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“Our Best Thoughts Bloom Forth”: Forming a Japanese American
Community of Correspondents during World War II
Aimee Ono
History 400
December 19, 2008
Professor Doug Sackman
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“Though we are separated by thousands of miles, we can continue the warm contact thru
correspondence. Only a little patience is required! Our best thoughts bloom forth when we are
seated trying to think of something to write.”1
-Eddie Sato to Rose Niguma
Eddie Sato, a former Seattle artist, and Rose Niguma continued their relationship formed
in the Minidoka Internment Center even after Sato left the confines of camp to serve in the
military. Their friendship was one of many that Niguma began while living in the camp, and as
her new friends departed to work, attend college, and fight, they formed a network of
communication that remained intact for the duration of the war. In the exchange of
correspondence, Rose’s friends who chose to leave for work opportunities outside paint a story
of simultaneous joy at gaining independence from Minidoka and dependence on being
surrounded by community. While it is difficult to conclude why Niguma’s correspondents chose
to represent their work experiences the way they did, their letters reveal a previously untold story
of their work, how they chose to represent their experiences, and provide a tantalizing hint at
what obstacles they strove to overcome.
Who was Rose Niguma? A Nisei who grew up in Hood River, Oregon, Rose Nobuko
Niguma attended the Portland Museum School as an art student at the time of evacuation from
the West Coast. Because her parents were separated, Rose’s father did not accompany the rest of
her family to the Minidoka Internment Center, located in Hunt, Idaho. All of her siblings
eventually left Minidoka, with her two brothers, like Sato, serving the 442nd Regimental Combat
Team (RCT) and her sister relocating to Chicago.2 While many of her friends began leaving the
1
Eddie Sato, letter to Rose Niguma, 25 September 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder 38.
2
The letters use the word relocation in two ways. The first refers to the to the actual internment camps, such as
Minidoka Wartime Relocation Center. Relocation could also be used synonymously with resettlement. In fact,
relocation is the more commonly used term. Even Dillon Meyer, the head of the WRA, refers to resettlement as
relocation, with the WRA at first enforcing the internment, then practically forcing its residents to leave.
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camps to pursue opportunities outside, Rose chose to remain with her ailing mother in the camp
for the duration of the war. At Minidoka Niguma became a nursery school teacher and returned
to Oregon with her mother after the war, eventually attending to the Pacific Northwest College of
Art to complete her degree.
Carefully stored in two neatly organized boxes at the Washington State Historical
Society, Niguma’s collection of correspondences and documents, many of which are dated
between 1942 and 1945, is a story waiting to be told. What do her letters reveal about the
Japanese American worker’s experience during World War II? While leaving the camps was
initially a tedious process limited to a select few, it became increasingly accessible to all Nikkei
as the war progressed. In fact, the War Relocation Authority (WRA) encouraged relocation away
from the camps, and Niguma’s copy of the camp meeting minutes reveals that in February 1945,
the head of the WRA Dillon Meyer announced his intent to close the camps, a decision that
many of the remaining residents opposed. Niguma actively wrote to friends before the outbreak
of the war; however, her primary correspondents during the internment were not childhood
friends, but fellow Minidoka residents who jumped at the chance to leave. Of these
correspondents, over half of them were those who left for temporary work or relocated
permanently to work in various parts of the country.
Why study the men and women who left the camps for work? As historian Charlotte
Brooks suggests, “the very importance of internment has encouraged scholars of Japanese
American history to focus their work almost exclusively on the concentration camps and the
world the internment destroyed.”3 Surprisingly, while there has been extensive research done on
those who remained in the camps for the duration of the war, as well as on Nisei college students
and soldiers who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat team, not much scholarly work has
3
Brooks, 1658.
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been done on workers.4 Though an important aspect of the Nikkei’s wartime experience,
resettlement and temporary work programs have been understudied by many historians,
overshadowed by the study of Nisei college students, soldiers, and the Nikkei in the camps.
Thus, the fact that it was not impossible to leave the camps during the war has remained largely
deemphasized in the study of Japanese American internment.
Internment fostered a situation that created friendships among young men and women.
Leaving Minidoka to work temporarily and permanently in various areas of the country, the
young men and women who wrote to Niguma emphasized their newfound freedom and work
experiences while frequently minimizing discrimination, their “best thoughts” truly blooming
forth. However, those who remained in Minidoka expressed anxiety over leaving, fearing the
harsh conditions outside. While these two groups expressed opposite opinions they were united
in their desire for a community and a closer examination of Rose’s correspondence reveals the
understated difficulties of relocation.
The Process of Resettlement
The Nikkei left the camps to pursue three opportunities: college, work, and the military.
While interned, Japanese-Americans were prohibited from returning to the West Coast for most
of the war; however, leaving the camps for areas in the Midwest and East Coast, initially a
difficult task, became increasingly easy. College students spearheaded the Nikkei relocation,
followed by soldiers and workers. The War Relocation Authority (WRA) supported resettlement
throughout the course of the war, even announcing its intent to close the camps in 1945 before
4
The WRA encouraged resettlement and practically forced it upon the remaining residents by closing the camps.
Most often, when the WRA referred to relocation, it was meant to apply to those resettling for work rather than
encompassing all types of people who chose to leave. While I will not be discussing in detail the experience of
college students and soldiers, I will use their letters to supplement my paper. Some sources include “‘Life Begins
with Freedom’: The College Nisei, 1942-1945” by Thomas James, Japanese Eyes, American Heart: Personal
Reflections of Hawaii’s World War II Nisei Soldiers, Only What We Could Carry: the Japanese American
Internment Experience, From Concentration Camp to Campus: Japanese American Students and World War II by
Allan Austin and Democratizing the Enemy: the Japanese American Internment by Brian Masaru Hayashi.
Ono 5
the war’s conclusion, which was unwelcome news because many who remained in the camps
feared discrimination and lack of economic opportunity outside.
College students began the relocation process, leaving the camps within a few months
after arriving in 1942. Internment forced many college-aged Nisei, including Rose, to put their
education on hold. However, with the help of some people on the outside, particularly the
National Japanese Student Relocation Council, the first batch of Nisei was allowed to attend
colleges not located on the West Coast.5 While college students had the opportunity to go back to
school, getting released from the camps was a cumbersome task. In the beginning, students faced
careful screening, not only having to prove their ability to attend college financially and
academically, but also having to demonstrate what historian Leslie Ito describes as their
“dependability and adaptability.”6 Ito notes that the first students were meant to pave the way for
others by creating a good impression to the outside community. Many believed that success
hinged on their ability to prove that they were good American citizens and able to assimilate
smoothly into society, something that the WRA would later encourage among the Nikkei
laborers. This meant that the students who were allowed to leave were dominantly Nisei, who
were the only group that spoke English as their primary language among the Nikkei. None of
Niguma’s Minidoka correspondents were among those who left in 1942. According to the WRA,
of the over 100,000 Nikkei less than 700 left the camps that year.7 Furthermore, Niguma may not
have had an opportunity to form friendships with them because many of the earliest college
students would have left the camps less than a year after arriving. In addition, only one of her
correspondents, Hattie Kawahata, left the camps to attend college during the war. However, the
Thomas James, “‘Life Begins With Freedom’: The College Nisei, 1942-1945,” History of Education Quarterly 25
(1985): 158.
6
Leslie A. Ito, “Japanese Women and the Student Relocation Movement, 1942-1945,” Frontiers: A Journal of
Women Studies 21 (2000): 3.
7
U.S. War Relocation Authority, WRA: A Story of Human Conservation (1946), 132.
5
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experience of college students might have helped to alleviate doubts concerning relocation from
the camps.
Following the college students, other Nikkei also began to leave to find work outside or
join the army. The vast majority of Niguma’s correspondents were those who left Minidoka to
pursue job opportunities in different parts of the country and those who volunteered for the army.
While interned at Minidoka, Niguma began to receive letters beginning primarily in late 1943, a
time at which relocation became increasingly accessible to many camp residents. In the agency’s
official history, the WRA claims that “during the first few years of its official life, WRA did
everything it could to encourage the movement of evacuees from the relocation centers back into
private life.”8 Indeed, as historian Sandra Taylor points out, “although the camps were
constructed as permanent facilities, the WRA had no intention of interning all the occupants for
the duration of the war.”9 The WRA administration encouraged relocation because they
concerned themselves with “the rapid assimilation of Nikkei into American society.”10 With their
belief that the Nikkei should be reincorporated to learn to adapt to American ways, the WRA
made the procedure for leaving easier. Prior to 1943, the lengthy application process discouraged
people from leaving; however, the WRA helped to change the process by quickening the
clearance procedure.11 In addition, while the Nikkei were previously limited to resettlement in
the Midwest and East Coast, by early 1945 the Japanese were allowed to return to the West
Coast, should they have desired to do so. While the WRA may have wished the Nikkei to leave,
Taylor points out that that they faced potentially racist inhabitants wherever they chose to
8
U.S. War Relocation Authority, 143.
Sandra C. Taylor, “Leaving the Concentration Camps: Japanese American Resettlement in Utah and the
Intermountain West,” The Pacific Historical Review 60 (1991):171
10
David Yoo, Growing Up Nisei: Race, Generation, and Culture among Japanese Americans of California, 192449 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000), 154.
11
Valerie Matsumoto, “Japanese American Women during World War II,” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies
8 (1984): 10.
9
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resettle. Therefore, for the Nikkei leaving the camps, the “key to acceptance would be economic
necessity,” which was spurred by wartime labor shortages.12 Because of the WRA’s desire for
the Nikkei to resettle and assimilate and the need for wartime labor, men and women, including
the non-citizens, found that leaving the camps was a real possibility from 1943 on.
Rose Niguma’s Correspondents
The majority of Niguma’s correspondents began writing to her in 1943 after either
leaving to serve in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team or moving to the Midwest and East Coast
to work. Hatsumi Katakawa was the first of Niguma’s friends to write from outside Minidoka,
writing to Rose in October 1942 from a potato farm in Idaho. However, hers is the only letter
that Rose received from a fellow Minidoka resident that year. A large number of Niguma’s
correspondents begin writing to her in late 1943, with many of them continuing to send letters up
to the beginning of 1945. Indeed, coinciding with the timing of Niguma’s letters, WRA statistics
indicate that the Nikkei began leaving in significant numbers from mid-1943 in a fairly constant
stream until most of the camps closed in 1945.13 In a letter dated August 31, 1943, Fumiko
Higashiyama, who left Hunt to work in a cannery in Brigham, Utah, wrote that “most of the ‘37’
block residents are out here.”14 Large portions of the camp had already left by late 1943.
Many of Rose’s correspondents who chose to relocate outside of Minidoka were young;
the overwhelming majority were either single or just beginning his or her married life. Rose’s
correspondents frequently remarked at the volume of people leaving Minidoka. Historian
Thomas Y. Fujita-Rony’s findings also point to the fact that many who left were from Rose’s
generation: in his study of Japanese American women’s work during World War II, Fujita-Rony
12
Taylor, 175.
United States Department of the Interior, The Relocation Program, 101.
14
Fumiko Higashiyama, letter to Rose Niguma, 31 August 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 11.
13
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argues that “most who left were Nisei, both because they were more likely to be granted leave
clearance and because of the conviction that even in a war economy, ‘enemy alien’ Issei, who
tended to possess limited English skills and were, of course, older, would be unable to find
satisfactory employment.”15 Rose did not receive many letters from Issei, perhaps because of the
age difference. However, the age of Rose’s correspondences supports Fujita-Rony’s assertion
that the majority of those who chose to leave were young.
A Network of Friends
Internment at Minidoka created a network of friendships among the Japanese American
community and their relationships, formed under these unusual circumstances, continued even
after relocating to various areas of the country. In her study of the impact of internment on the
Nikkei at Amache, historian Valerie Matsumoto notes that despite the stress of relocation,
Japanese Americans had “the strength of support networks formed before and during the war.”16
Though the Nikkei might have faced hardships by resettling, “they were sustained through this
period by deep-rooted networks of relatives and friends, and they maintained family bonds even
though many journeyed farther from home than ever before.”17 Matsumoto’s observation rings
true with Niguma’s letters. Some Nisei were not aware of the size of the Japanese community
before internment. While training for the military in the South in 1944, Eddie Sato wrote to
Niguma,
After Pearl Harbor, Easter was sad. Our future was hanging in the balance. Assembly
centers and relocation centers were unheard of. You and I never knew there were so
many Japanese, until they got us together…And when we knew of our departure for the
centers, little did we realize that we’d ever see any of our old friends. Partings became
sad and habitual. As we think to ourselves, we ask—, If [sic] evacuation never occurred, I
Thomas Y. Fujita-Rony, “Remaking the ‘Home Front’ in World War II: Japanese American Women’s Work and
the Colorado River Relocation Center,” Southern California Quarterly 88 (2006): 192.
16
Valerie Matsumoto, “What was the impact of internment on Japanese Ameriacans,” in What Did the Internment of
Japanese Americans Mean?, ed. Alice Yang Murray (Boston: Bedford, 2000), 146.
17
Matsumoto, 146.
15
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wouldn’t know you today and I wouldn’t be here. Our destinies have painted a beautiful
mural for us.18
Sato’s words suggest that internment inadvertently created an increased awareness of the
Japanese community, even for a Nisei such as Rose, who grew up in Hood River, an area known
for its Japanese population. While his words speak of the way in which the bombing of Pearl
Harbor tragically created a time of uncertainty and mistreatment for the Nikkei and separated old
friends, Sato also points out that internment fostered new friendships. While other Nikkei may
have grown up in larger Japanese communities than Sato, his letter does reveal the almost
unavoidable opportunity to meet other Japanese Americans within the camps.
With their friendships formed within Minidoka, those who left the camp to work made a
conscious effort to keep in touch with Niguma. While all of the correspondents discussed
ordinary topics such as the weather, changes in scenery and the type of work they typically
performed, many of Niguma’s friends, particularly the women, also exchanged news of other
residents with her. Kay Amatatsu kept Rose updated with detailed news of their friends, such as
the birth of one of their friend’s daughters, and also asks whether one of their other friends had
her baby yet.19 While her words could be dismissed as common gossip, Amatatsu’s inquiry does
show her continued interest in other Minidoka residents as well as the network of relationships
that they formed. In addition to keeping tabs on others, Niguma’s correspondents also reaffirmed
their friendship with her. Her friend Chiseo Shoji, a newlywed who relocated to Chicago, wrote
to her,
This year we are many many hundreds of miles apart. One is with the army at Camp
Shelby, another relocated in Utah, other [sic] is still in Hunt, and where the fourth is I do
18
Eddie Sato, letter to Rose Niguma, 7 April 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA, folder 37.
19
Kay Amatatsu, letter to Rose Niguma, 5 October 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 1.
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not know, and I’m here in Chicago married. Altho [sic] there are [sic] great gap between
us our thoughts will be together.20
Chiseo’s letter reveals that by 1944 many of their friends were now living apart, pursuing their
own interests throughout the country, and yet they remained in each other’s thoughts. It was this
connection formed during their shared time behind barbed wire that allowed Niguma to keep
track of what others were doing after leaving Minidoka.
“I feel so grand to be out”
An overwhelming theme in the letters that Niguma received from the friends who left for
work was their expression of feeling free from the confines of camp. As historian Thomas James
suggests, “for many Nisei students, there was little doubt that the brighter prospects were
outside.”21 Niguma’s letters support this assessment, since all of her correspondents were those
who chose to leave and who tended to portray their experience outside in a positive light.
Furthermore, Charlotte Brooks argues in her study of Japanese Americans who relocated to
Chicago during the war that “most Nisei yearned for new economic opportunities and residential
mobility.”22 Indeed, economic considerations as well as the ability to move without restriction
ties into the idea of freedom that Niguma’s correspondents brought to light. Often critical of
camp life, Niguma’s friends expressed the idea that prospects outside were better in their letters
by using the word “freedom” itself and depicting a sense of mobility.
On one hand, Niguma and her friends were critical of life within Minidoka, highlighting
their attitude that prospects were better outside the camp. Ki Hoshida wrote that “camp life isn’t
20
Chiseo Shoji, letter to Rose Niguma, 23 March 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder 44.
21
Thomas James, “‘Life Begins With Freedom’: The College Nisei, 1942-1945,” History of Education Quarterly 25
(1985):158.
22
Charlotte Brooks, “In the Twilight Zone between Black and White: Japanese American Resettlement and
Community in Chicago, 1942-1945,” The Journal of American History (March 2000): 1664.
Ono 11
natural.”23 Hatsumi Hamada also believed that it is best to get out, telling Niguma, “I hope you
can go out and relocate soon as I think that it is better to get accustomed to outside life.”24 She
encouraged Niguma to leave on multiple occasions, urging,
Well Rose, I am encouraging you to relocate soon and maybe a good idea to go and join
Mary after it gets warm. I know, outside living will be hard for you for a while but you
can get used to it and it means a great help to your mother [sic] health as she can get what
she want [sic] to eat.25
Hatsumi acknowledges that living outside is not easy at first, yet suggests that it is beneficial in
the long run, especially in terms of improving Niguma’s mother’s health. Even Rose, who chose
to remain, criticizes the adverse effect that internment had on people, writing, “Re-location…is
preferable as person [sic] becomes stagnate [sic] in here while life speeds ahead outside in many
ways.”26 While her correspondents left to pursue outside work, Rose remained in Minidoka
where her mobility and job opportunities were limited.
Though camp life was not ideal among Rose and her friends, her correspondents
expressed a more positive opinion of life outside. Many correspondents explicitly use the word
“free” as well as speak of their happiness when describing what it felt like to leave Minidoka.
Fumiko Higashiyama, who relocated to Utah to work at a cannery, wrote to Niguma in 1943,
“It’s very wonderful to be out here and feel free.”27 Also writing in 1943, Ki Hoshida, who
relocated to Salt Lake City, went one step further and explained that “being outside of camps is
better for many reasons—one can be free with a few limitations. When in the camp one feels the
23
Ki Hoshida, letter to Rose Niguma, 29 May 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder12.
24
Hatsumi Hamada, 2 October 1944.
25
Hatsumi Hamada, 4 January 1944.
26
Rose Niguma, letter to Chicalo Shioshi, 25 February 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 43.
This is the only letter written during the internment from Rose Niguma in the collection.
27
Fumiko Higashiyama, letter to Rose Niguma, 14 August 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 11.
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pressures of rules and regulations and one’s business is everybody’s business.”28 Hoshida saw
relocation as a means to escape camp life, which deprived her of privacy and dictated her
behavior. In addition to using the word “free,” correspondents expressed their happiness at
leaving. Hatsumi Kawakata, Rose’s earliest correspondent who left Minidoka, wrote, “I feel
grand to be out Rose and every thing [sic] taste [sic] so nice so I won’t be darn that I [sic] get
more fat [sic].”29 Apart from indicating that the food at Minidoka must not have been particularly
delicious, Kawakata’s words do point to her happiness at relocating away from the camp.
In addition to expressing happiness at leaving and living outside, correspondents also
expressed a sense of mobility in their letters. The very act of leaving Minidoka to pursue job
opportunities was in itself a way that Rose’s friends emphasized their move for independence
and freedom. The Nikkei could, for the most part, choose to work nearly anywhere. Hatsumi
Hamada wrote to Rose that she does “not like to live in a city like Chicago or Detroit as you get
so dirty with coal.”30 Instead, she chose to relocate to a farm, her decision a personal choice and
a show of agency. Furthermore, when evaluating the impact of internment, Matsumoto concludes
that the Nisei, particularly women, became more independent as members of the workforce.31
Most of Rose’s correspondents who left for work were women who left without their families,
though it is notable that Rose’s male correspondents also typically left alone. Working as a
seasonal worker, Kay Amatatsu wrote, “Rose—about my going back to my former nursery job—
Right now—I mean after I get back to camp we are thinking about going back to [the] potato
28
Ki Hoshida, letter to Rose Niguma, 22 October 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder 12.
29
Hatsumi Katakawa, letter to Rose Niguma, 7 October 1942, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 15.
30
Hamada, 4 January 1944.
31
Valerie Matsumoto, “What was the impact of internment on Japanese American families and communities?” 14243.
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[farm].”32 Even before returning, Amatatsu considered finding another job outside of Minidoka.
Though not totally free from the influences of camp since she still must consider the opinion of
her parents, who stayed at Minidoka, Amatatsu decided that if possible she would like to remain
in agricultural work, making her own money. Therefore, the decision to leave was a way that
Niguma’s correspondents expressed their sense of freedom and opportunity.
Discussion of travel was another way in which Niguma’s correspondents expressed their
sense of mobility. In stark contrast to the idea of being stuck in the internment camp, travel was a
popular topic among Rose’s friends. Within the letters, they frequently mentioned trips to
various parts of the country, excluding the West Coast. Some trips were short excursions to a
neighboring town. Hatsumi Katakawa recounted, “Last Saturday, we went to [sic] shopping at
Burley about five miles from here and it is [a] nice town for an [sic] country town.” 33 Other trips
were longer, involving travel across state borders. Hatsumi Hamada, who relocated to Allenton,
Michigan, wrote to Rose, “We certainly have a wild dream haven’t we? We might go to Florida
to spend our winter as Michigan is too cold. In this way we can work in [a] warmer place, no
worries for coals or ears being going [sic] to freeze.”34 The fact that Hamada considered leaving
Michigan for the winter is a great contrast to life in the camp, where residents remained most of
the time no matter the condition. In addition to describing their journeys to Niguma, many
encouraged her to relocate as well, suggesting that she join them. Their urging is further
evidence that they viewed the outside world better than Minidoka and the casual way they
suggest moving indicates their opinion that relocation was a reasonable option for Niguma.
32
Kay Amatatsu, 5 October 1944.
Ibid.
34
Hatsumi Hamada, letter to Rose Niguma, 2 October 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 7.
33
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Therefore, Rose’s letters reveal two starkly different attitudes towards life within
Minidoka and life beyond the walls of the camp. On one hand, Rose and her correspondents
remained critical of life within Minidoka, viewing their camp experience as unnatural, restrictive
and stagnating. When compared to life outside, correspondents proved to emphasize their
feelings of freedom by using the word “free” itself and by expressing their increased sense of
mobility.
Reasons against Leaving the Camps
With the idea of freedom resonating with many of Niguma’s correspondents, one has to
wonder why relocation did not go over well with many Nikkei. Though the Nikkei found the
option of relocation increasingly unrestricted by the WRA, many internees chose to remain in the
camp. In fact, historian David Yoo points out that despite their efforts to promote resettlement
the WRA did not manage to convince the majority of internees to move, with only 18 percent
choosing to do so from 1943 to 1944.35 In the letter to her cousin Chicalo Shioshi, Rose wrote,
“Re-location is stressed more strongly than ever.”36 Niguma’s copy of the camp meeting minutes
with Dillon Meyer addressing the inhabitants of Minidoka on February 19, 1945, shows that
many had no desire to leave at that point in time despite the ease of relocating, suggesting that
even as the war drew to a close, discrimination as well as discouraging economic conditions
were still prominent concerns for those remaining.
The economic considerations of relocating plagued those who remained in Minidoka. The
camp representatives argued that while a small number of families had plans to resettle, “the vast
majority of the residents are not ready to relocate and do not have plans for relocation.” 37 The
representatives describe two groups of people actively against relocation: those who did not wish
35
Yoo, 111.
Rose Niguma 25 February 1944.
37
Meeting Minutes, 5.
36
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to leave and those who believed that conditions outside of Minidoka were too poor. These groups
were united in their concern over the question of how to start anew, arguing that “the economic
foundation of many of the residents built up during the past thirty or forty years has largely
destroyed in the process of evacuation.”38 Furthermore, the WRA only provided those who
relocated with $25, which did not even make it to them at times. One of Niguma’s friends,
Hatsumi Hamada, gives her the advice that if she is considering moving, “be sure to get your
traveling expenses, $25 submittance [sic] and chow money from camp before you make up your
mind and leave indefinite [sic] as you won’t be able [to] collect after you relocate to please have
this well in mind as you’ll be in [a] position like I am.” 39 Leaving without even the assistance of
the additional $25, some former internees such as Hamada were forced to relocate with very little
pocket money. In the meeting minutes, Meyer explains the WRA’s intent of closing all the
camps, forcing residents to relocate despite the fact that the war had not yet ended. The detainees
questioned the practicality of leaving, explaining their concern to Meyer as follows:
It cannot be stressed too strongly that the remaining population in the center are made up
largely of Issei above 50 and Nisei below 20. The old folks find the greatest difficulty,
physically and mentally, in making the attempt at readjustment on the outside, are
burdened with children too young to be of much help. Even if one member of the family
works, he may not be able to support his family.40
Even if they desired to leave, relocation would have been a daunting prospect. The Issei worried
not without reason that they were simply unable to relocate at the time with their families.
The residents in Minidoka expressed their economic concerns as well as their fear of the
possible discrimination they would face once outside the camp. Though he argues that that
discrimination is no longer as harsh as it used to be and that the Nikkei should take up the
38
Meeting Minutes, 6.
Hatsumi Hamada, letters to Rose Niguma, 20 February 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 7.
40
Meeting Minutes, 17.
39
Ono 16
opportunity to leave while there are still job opportunities and welfare funds, Meyer nevertheless
meets resistance from those wishing to remain in Minidoka for the war’s duration.41 The
residents tell him,
Anti-Japanese sentiment still exists. This is especially true in certain places on the West
Coast, where organized groups have been stirring ill-feeling against returning evacuees.
Many of the old and some of the young people are afraid to venture out of the center
while the war is in progress.42
Therefore, many of the remaining internees may have felt discouraged, perceiving that the
attitude of those outside the camps may be too unfriendly for them to safely relocate.
Amid the harsh discriminatory conditions the Minidoka residents perceived to be on the
outside, perhaps they took comfort in the sense of community and shared experience that
remaining in the camps provided. Niguma’s correspondents hint at their desire to recreate a
semblance of a Japanese American community even after relocating. While working outside of
Minidoka may have had its challenges, many of the correspondents who left found comfort in
being surrounded by fellow Nikkei. In their letters, several of Niguma’s friends took note when
there were other Japanese in the area. Lil wrote to Niguma that “there are quite a few Japanese
family [sic] living nearby.”43 The fact that so many of them wrote whether there were Japanese
present reflects that it was an important aspect of relocation. Some of Niguma’s correspondents
left with groups of friends, maintaining their own little community. Higashiyama lived and
worked alongside the girls who came with her to Utah and attempted to get to know girls from
other camps as well.44 The awareness of, and maintaining of a distinctly Japanese community
41
Meeting Minutes, 3.
Meeting Minutes, 8.
43
Lil, 18 June, 1944.
44
Fumiko Higashiyama, letter to Rose Niguma, 14 August 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA, folder 50.
42
Ono 17
went against what the WRA attempted to instill in the camp residents.45 Yoo points out that
education in the camps stressed assimilation into American society. Indeed, among Rose’s
papers is a schedule of courses, one of which is a class in Americanization. The WRA
encouraged the Nikkei to spread out when reentering American society to increase the ease of
adapting to American ways.46 However, despite their efforts, Yoo also notes that “the sense of
being Japanese American…remained an important part of the stories of the Nikkei after the war,
as it had before.”47 He describes the continuity of their awareness of racial identity, which never
truly faded away despite the advice of the WRA.
In addition to perhaps finding comfort in the Japanese American community within the
camp, residents were concerned that the discrimination would adversely affect their chances of
success at regaining economic stability. Concerned about a variety of topics ranging from their
ability to receive a fair loan, difficulty in getting their tenants who were renting their property to
leave, trouble in purchasing equipment and acquiring special business licenses, as well as being
refused membership by certain unions, the Nikkei seemed to have legitimate worries about the
adverse role discrimination might play. Meyers frequently refutes their arguments, arguing that
the Nikkei need to leave the camps as soon as possible to regain their economic footing, neatly
sidestepping the fact that though the WRA was now encouraging the relocation out of camps,
they were the ones who enforced the relocation to the camp just a few years earlier. The residents
planning to relocate also make requests from the WRA, asking that they provide low interest
loans and an increase in the $25 grant. However, the WRA rejected both their requests, not
easing the Nikkei’s anxiety about moving.
45
Yoo, 123.
Brooks, 1664.
47
Yoo, 123.
46
Ono 18
Many of those who wished to remain within the camps were of the older generation,
however, some of the Nisei decided to remain as well. The letters that Rose received indicate that
Rose decided to remain to take care of her ailing mother, who could not speak English. Rose was
the only one available to stay with her mother, since Rose’s father had left the family, her two
brothers had left for war and her sister had decided to move to Chicago. Indeed, Ito points out
that “for many Nisei women in the camps, relocating was a difficult process tied to family
obligations.”48 Many letters indicate that Rose considered leaving the camps as well, with her
brother George asking her to consider moving carefully, and Rose ultimately decided against it.49
Rose’s situation is one that illuminates the conflict between freedom and filial obligation. Rose’s
sister Marie, who relocated to Chicago, wrote, “Take care of mom—and don’t worry her—try to
be big mentally and hide sorrows and disappointment.”
50
Marie makes it clear that watching
over their mother was Rose’s responsibility. Furthermore, it is telling that Rose’s sister seems
guilt-ridden for leaving her family, expressing that “inspite [sic] of all tears and misery and me
running away from home has nothing to do with the love I have for all.”51 Therefore, even for
those such as Rose’s sister who ultimately decided to leave, the decision to leave the camps
alone was not always an easy one to make.
Many of the Minidoka detainees who chose to remain met Dillon Meyer’s intent to close
the camp with resistance. Having planned to remain within the camps for the duration of the war,
many of the Issei wondered whether they would be able to support their family outside. Worried
about discrimination, they perhaps took comfort in the Japanese community within Minidoka.
48
Ito, 6.
George Niguma, letters to Rose Niguma, 15 February 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 25.
50
Marie Niguma. letter to Rose Niguma, 1945, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma,
WA., folder 26.
51
Ibid.
49
Ono 19
Even the Nikkei who chose to relocate seemed to desire recreating another community, possibly
not unlike the one they left behind. Furthermore, the remaining residents wondered whether the
tales of discrimination that made their way back to the camps would damage their chances of
regaining their economic footing. A few Nisei had their own reasons for remaining, choosing to
stay with their parents, who were often not fluent in English, out of a sense of filial obligation.
Thus, the Nikkei were reluctant to relocate for a variety of reasons, though the enthusiastic
nature of Rose’s letters from those who left made the remaining residents’ concerns seem
baseless.
The Downside of Relocation
While many of Niguma’s correspondents wrote positively of their work experience, they
did at times express some of the fears that the Minidoka residents articulated in their meeting
with Dillon Meyer. A prevalent theme of Niguma’s correspondents was feelings of loneliness,
which set in if they were left without a sense of community after relocation. In one case, Hatsumi
Hamada, who first left for seasonal work in 1943 and eventually resettled permanently the next
year, wrote of her loneliness, “I am alone in this deep in [sic] the country as such two has [sic]
gone…with combination loneliness and anger I could buck but it’s no use unless somebody is
around.”52 With all of her companions gone for the moment, Hamada could not escape her
loneliness, unable even to express her feelings of frustration to anyone else. Like Hamada, Harry,
a toymaker who left to work in Ontario, Oregon, felt isolated, writing to Niguma, “Me, being so
lonely way out here I just could not help writing to you.”53 His words are testimony to how
internment created bonds that remained after departure as well as the difficulty he faced without
52
Hatsumi Hamada, letter to Rose Niguma, 9 September 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA, folder 7.
53
Harry, letter to Rose Niguma, 1 June 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma,
WA., folder 9.
Ono 20
a Japanese community. Adding to Harry’s difficulty was the fact that English was not his first
language, probably contributing to his feeling of isolation. Therefore, for many who left, a sense
of community would have been a welcome support system, guarding against loneliness and
providing a feeling of kinship. The Nikkei’s need for community is an interesting contrast to
their sense of freedom after leaving Minidoka. While the former detainees gained independence
by leaving, they were still dependent on others for a sense of comfort. All of this suggests that
while many of Niguma’s friends sought to escape the confines of camp, they did not necessarily
seek to break away from the Japanese community
While Rose’s correspondents expressed a sense of loneliness without a sense of
community, they, on the whole, wrote positively about their relocation experience, glossing over
the fears that the Minidoka residents brought up at the meeting with Meyer. Harry, the toymaker,
wrote of his loneliness and also of the low wages. However, he countered his negative statements
with positive ones his work, stating that though his employers “don’t pay much… it’s fun.” 54 His
letter is typical of many that Niguma received: though they may provide a brief glimpse of their
hardships, they quickly override their statements with declarations that their situation is not that
bad. Having left Minidoka to work on a sugar beet farm in Utah, Lil remarked that she is “kind
of homesick,” though she also assured Niguma that “the place is nice, I like it.”55 Kay Amatatsu
mentioned that “all of us girls more or less went on a strike and didn’t work for day and a half—
our bosses [sic] wife has the urge to push all the Japanese girls around…everything is all right
now though.”56 The way Amatatsu and the others went on strike shows not only their ability to
create positive change, but also the initial mistreatment that they received. She, like Harry and
54
Ibid.
Lil, letter to Rose Niguma, 18 June 1944, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma,
WA., folder 18.
56
Kay Amamatsu, 5 Oct 1944.
55
Ono 21
Lil, mentioned a negative experience and immediately countered it with a positive experience.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, despite the hardship she encountered, Amatatsu still planned
to return to agricultural work rather than go back to Minidoka. In terms of work conditions,
Niguma’s correspondents almost universally speak of the low wages they received for
backbreaking work, suggesting that the jobs the Nikkei could get were limited. Therefore, many
seemingly chose to filter their words, emphasizing their feeling of freedom and the positive
aspects of their experiences, though upon closer examination, it is apparent that they did face
some truly difficult conditions.
Furthermore, while many of Rose’s correspondents chose to represent their work
experience in a positive light, there were two outliers who chose to state more explicitly the
difficulties they faced outside: Niguma’s friend Rose Yasui and Rose’s sister Marie Niguma.
Throughout her correspondence with Niguma, Yasui described her string of bad luck, becoming
increasingly negative as time progressed. She began in Chicago, writing to Niguma in January
1943 that she lost her job. Yasui described her difficulty afterwards:
Just as the Jap torture story came out in the headlines, I was out looking for a job.
Naturally that kind of story would affect us so I got turned down in some of the places I
went. All in all, the people of Chicago are understanding [of] our position. There are a lot
of Negroes in Chicago and their [situation] is worse than ours”57
Yasui’s reaction in her earliest letter to Niguma was similar to the other correspondents. She told
Niguma of her troubles, yet tempered it by saying that her situation could be worse and that the
continued difficulty she encountered is understandable. However, her frustration began to show
after things do not get any better after moving to New York. She then began teaching at a school
in New York and wrote to Niguma in August 1943 that “ever since I came, I’ve disliked it
57
Rose Yasui, letter to Rose Niguma, 30 January 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder 50.
Ono 22
here.”58 While teaching, Yasui encountered difficult employers, writing with bitter sarcasm that
the non-white children at the school are not being taught because “these children (being
Mongoloids and mentally deficient) are too dumb to learn any school work.”59 In addition to the
racist assumptions of her employers, Yasui also wrote that they treat her poorly, claiming that
her boss “said some mean things. Since then we’ve had no confidence in our employer.”60 Yasui
was not the only one to mention an encounter with racism. Indeed, in one of her earliest letters,
Hatsumi Hamada wrote that when she went to Montana, she “felt so bad as people stared at you
like an enemy alien.”61 However, while Hamada wrote with a sense of discomfort at her
treatment, Yasui was the first to describe her discontentment explicitly. After leaving her nursery
job, Yasui aspired to enter the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in November, but was rejected
after failing the physical. Jobless, she was forced to move in with her sister. In one of her last
letters to Niguma, Yasui wrote, “I was thinking of a bright future in Seattle, 1941—then
evacuation blew it to smithereens.”62 Her words are a far cry from Sato’s expression, “our best
thoughts bloom forth.” Just two years later, Yasui wrote dispiritedly of the way relocation both
to and from the camps shattered her dreams.
Like Rose Yasui, Marie Niguma also wrote of her experience outside of the camps in a
negative light. As mentioned earlier, Marie expressed remorse at leaving her family behind,
writing to her sister that “many nights I really and truly cry over her because I can’t see her.” 63
Marie made her misery explicit, but told Rose “I’m just being honest and I repress myself too
58
Rose Yasui, letter to Rose Niguma, 19 August 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder 50.
59
Ibid.
60
Ibid.
61
Hatsumi Hamada, letter to Rose Niguma, 15 August 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical
Society, Tacoma, WA., folder 7.
62
Rose Yasui, letter to Rose Niguma, 9 November 1943, Rose Niguma Papers, Washington State Historical Society,
Tacoma, WA., folder 50.
63
Marie Niguma, 1945.
Ono 23
much at times.”64 Perhaps, unlike Rose’s friends who filter their experiences, Marie was more
honest with Rose because they were siblings. Marie’s negativity may also be due to her sense of
guilt. She made it clear that taking care of their mother was Rose’s responsibility, yet she also
attempted to take on some of the family responsibility: “Take care of Mom—don’t worry about
the future—as that is my responsibility.”65 Perhaps she attempted to take on some of the
responsibility to alleviate her guilt for leaving Rose behind since Rose also desired to leave, but
remained since her other siblings had already gone. Furthermore, while she was not specific
about the difficulties that she was facing, Marie does write that she felt disappointed with life,
but was scared to change. She told Rose, “I like [sic] to go to New York but when I think
deeper—it frightens me—as it was so tough at first here in Chicago—loads of Jap but hard to get
together as town is too large—and so its [sic] lonely in the big city.”66 Marie emphasized her
sense of loneliness after relocating, perhaps to suggest that Rose was fortunate to remain
surrounded by a community. Therefore, while Marie may have genuinely felt the emotions she
expressed, by emphasizing the negative she also may have taken away some of her guilt. Rather
than writing that she was having the time of her life, she wrote that she, too, is making a
sacrifice.
Each of Rose’s correspondents differed in how they chose to represent their experience to
her, with some using filtering mechanisms more drastically than others. The Nikkei faced
feelings of loneliness when left without a community, possible discrimination from employers
and the limitation of low wages, the very difficulties that the remaining Minidoka residents
feared when facing the prospect of relocation. However, Rose’s friends generally choose to
64
Ibid.
Ibid.
66
Ibid.
65
Ono 24
emphasize their positive experiences. The two negative correspondents, Rose Yasui and Marie
Niguma, provide fascinating insight to another facet of the story that workers had to tell.
Conclusion
What can one woman’s collection of letters reveal about the experience of the Nikkei
who left Minidoka to pursue job opportunities during World War II? As time went by, it became
increasingly easy to leave the camps, with the majority of Niguma’s friends leaving between
1943 and 1944. Though many of her friends left, they continued to keep in touch, forming a
network of communication. In their letters, many of Rose’s correspondents emphasized their
feelings of freedom, though many who remained within the camps vocally opposed leaving.67
While Rose’s friends who left Minidoka were young, just beginning their life in the workforce,
those who remained were usually the Issei, who were daunted at the prospect of leaving before
the war’s end at the risk of encountering discrimination while attempting to regain their
economic footing. In addition, some of the Nisei, such as Rose, remained in the internment
camps because of their sense of obligation to take care of their aging parents. Many of Rose’s
friends filtered their letters to her, and in a sense, many of their thoughts truly did “bloom forth,”
writing primarily of the positive while minimizing the negative aspects of leaving. Rose Yasui
and Marie Niguma were the only two to write overwhelmingly negative letters, revealing a side
of their wartime experience that the others fail to bring to light. Both the Nikkei who remained in
Minidoka and those who left sought the comfort of community, a way of easing loneliness.
While leaving the camp made them independent, the Nikkei were also dependent on having a
sense of community. In a sense, though Eddie Sato suggests that Niguma and her friends were
67
By pointing out that the Nikkei were not forcibly interned for the entire war, I am not suggesting that the effects of
internment were not tragic. As Rose’s camp meeting minutes reveal, many Issei lost all of their life savings and were
at a loss at how to regain a sense of confidence and economic footing. Rather, I am suggesting that one of the
tragedies of internment was that those who remained felt that conditions outside were so harsh that many of them
felt that they could not leave.
Ono 25
“separated by thousands of miles,” their continued community of friendship helped to close the
distance.
Ono 26
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Ono 27
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Ono 28
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