Japanese American Experiences in Internment Camps During World War II As Represented by Children's and Adolescent Literature
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Japanese American Experiences in Internment Camps during World War II as Represented by Children's and Adolescent Literature Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Inagawa, Machiko Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 29/09/2021 12:26:14 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/196135 JAPANESE AMERICAN EXPERIENCES IN INTERNMENT CAMPS DURING WORLD WAR II AS REPRESENTED BY CHILDREN’S AND ADOLESCENT LITERATURE by Machiko Inagawa ________________________ Copyright © Machiko Inagawa 2007 A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE, READING AND CULTURE In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2 0 0 7 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Machiko Inagawa entitled Japanese American Experiences in Internment Camps during World War II as Represented by Children's and Adolescent Literature and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 4/05/07 Kathleen G. Short _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 4/05/07 Patricia L. Anders _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 4/05/07 Yetta M. Goodman Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: 4/05/07 Dissertation Director: Kathleen G. Short 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: _________Machiko Inagawa______________________ 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I admire the poem of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), “Self-Reliance,” which has influenced my philosophy of life. Henceforth, please God, forever I forego The yoke of men’s opinions. I will be Light-hearted as a bird, and live with God. I find him in the bottom of my heart. I hear continually his voice therein. The little needle always knows the North, The little bird remembereth his note, And this wise Seer within me never errs. I never taught it what it teaches me; I only follow, when I act arighty. October 9, 1832 First, I would like to express my gratitude for my advisor, Dr. Kathleen G. Short, who gave me wonderful advice and direction on conducting research. Her help for my writing my dissertation was tremendous. I wish to acknowledge the help of my committee member, Dr. Yetta M. Goodman, who taught me how to improve my critical reading and writing. I appreciate Dr. Patricia L. Anders, who gave me great advice. I learned to better care for students from these three professors. I wish to acknowledge former committee members of my qualifying and comprehensive examinations, Dr. Judi Moreillon and Dr. Iliana Reyes. They gave me great advice to me. I appreciate Ms. Maria Fierro, a graduate coordinator, who has been helpful to me in the doctoral program. I also appreciate Ms. Marie Ruiz, secretary to Dr. Goodman, and Ms. Yvonne Gonzalez, an administrative associate. They have been kind to me as well as to other students. I acknowledge Mr. Chris K. Soentpiet, the illustrator of So Far from the Sea. The book was one of the books that I selected to analyze in my dissertation. When I met him at an academic conference, he personally answered my questions related to the book. I also appreciate Ms. Arlene Keiko Doran, a Japanese American, who answered my interviews related to internment camps. I express my thanks for the reference librarians and library specialists working in the main library at the University of Arizona, specifically Ms. Ginger Cullen, Ms. Crystal Shaffer, Ms. Cody Aune, and Mr. Travis Bedford. They helped me to conduct the searches when I used the internet to gather information for my dissertation. I greatly appreciate staff at OSCR (Office of Student Computing Resources), especially computer consultants for their help with computer problems. I wish to thank student drivers of SafeRide at ASUA (Associated Students of The University of Arizona), who gave me rides at night from the University of Arizona to my apartment. I would like to thank Ms. Susan Ferrell, the attorney at ASUA. I also thank Mr. Paul Thorn, the president of GPSC (Graduate and Professional Student Council). I thank the staff at the coffee shop in the Student Union. I greatly appreciate my friends and many people for their kindness and friendliness. Finally, I always thank my parents and husband, who have understood my thinking. They always pray from the bottom of their hearts for my happiness. 5 DEDICATION To Japanese Americans: Issei, Nisei, Sansei, and their offspring. They were/are/ will be wonderful. 日系アメリカ人の皆様方の御多幸を心からお祈り申し上げます。 (From the bottom of my heart, I pray that Japanese Americans are happy.) 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... 11 ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ........................... 14 Major Research Questions......................................................................................... 15 Review of the Professional Literature....................................................................... 17 Historical Description of Japan and the United States during World War II.. 17 Japanese American Experiences in World War II .............................................. 20 Drawing the Line: Places of Power in the Japanese-American Internment Eventscape................................................................................................................ 28 Japanese Expression of “Shikataganai”. .......................................................... 29 Relationship between Parents and Children.................................................... 31 Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida. ............................................................... 32 Interview with a Japanese American, Arlene Keiko Doran ............................... 33 Cultural Authenticity in Children’s Literature ................................................... 39 Content Analysis of Historical Fiction in Children’s Literature........................ 44 Portrayals of Studies of African Americans in Historical Fiction.................. 44 Other Content Analysis. ..................................................................................... 48 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 52 CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.......................................................... 54 Qualitative Content Analysis ..................................................................................... 54 Methods for Data Collection and Analysis ............................................................... 58 Descriptions of the Books and Illustrations.......................................................... 62 The Number of Books Written by Japanese American Authors........................ 80 Data Analysis........................................................................................................... 82 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER 3 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN’S AND ADOLESCENT BOOKS ON JAPANESE AMERICANS DURING WORLD WAR II ..................... 89 Authors’ and Illustrators’ Backgrounds and Research Sources............................ 90 Personal or Family Experiences within the Camps............................................. 91 Ken Mochizuki, Author of Baseball Saved Us (Picture Book)........................ 91 Amy Lee-Tai, Author of A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (Picture Book).... 92 Felicia Hoshino, Illustrator of A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (Picture Book). ................................................................................................................... 93 Yoshiko Uchida, Author of The Bracelet, Journey Home, & Journey to Topaz (Historical Fiction).............................................................................................. 94 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued Sheila Hamanaka, Author & illustrator of The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism, and Renewal (Information Book). ......................................................