No comments about Korean Gakuhei: My Life in the Japanese Army.

No comments about Prince Ito (Japan Studies: Studies in Japanese History and Civilization).

1 comments about Hideo Date: Line, Color, and the Quest of a Japanese American Artist.

1. This survey of the art of Hideo Date is published in conjunction with the Japanese-American National Museum and presents the artist's blend of Japanese and American painting. Gorgeous color paintings by a Japanese-American artist who survived the camps makes for a striking synthesis of styles and cultures.

1 comments about Beyond Loyalty: The Story of a Kibei.

1. This book is how to remain a Knight & Gentleman and to pursue your Life Mission against all the odds of life.

   Dr. Kiyota had a dream since boyhood to educate college students about the Western and Asian cultures & philosophies. He successfully achieved his mission by having been teaching for over 30 years as a professor and as a sensei. I am taking his class, "Kendo: Integration of Martial and Liberal Arts" and I am happy to have finally found my Sensei. There is a lot to learn from him as an open-mind and objective individual!!!

   The book is full of documented facts, critical thoughts, and beautiful language. I have invested about 15 hours of concentrated reading with only 3 breaks: to sleep and to eat. In overall, Dr. Kiyota is the person one should meet in life and to shake his hand!!!

No comments about Encounter at Sea and a Heroic Lifeboat Journey.

3 comments about Sunken Red (Twentieth Century Lives).

1. The book starts where the mother of Jeroen dies. For years he has hated his mother and tries to explain why. This leads him back to the Japanese camp where he and his mom spend several years in torment when he was only 5 years old. In the beginning you think of Jeroen as a strange man, but while the story goes on you start to understand him more and more. The ending will move you to tears. This is my all time favorite book and I can recommend it to anyone.



2. Ce livre retrace la vie terrible dans les camps de concentration en Indonésie détenue par les Japonais.Cela vous arrache les entrailles;et à chaque page les larmes restent bloquées dans notre gorge devant le courage de cette mère face à ce destin inhumain. Il n'y a pas de partie pris car la cruauté en tant de guerre est partout la même.



3. Angoissant, fascinant, d'une beauté et d'une cruauté absolue. Comment la perte d'un être cher fait ressurgir dans la tête de l'auteur ses souvenirs (insoutenables) d'internement dans un camp japonais en Indonésie, et comment de ces souvenirs, l'homme nait au jugement de lui même, de sa famille (des pages magnifiques sur sa mère) et d'autrui. A lire absolument.

No comments about Changing Song: The Marxist Manifestos of Nakano Shigeharu.

4 comments about Life As An American Prisoner of War of the Japanese.

1. Easy to read ...hard to put down ...unable to forget.



2. Charlie has written a very good book about his life as a POW. It speaks the truth that many Americans are not fully aware of the types of sacrifices that are made to protect our country. For his first, and hopefully not his last book, he did an excellent job of story telling.



3. Charlie has written a very good book about his life as a POW. It speaks the truth that many Americans are not fully aware of the types of sacrifices that are made to protect our country. For his first, and hopefully not his last book, he did an excellent job of story telling.



4. A true story told as it happened by a prisoner of war of the Japanese during WW2. This is a descriptive and illustrated book of one person determined to survive the most grueling time of his life. Nothing is exaggerated or played down. All stories are true and described just how the author witnessed them. From the very first chapter to the last, it's written in a way that makes you feel as if you are there and actually part of the action.
   Although it's free of vulgar language some of the pictures are graphic and may be disturbing to a young reader. The book is written for the mature reader. I feel it would be a good book for every high school senior student to read. This would give the student an idea of what someone their age was going through 60 years ago. Historical events are kept to a minimum as to not bore the reader but enough information is provided to inform
   you of the era. At times I found the book hard to put down wanting too know what would happen next. This is a book on real survival.
   After reading this book I have found a new respect for the people in our armed forces, a new respect for the older veterans of WW2 who put their lives on the line for our freedom. A freedom that should not be taken for granted by any American citizen.
   It is possible that the hardships of his youth, helped to give him the determination and will to survive the horrendous three and one half years that he was a prisoner of war, or his strong faith in the Lord above? You be the judge.

No comments about Mad Wives and Island Dreams: Shimao Toshio and the Margins of Japanese Literature.

3 comments about Korematsu V. United States: Japanese-America Internment Camps (Landmark Supreme Court Cases).

1. Government Argument 1: Korematsu should not be allowed to challenge internment at all because he did not raise the issue at his original trial. The government charged Korematsu only of being in a military area after the date set by the Army to evacuate. Separability requires that all complaints must arise in the initial trial and cannot surface later during appeals. Korematsu did not bring up the internment part of the program during his initial trial and the defendant loses the right to raise it during a later appeal.
   
   Korematsu planned on leave for Nevada and marry his girl friend, but when she began having second thoughts about leaving her family, Korematsu remained in the military area. Korematsu took up residence at a hotel, changed his name, and claimed to be Mexican - Hawaiian ethnicity. A patron, who recognized Korematsu, notified the police and the police arrested him for violating law 503. The court did not reverse Korematsu case. Instead, Korematsu was sentenced to five year of probation. Upon Korematsu's release the Army detained and interned him to Tanforan with the rest of his family, a person now with a criminal record and force internment.
   
   The government argued that internment was necessary step for evacuation. Japanese in the military area were considered "the enemy" and a danger to industrial production necessary for the war effort. Historical suspicion and distrust of the Japanese had been a problem: denial of citizenship for all Japanese born immigrants, denial of property ownership, and denial of marriage to Caucasians. The government claimed lack of ability in determining which Japanese were Loyal and disloyal.
   
   The government said it could compromise national security if Korematsu were allowed to disobey the evacuation order because of what he felt was an unconstitutional internment order. The only issue for Korematsu was detention; did the government have the right to detain him for violation of law 503.
   
   In 1983, Korematsu was shown research evidence indicating that the Japanese people would have remained quiet and there was no threat of violence or danger. The case was reverses.
   
   Government Argument 2: Internment was not even an issue in Korematsu's case. The court said that internment removed the Japanese away from aircraft factories.
   
   Government Argument 3: Evacuation and internment were simply used as a way of keeping safety and order on the West Cost. The army provided the most orderly and efficient means of moving a 120,000 Japanese to ten internment camps in a short period of time. The government claimed the Japanese were safer in internment camps because the state police could protect them against hateful racism and violence.
   
   Government Argument 4: The War Power Clause of the United States Constitution allows special measures in order to win a war. The fourteen amendment of equal protection of the law did not apply to the Korematsu case.
   
   Korematsu Argument 1: Constitutional Law comes from Deity. Constitutional law protects God given rights of liberty and cannot be suspended and the Courts cannot support any law that goes contrary to constitutional law. An unconstitutional law cannot be support nor enforcement with punishment. Law 503 is such a law. Equal protection of the law should protect Korematsu and he should not be treated different by the law because of race. The equal protection of the law does not allow the courts to take away from any racial group unless the law meets two conditions: 1. an extremely important reason for the law must exist 2. The rules have nothing to do with discrimination. DeWitt's detention justifications failed too establish an "extremely important reason".
   
   Korematsu Argument 2: The government did not prove a connection between evacuation and the goal of win a war.
   
   The Japanese Americans were loyal citizens; the Japanese American sent their children to American Universities for a better life; the Japanese American did not want too complain for fear of greater persecution; the Japanese American was a hard working, skilled, and industrious; the Japanese American felt no loyalty to the emperor and consider America their home, not Japan; large numbers of Japanese Americans lived in America for more than a decade. The Japanese community did not expect an intrusion and disruption upon their personal and business lives. Rumors, lies, slanders about spying, and false pending invasion reports were being used as substantive false evidence against Japanese Americans. The doctrine of confinement is a false doctrine and confinement does not create increased security.
   
   
   Korematsu Argument 3: Congress granted the military judicial exercise in determining Korematsu guilt or innocence. Korematsu was released by the court but immediately imprisoned by the Army. The power of the court to free Korematsu was suspended, $500,000 in bail funded by the ACLU of no value, and Korematsu forced into internment. Public Law 503 was an unconstitutional transfer of power to the army and specifically to DeWitt. The courts cannot have law making power passed or delegated to the army.
   
   Korematsu Argument 4: Korematsu should have a trial to determine his loyalty and proof should be presented demonstrating his disloyalty.



2. I am an educator and have read several books in this series and I highly recommend it. A lot of Americans seem to be unaware of the extent of the Japanese internment during WWII. For example that not only were many of them US citizens but many others would also have been citizens were it not for the Exclusion Act. The author points out that while there were curfews for those of German and Italian decent they were not singled out as traitors who deserved internment. Many of the statements made against Japanese Americans by high ranking goverment officials were very racist, but at the time expressed popular sentiment. Those who were interned were forced to sell their all of the property with about a week's notice and general for pennies on the dollar.
   
   This book is basically a brief presentation of the facts. The author tries to present all sides. Dates and names of court decisions are given. Legal jargon is explained. The subject is followed from the eve of WWII right up to the Reparations Act of 1988. There is a final chapter about prejudice in general in which the author gets a bit emotional uses inductive reasoning. I also got a bit confused reading the dissenting judges' opinions and the index could have been a bit more inclusive, otherwise it's an excellent book.



3. This book is valuable, not solely for it's specific court case, but also for its abundance of beginner information on Japanese internment camps. "Korematsu" is definately written for young readers, but if anyone older can look past the very simple language, it is great for an introductory book. Especially since books on this subject are so rare. Really, it left me thirsting for more advanced information on the subject of Japanese internment camps. This book could definitely be a productive teaching tool for students of elementary school through junior high school.