Becoming American the Forced Experience of the Peruvian Japanese

Becoming American The Forced Experience of the Peruvian Japanese AUTHOR: Courtenay Smith EDITED BY: Rudi Smith, Esti Azizi, and Marisa Coulton As a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl 120,000 Japanese Americans due to their perceived Harbor, December 7, 1941, President Franklin danger, the United States expanded their operation D. Roosevelt authorized the Secretary of War “to beyond the United States into Central and South prescribe military areas…from which any or all America. persons may be excluded.” Executive Order 9066, authorized February 19, 1942, gave the Secretary The year prior to Pearl Harbor, the Federal of War Henry L. Stimson and specifed Military Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began observing Commanders, the power to designate specifc suspected dangerous persons, or “alien enemies,” military zones in which persons deemed a danger on the United States west coast.8 They urged South to the country may be excluded. Additionally, American countries with axis power nationals Stimson directed and provided these persons or sympathizers to do the same.9 In June 1940, with “transportation, food, shelter, and other the FBI authorized non-military intelligence to accommodations as may be necessary.”1 He also operate across the Western Hemisphere, including designated the United States west coast a military South America. The following year, United States zone, including Washington, Oregon and California, embassies furthered their involvement, and began in which the army would exile 120,000 persons of working as liaison offcers with local police in Japanese birth or ancestry by the end of World War South America, gathering information of suspected II.2 As of December 1941, the west coast was home dangerous persons.10 At this time, as the United to 90,000 of the 130,000 Japanese Americans living States began interning their own Japanese on the United States mainland.3 As an act of military nationals, and encouraged South American necessity, the order was unanimously passed by countries to follow their lead. At a Conference of Congress, and welcomed by most Americans, as Foreign Ministers of the American Republics held it eliminated Japanese presence in the economy.4 in Rio de Janeiro in January 1942, the Emergency Anti-Japanese sentiments stemmed from the false Committee, an inter-American state body, adopted belief that successful Japanese farmers and cheap the United States’ policy to detain those of axis Japanese labour created economic competition nationalities, known as Resolution XX.11 Sixteen and undermined white workers’ jobs.5 By June South American countries, including Peru, 1942, all Japanese nationals within the military Panama, El Salvador and Bolivia, detained 85,000 zone were expelled.6 They were frst brought to axis nationals. Furthermore, on invitation, twelve assembly centres scattered along the coast. From of these countries deported a portion of their axis there they were transported to one of ten “relocation nationals to the United States.12 The initial plan was centres” or internment camps administered by the to repatriate them to their country of origin, whether War Relocation Authority.7 In addition to interning Japan, Germany or Italy, through the United 96 States.13 Specifcally, the American government City Internment Camp made available through planned to use these detainees in exchange for Densho’s digital archives project. Japanese American prisoners of war.14 Between July 1942 Americans Joe Yasutake, Mako Nakagawa, and and September 1943, 2,400 Japanese South Saturo Ichikawa were all Nisei, American-born Americans were used in exchanges with Japan with Japanese-born parents, whose fathers were by the U.S. State Department.15 However, 2,118 identifed as “dangerous” enemy aliens. All three of were shipped to the United States, and interned their families were separated from their fathers for alongside Japanese Americans, deported without two years of internment and were reunited at Crystal any charges or offcial hearings.16 1,024 Japanese City.21 Art Shibayama, Atsumi Ozawa, and Elsa men were deported as “dangerous” persons, Kudo were all Peruvian-born Nisei, whose families and 1,094 of their wives and children voluntarily followed their fathers aboard ships to the United followed.17 80 per cent of the Japanese nationals States, and were, too, reunited at Crystal City. deported from South America were from Peru.18 Additionally, Elsa Kudo’s father Seiichi Higashide’s memoir, Adios to Tears, is used to supplement Similar to the United States, the deportation where childhood memories are lacking, as well as of the Peruvian Japanese was welcomed partially to demonstrate an adult perspective. This essay for national security, but mainly for the elimination relies heavily on interviews of detainees who of economic competition. The men deported were were children in those years, because Higashide’s not randomly selected individuals, but business memoir is a rare retelling of an adult detainee’s owners compiled on a “blacklist,” such as Atsumi experience. Many tried to forget their years spent Ozawa’s father, a successful store owner in interned and did not share their stories.22 Although Huancayo, Peru.19 This paper focuses on the there are many introductory sources on Japanese Peruvian Japanese who, once brought to the United Americans’ experience in United States internment States, were interned at Crystal City Internment camps during World War II, the same material Camp, alongside Japanese Americans. In 1946, is lacking for the Peruvian Japanese. Harvey approximately 301 Peruvian Japanese remained in C. Gardiner’s Pawns in a Triangle of Hate is the the United States, seemingly just as unfamiliar with leading text on the subject of Peruvian Japanese American culture as the day they arrived.20 Even internees, and is used throughout this essay as the though they were detained alongside Japanese main background source on their experience. Americans, the Peruvian Japanese experienced isolation from true American society. In Crystal Crystal City Internment Camp, located City, the Peruvian Japanese were not forced and in Southern Texas, was the only “family camp” had no to reason to adapt to American culture. It in the United States.23 As such, it solved the was only once they could not return to Peru, and “special problem” of married detainees with refused to move to Japan, that they realized they dependent families.24 Crystal City was the largest would remain in United States, a country that did internment camp operated by the Immigration not welcome them, and Americanize. This paper and Naturalization Service (INS).25 At the end argues that the process of Americanization among of the war, it held a population of approximately the Peruvian Japanese at Crystal City Internment 3,300 internees.26 In addition to the predominate Camp did not truly begin until 1946, when they population of Japanese nationals, Crystal City moved away from the camp and became active contained a small population of German nationals, members in American society. both from South America and the United States.27 The camp operated like a small city – children This paper uses the interviews of six attended school, detainees bought food and clothes detained Japanese nationals who were children of at the market, continued worshipping at the church various ages at their time of detainment at Crystal or temple, participated in extracurricular activities, 97 and buried their dead in the local cemetery.28 linguistic and cultural barriers. Japanese American Japanese adults were not forced to work, but many and Peruvian children continued their education and accepted jobs within the camp to occupy their time, attended school at Crystal City. The camp contained and earned a small income of ten cents per hour.29 three separate school systems, Japanese, English Employment included jobs such as farming, as well and German, as Seiichi Higashide explained, as morning milk and ice delivery.30 Art Shibayama and the detainees referred to the schools by the attended school and worked with the postmaster, language they were taught in out of convenience.36 picking up mail in the morning, and delivering it at However, the label of “Japanese” and “English” lunch and after school.31 Crystal City, seemingly, enforced the idea that the children who attended was not intentionally organized to separate the each school were different from each other. The different cultural groups, but housing, school Peruvian Japanese attended the Japanese school, and extracurricular activities forced noticeable while Japanese Americans typically went to the differences between the Peruvian and American English school. Once again, the Peruvian and Japanese. As a result, opportunities to interact American children were not separated intentionally; between groups were overlooked, and the Peruvian it was simply due to the language they spoke that Japanese were not often infuenced by American determined which school they attended. Japanese culture. Americans attended English-speaking schools prior to being interned, therefore it was logical that As the Peruvian Japanese were among the they continued to do so.37 However, the Peruvian last to arrive at Crystal City, and because they Japanese attended the Japanese school, because arrived together, all were assigned living quarters they had attended bilingual, Japanese- and in the same area.32 They were not purposely Spanish-speaking schools in Peru.38 separated from the Japanese Americans but were simply given what accommodations remained. All Similar to the case concerning separate of Crystal City’s residences contained a sink, stove, communities, the Peruvian and American cooking utensils, and dishes so that the detainees Japanese children remained separated since they could cook for themselves.33 This allowed families attended separate schools. As a result, Peruvian to eat together, which was specifcally remembered Japanese children did not interact with many among the Japanese American internees Joe Japanese Americans, and, in attending Japanese- Yasutake and Mako Nakagawa, who had been speaking schools, were not forced to learn English.

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