large Okinawan family and descendant of a samurai clan, had a successful career with Japan Airlines before earning her Bachelor’s …