FAQ

Who was rosalie HANKEY wax?

Rosalie was studying anthropology when the Japanese Americans were sent to the segregation camps. As part of her graduate studies, she chose to go to the camps to study the Japanese people being held there. The director, Brian, discovered her book on “Doing Fieldwork” which documented the Japanese internment camps from an anthropologist perspective.

Who was tatsuo Inouye?

Tatsuo was born in America and had a grocery store in LA when WWII broke out. He was married with two daughters. He kept a diary about his experience in the internment camps. He became a celebrated judo master.

Who was violet matsuda (now violete de cristoforo)?

Violet was married with two children and pregnant when the US entered the war. Violet and her husband owned a bookstore in Fresno, CA. Her husband, Shigeru, was taken away when the war started since they thought he was a leader in the Japanese community. She is a Haiku poet and an activist.

Who was Mike Masaoka?

Mike was the executive secretary of the Japanese American Citizens League which was made up primarily of nisei, (Japanese Americans) and who, in collaboration with the US government, advocated mass evacuation to internment camps to show their loyalty to the USA.

Who was ernest Kinzo Wakayama?

Ernest was a lawyer and a highly regarded labor leader and a WWI vet. He challenged Mike Masaoka’s order to evacuate.

WHAT WAS THE HOSHI DAN?

Others were pressured to renounce their American citizenship by the small but influential group of pro-Japan extremists who organized themselves in a group called Hoshi Dan. They ran the camp’s Japanese-language schools.

WHAT WAS MANZANAR?

Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945.

What were ALL THE internment camps located?

Topaz Internment Camp, Central Utah
Colorado River (Poston) Internment Camp, Arizona
Gila River Internment Camp, Phoenix, Arizona
Granada (Amache) Internment Camp, Colorado
Heart Mountain Internment Camp, Wyoming
Jerome Internment Camp, Arkansas
Manzanar Internment Camp, California
Minidoka Internment Camp, Idaho
Rohwer Internment Camp, Arkansas
Tule Lake Internment Camp, California

What was SPECIAL ABOUT TULE LAKE?

It was Tule Lake that held those branded “disloyal,” the ones who answered “no” to two critical questions in a loyalty test administered by the federal government.

What was the war relocation authority?

The War Relocation Authority (WRA) was the federal agency created in 1942 to care for the 120,000 Japanese Americans whom the army removed from the West Coast during World War II.

What was the LOYALTY OATH?

All adults were asked to answer questions on a form that become known informally as the "loyalty questionnaire." Responses to this questionnaire were meant to aid the War Department in recruiting Nisei nto an all-Nisei combat unit and the to assist the War Relocation Authority in authorizing others for relocation outside of the camps. The registration program provoked a wide range of resistance due to its provocative "loyalty" questions and built resentment among Issei and Nisei over their unconstitutional wartime treatment.