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EVENTS LEADING UP TO
WAR RELOCATION AUTHORITY CENTERS



WAR IN THE PACIFIC

 
"It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times"

See USE NOTICE on Home Page.



 1941

 1942

 1943

1944

 1945

 

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pearl harbor

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THE JAPANESE START
tokio joe japanese poster japanese


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The Japanese Emperor System as a National Religion

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Japanese Emperors

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 Imperial Rescript on the Declaration of War
(Released by the Cabinet at 1100 hours on 8 December 1941)

We, by grace of heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the throne of a line unbroken for ages eternal, enjoin upon ye, our loyal and brhiro hitoave subjects:

We hereby declare war on the United States of America and the British Empire. The men and officers of our Army and Navy shall do their utmost in prosecuting the war, our public servants of various departments shall perform faithfully and diligently their appointed tasks, and all other subjects of ours shall pursue their respective duties; the entire nation with a united will shall mobilize their total strength so that nothing will miscarry in the attainment of our war aims.

To insure the stability of East Asia and to contribute to world peace is the far-sighted policy which was formulated by our great Illustrious Imperial Grandsire and Our Great Imperial Sire succeeding him, and which we lay constantly to heart.

To cultivate friendship among nations and to enjoy prosperity in common with all nations have always been the guiding principles of our Empire's foreign policy. It has been truly unavoidable and far from our wishes that our Empire has now been brought to cross swords with the United States and Great Britain.

More than four years have passed since China, failing to comprehend the true intentions of our Empire, and recklessly courting trouble, disturbed the peace of East Asia and compelled our Empire to take up arms. Although there has been reestablished the National Government of China, with which Japan has effected neighborly intercourse and cooperation, the regime which has survived at Chungking, relying upon United States and British protection, still continues its fratricidal opposition.

Eager for the realization of their inordinate ambition to dominate the Orient, both the United States and Britain, giving support to the Chungking regime, have aggravated the disturbances in East Asia. Moreover, these two powers, inducing other countries to follow suit, increased military preparations on all sides of our Empire to challenge us. They have obstructed by every means possible our peaceful commerce, and finally resorted to a direct severance of economic relations, menacing gravely the existence of our Empire.emperor

Patiently have we waited and long have we endured, in the hope that our Government might retrieve the situation in peace, but our adversaries, showing not the least spirit of conciliation, have unduly delayed a settlement and, in the meantime, they have intensified the economic and political pressure to compel thereby our Empire to submission.

This trend of affairs would, if left unchecked, not only nullify our Empire's efforts of many years for the sake of the stabilization of East Asia, but also would endanger the very existence of our nation. The situation being such as it is, our Empire for its existence and self-defense has no other recourse but to appeal to arms and to crush every obstacle in its path.

The hallowed spirits of our Imperial ancestors guarding us from above, we rely upon the loyalty and courage of our subjects in our confident expectation that the task bequeathed by our forefathers will be carried forward, and that the sources of evil will be speedily eradicated and an enduring peace immutably established in East Asia, preserving thereby the glory of our Empire.

Imperial sign - Manual and Seal
8 December 1941

Prime Minister, Home Minister and War Minister Tojo Hideki
Education Minister Hashida Kunihiko
Minister of State Suzuki Teichi
Agriculture and Forestry Minister and Overseas Affairs Minister Ino Hiroya
Welfare Minister Koizumi Chikahiko
Justice Minister Iwamura Michiyo
Navy Minister Shimada Shigetaro
Foreign Minister Togo Shigenori
Communications Minister Terajima Ken
Finance Minister Kaya Okinori
Commerce and Industry Minister Kishi Nobusuke
Railways Minister Hatta Yoshiaki
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come friends

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The United States Response
The Order to Relocate Japanese American Citizens

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 EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 9066

FEBRUARY 19, 1942

Authorizing the Secretary of War to Prescribe Military Areas

Whereas, The successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national defense material, national defense premises and national defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533 as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220. and the Act of August 21, 1941. 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104):

Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I hereby authorized and direct the Secretary of War, and the Military Commanders whom he may from time to time designate, whenever he or any designated Commander deem such action necessary or desirable to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restriction the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to provide for residents of any such area who are excluded therefrom. such transportation, food, shelter, and other accommodations as may be necessary, in the judgment of the Secretary of War or the said Military Commander, and until other arrangements are made, to accomplish the purpose of this order. The designation of military areas in any region or locality shall supersede designation of prohibited and restricted areas by the Attorney General under the Proclamation of December 7 and 8.1941, and shall supersede the responsibility and authority of the Attorney General under the said Proclamation in respect of such prohibited and restricted areas.

I hereby further authorize and direct the Secretary of War and the said Military Commanders to take such other steps as he or the appropriate Military Commander may deem advisable to enforce compliance with the restrictions applicable to each Military area herein above authorized to be designated. including the use of Federal troops and other Federal Agencies, with authority to accept assistance of state and local agencies. I hereby further authorize and direct all Executive Department. independent establishments and other Federal Agencies. to assist the Secretary of War or the said Military Commanders in carrying out this Executive Order, including the furnishing of medical aid. hospitalization, food, clothing, transportation, use of land, shelter, and other supplies, equipment, utilities, facilities and service.

This order shall not be construed as modifying or limiting in any way the authority granted under Executive Order 8972. dated December 12.1941, nor shall it be construed as limiting or modifying the duty and responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with response to the investigation of alleged acts of sabotage or duty and responsibility of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice under the Proclamation of December 7 and 8, 1941, prescribing regulations for the conduct and control of alien enemies, except as such duty and responsibility is superseded by the designation of military areas thereunder.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The White House, February 19, 1942.
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Important People of WWII

The Players

 Emperor Hirohito
(1901 - 1989)
emperor
124th Emperor of Japan
"Imperial Son of Heaven of Great Japan"

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  Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(1882 - 1945)
Roosevelt
32 President of the U.S.
Commander/Chief of U.S. Armed Forces
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 General John L. Dewitt
(1880 - 1962)
General DeWitt
Western Defense Command
Quartermaster General

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  Conquer the Sovereign Countries of the Pacific and Indo China

  Avenge Pearl Harbor and the Philippines

Remove and demoralize Japanese Americans from the Western U.S. 

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Lieutenant General J. L. DeWitt Relocation Order

 
WESTERN DEFENSE COMMAND AND FOURTH
ARMY WARTIME CIVIL CONTROL
ADMINISTRATION

Presidio of San Francisco, California
April 1, 1942

INSTRUCTIONS
TO ALL PERSONS OF
JAPANESE ANCESTRY


Living in the Following Area:

All that portion of the City and County of San Francisco, lying generally west of the of the north-south line established by Junipero Serra Boulevard, Worchester Avenue, and Nineteenth Avenue, and lying generally north of the east-west line established by California Street, to the intersection of Market Street, and thence on Market Street to San Francisco Bay.

All Japanese persons, both alien and non-alien, will be evacuated from the above designated area by 12:00 o'clock noon Tuesday, April 7, 1942.

No Japanese person will be permitted to enter or leave the above described area after 8:00 a.m., Thursday, April 2, 1942, without obtaining special permission from the Provost Marshal at the Civil Control Station located at:

1701 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California

The Civil Control Station is equipped to assist the Japanese population affected by this evacuation in the following ways:
 1. Give advise and instructions on the evacuation.
 2. Provide services with respect to the management, leasing, sale, storage or other disposition of most kinds of property including real estate, business and professional equipment, household goods, boats, automobiles, livestock, etc.
 3. Provide temporary residence elsewhere for all Japanese in family groups.
 4. Transport persons and a limited amount of clothing and equipment to their new residence as specified below.

The Following Instructions Must Be Observed:
 1.
 
A responsible member of each family, preferably the head of the family, or the person in whose name most of the property is held, and each individual living alone must report to the Civil Control Station to receive further instructions. This must be done between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Thursday, April 2, 1942, or between 8:00 a.m. and 5 p.m., Friday, April 3, 1942.
 2.
 
Evacuees must carry with them on departure for the Reception Center, the following property:

a. Bedding and linens (no mattress) for each member of the family.
b. Toilet articles for each member of the family.
c. Extra clothing for each member of the family.
d. Sufficient knives, forks, spoons, plates, bowls and cups for each member of the family.
e. Essential personal effects for each member of the family.

All items carried will be securely packaged, tied and plainly marked with the name of the owner and numbered in accordance with instructions received at the Civil Control Station.

The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group.

No contraband items as described in paragraph 6, Public Proclamation No. 3, Headquarters Western Defense Command and Fourth Army, dated March 24, 1942, will be carried.
 3.
 
The United States Government through its agencies will provide for the storage at the sole risk of the owner of the more substantial household items, such as iceboxes, washing machines, pianos and other heavy furniture. Cooking utensils and other small items will be accepted if crated, packed and plainly marked with the name and address of the owner. Only one name and address will be used by a given family.
 4.
 
Each family, and individual living alone, will be furnished transportation to the Reception Center. Private means of transportation will not be utilized. All instructions pertaining to the movement will be obtained at the Civil Control Station.

Go to the Civil Control Station at 1701 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Thursday, April 2, 1942, or between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 3, 1942, to receive further instructions.

J. L. DeWITT
Lieutenant General, U. S. Army
Commanding

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   "Internment Sites Preservation"[pdf]
by Richard Simon
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Japanese War Relocation Authority Camps in the Western United States
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Western Defense Command Relocation Order

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The following people took part in the workshop featured in the Children of the
Camps documentary:

Marion Kanemoto was born in Seattle, WA. She was interned at Minidonka,
Idaho. She was transported by ship to be exchanged for prisoners of war in Japan
at the age of 14. She moved to Sacramento in 1970 where she worked as a
school nurse for the Elk Grove School District. Retired in 1988, she began her work
as a bilingual interviewer with the Florin Japanese American Citizen League's Oral
History Project. She received redress in 1996 after initially being denied due to her
status in the prisoner of war exchange program.

Toru Saito was born in San Francisco's Japantown. He was interned in Topaz,
Utah, at the age of 4. He is a retired mental health care worker. He currently
performs with his musical group called the Shanghai Bar Band, playing 30's and
40's music. He is married to Bessie Masuda and resides in Berkeley, California.

Bessie Masuda was born in Stockton,CA and raised in Lodi. She was interned
in Crystal City, Texas, at the age of 12. She is currently an artist working in San
Francisco, California, and is a mother and grandmother. She is married to Toru
Saito and lives in Berkeley, California.

Howard Ikemoto was born in Sacramento, CA. He was interned in the Tule
Lake camp in California at the age of 2. He has 2 daughters, Reiko and Amy, and
lives near Santa Cruz with his lifelong partner, Julie Connell.

Ruth Okimoto was born in Japan and arrived in southern California with her
family as Christian missionaries before the age of 1. She was interned in Poston,
Arizona, at the age of 6. She recently earned her doctorate from the California
School of Professional Psychology researching organizational psychology.
Currently she is retired from corporate life and balancing her independent contract
work with her art. Her drawings and paintings reflect the psychological and political
impact of her camp. She lives with her husband in Berkeley, California.

Richard Tatsuo Nagaoka was born in the camp at Rowher, Arkansas. After
the war he grew up on the family farm near Lodi. Today he is a self-employed
grape doctor in the Napa Valley. He also designs lamps and functional art. His
pieces appear in the Sundance and the Smith and Hawkins catalog. He has
appeared on occasional television commercials and industrial print and video. He
has renewed his connection with four generations as he is a father, a son and a
grandfather, as well as the partner of Angela Urata.

(Text from PBS website)

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Manzanar War Relocation Authority Camps

Describing Manzanar and other American War Relocation Authority camps as "concentration camps" conjures horrible images of the ovens of Dachau under the Nazis or the atrocities performed by the Japanese on civilians in China, Korea, the Philippines and elsewhere during WW2 (Atrocities which the allies, for some bizarre reason, fully absolved the Japanese of). As inappropriate as they were, the American relocation camps never approached the horrifying conditions of the German camps in Europe or the Japanese camps throughout the South Pacific. There were no gas chambers or medical "experiments" at Manzanar or the other American camps. There were no attempts to work prisoners to death.

In fact, the food and the medical care at Manzanar were better than adequate, in large measure because the Nisei were given the opportunity to provide for themselves.

There was one other difference separating the American War Authority Relocation camps from the European and Japanese camps. In most instances, families were kept together. The Nisei prized the institution of the family. It may be this difference, more than all others that allowed them to survive and prosper under very difficult circumstances.


manzanarMANZANAR RINGO-EN
"Originally, Manzanar was only a dot on the map, a lonely crossroads in Inyo County, California, near the rugged eastern Sierra. But in the spring of 1942, in only six weeks, Manzanar became a full grown city of more than ten thousand people.

It was an unusual city. There were armed guards on towers with machine guns and searchlights, and barbed wire, and row upon row of barracks. But it was an American city, populated by American citizens, though only a handful of Manzanar's residents had come here voluntarily. Manzanar, which means 'apple orchard,' was named by the Spanish, who were the first to explore this valley, in the eighteenth century. At one time it was a fertile place, but in 1919 the farms of the area were bought up by the government. The water they depended upon was diverted into the massive Los Angeles Aqueduct to serve that growing city, and as a result, the Owens valley degenerated into a man-made desert.

On March 21, 1942, the first Japanese Americans arrived at Manzanar."

Excerpt from "Manzanar" by John Armor and Peter Wright, Photographs by Ansel Adams

Manzanar Mural

Manzanar photo courtesy of Rich McCutchan


manzanar

Manzanar photo courtesy of Rich McCutchan

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Japanese Americans
Abandon Homes and Businesses

Dorothea Lange Photos

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leav e

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no japanese
waiting for a signal
evacuation

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evacuation

tak toyoshima cartoon

Secret Asian Man Manzanar Cartoon by Tak Toyoshima
[copyright Tak Toyoshima]
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evacuation

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1942 Burma Shave Sign
This Burma Shave sign appeared in a rural farming area which was made up largely of people of Japanese ancestry.
(Photos by Francis Stewart, Loomis, CA 11/10/1942)



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During the War

The Untold Story of Japanese Comfort Women
by Jimin Kim, Beverly Milner Bisland, Sunghee Shin
japanese comfort women

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Japanese Surrender - August 15, 1945
Aboard the U.S.S. Missouri Battleship in Tokyo Bay
Officially signed on September 2nd, 1945


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missouri
Surrender signing on the U.S.S. Missouri
missouri
U.S.S. Missouri at sea

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After the War


Alfred Eisenstaedt VJ Day Photo


Glenn McDuffe and Edith Shain (91)

Related Links: VJ Day Nurse, VJ Day GI



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Tokyo War Crimes Trials
dod logo

The National WWII Museum
war crimes

List of Executions

 

Life
Imprisonments

The American Experience
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
Japanese Criminals Who Escaped
Unit 731 The infamous Unit 731, authorized by Emperor Hiorhito himself, conducted vivisection without anesthesia, burned prisoners with flame throwers, tossed grenades at prisoners, and launched biological warfare against Chinese civilians. After the war the USA was quite interested in the records of these ‘experiments’, and in exchange allowed the top researchers to emigrate to California, where they had lucrative private practices.
Emperor Hirohito Just how did Emperor Hirohito get away with mass murder?

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Further reading on Manzanar
Born Free an Equal by Ansel Adams (1903) - about Ansel
Manzanar by John Armor and Peter Wright (1988)
Our World Manzanar High Yearbook 1943-1944
Rabbit in the Moon
Children of the Camps
Snow Falling on Cedars
99 Years of Love: Japanese Americans

Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James Houston, (1973)
Confinement and Ethnicity by J. Burton, M. Farrell, F. Lord, and R. Lord, (1999)
abebooks
Making "out of print" and "hard to find" books easier to find. abebooks

Book Cover


Related Links

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Quartermaster Generals
United States Presidents
Japanese emperor system
Internment chronology
Pacific war chronology
Japanese WWII monographs
44 2nd RCT
Japanese American Museum

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"Born Free and Equal"
is once again available through:

Spotted Dog Press Inc.
2399 N. Sierra Highway
Bishop CA 93514
760-872-1524

born free

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Ghosts of the Past - Owens Valley Aqueduct & Cottonwood Sawmill  

20-Mule-Team History  

More WW2 War Relocation Authority Center History
arrow
 

 Manzanar High School Portraits & History

 

 Manzanar Journal - Berry Tamura

arrow
 

 Manzanar Free Press


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This page was last updated on 15 January 2024