BOOKS

 Weedflower, by Cynthia Kadohata. Atheneum, 2006. ISBN-10: 0689865740 

ISBN-13: 978-0689865749 (Fiction)

      Sumiko is a 12-year old (6th grade) girl who is forced to evacuate to the Poston Internment camp in the desert of Arizona following the bombing of Pearl harbor. The author's father was a former internee at Poston. This book is being used by middle school educators in the curriculum on the internment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. The author's father was imprisoned at Poston camp 1.

Dear Miss Breed,  by Joanne Oppenheim. Forward by Elizabeth Kikuchi Yamada. Scholastic, 2006. ISBN-10: 0439569923 ISBN-13: 978-0439569927 (Non-fiction)

   Miss Clara Breed, was a children's librarian in the downtown San Diego Public Library.  She wrote letters to her young library visitors after they were forcibly incarcerated into the Poston internment camp in Arizona. Copies of the letters from the children are the basis of this book, which adds cartoons, photos, and interviews to make this a MUST READ for young adults. School teachers are using this book in their curriculum on the wrongful internment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. 

The Harvest of Hate, by Georgia Day Robertson. Edited by Arthur A. Hansen. Oral History Program California State University, Fullerton, 1986. ISBN: 0-930046-08-0 KBF

(Fiction)

     This is a historical novel which captures the feelings and attitudes of the Japanese internees. The author was hired as a supervisor of the Nisei Mathematic instructors at Poston Internment camp.  She later taught math classes at Poston camp 2 & 3 and became the  Vice-Principal for the high school at Poston camp 2. There is a forward written by Moto Asakawa, former Poston camp 3 internee and Hiroshi Kamei, former Poston camp 2 internee.

Triumphs of Faith: Stories of Japanese-American Christians During World War II, edited by Victor N. Okada. Japanese-American Internment Project (1998)ASIN: B000BN3BWK (Non-fiction)

 

     Stories by the Rev. Sadaichi Asai (Poston I), the Rev. Harry Baba, Maggie Ishino (Poston 3), Don Iwahashi (Poston 3), May (Wake) Iwahashi (Poston 3), Frances Kaji (Poston 3), the Rev. Kei Kokubun (Poston I), Marie Kurihara (Poston 3), Hazel K. Morikawa (Poston I), Kay Keiko Murakami (Poston 3), the Rev. Paul Nagano (Poston I, 3), Muts Okada (Poston I), Ernie Ono (Poston I), Kary K. Sasaki (Poston I), Tai Shigaki (Poston I), Kayoko Asai Suzukida (Poston I), Itsuko Teragawa (Poston I), the Rev Yasushi Wada (Poston I), the Rev. Lloyd K. Wake (Poston 3), Tets Yamashita (Poston I) and the Rev Carl Yoshimine (Poston 3).

Through Innocent Eyes Writings and Art from the Japanese American Internment by Poston I Schoolchildren. Edited with observations by Vincent Tajiri. Keiro Services Press and The Generations Fund; 1990. ISBN 0-9624450-1-0, ISBN 0-9624450-0-2.

       This book was originally compiled in 1943 as "Out of the Desert" by Ray Franchi (Poston camp High School English teacher) and Paul Takeda (Poston Red Cross Director) with the assistance of teachers and students.

The Governing of Men: General Principles & Recommendation Based on Experience at a Japanese Relocation Camp, by Alexander H. Leighton. Princeton University Press, 1945. (Non-fiction)

 

     Lt. Commander Alexander Leighton, anthropologist, was head of the War Relocation Authority's Sociological Research Bureau at the Poston internment camp. This book was one of the first monographs published on the Japanese American wartime experience and describes the attempts at community planning in Poston & studies human behavior during the Poston strike.

Poston Chronicles  Wednesday, July 11, 1945

"THE GOVERNING OF MEN"
BY FORMER BUREAU OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH HEAD, REPORTED ON BY TIME

     Time, the weekly magazine, reviews in its RACES section (it also has a BOOKS section), of June 25, “The Governing of Men,” by Lt. Commander Alexander H. Leighton, Navy Medical Corps psychiatrist, who suggests a key to better understanding. Time states that after 15 months at Poston as a social analyst, Commander Leighton concluded many an American simply fails to remember that U.S. Japanese are human beings.

     Taken from the book, Time reports say Poston was the subject of many wild rumors in the early days of the war. To Commander Leighton, the troubles were not only caused by the war but by the dissension among the evacuees, confinement and discomforts of the camp, and by the misunderstanding between the evacuees and the administrative staff.

     In conclusion, Time states, "Commander Leighton, objective throughout, reaches no conclusion on this U.S. experiment in governing another race behind stockades. But his attitude is aptly expressed in the quotation from which he got his title, "Oh, it were better to be a poor fisherman than to meddle with the governing of men."

 

Ten Visits: Accounts of Visits to All the Japanese American Relocation Centers, by Frank & Joanne Iritani. Japanese American National Museum; Revised edition (June 1999) # ISBN-10: 1881161056 # ISBN-13: 978-1881161059 (Non-fiction)

This is a traveler's guide to locating the ten Japanese American internment sites. Joanne (Ono) Iritani, co-author, was a former Poston camp II internee.

South Bay Monogatari: Tales of the South Bay Nikkei Community. Vol. 5 in the series Chula Vista -- The Early Years. by Donald H. Estes.  Tecolote Publications, 1996.

 

 See Chapter 8. "Hot Enough to Melt Iron". The experiences of the Japanese-Americans living in San Diego as they were relocated to Poston, and their experiences when they tried to return home. 1942-1946. The author was a San Diego based historian and instructor of History and Political Science at San Diego City College.

Sharing a Desert Home: Life on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, by Ruth Y. Okimoto. Heyday Books (2001) ASIN: B0006RV18M (Non-fiction)

 

    Ruth Okimoto, PhD, former Poston 3 internee, received a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program (CCLPEP)  and in her research, uncovered documents about the formation of the Poston Relocation Center, and the relationship between the Office of Indian Affairs and the War Relocation Authority. This manuscript initiated the beginnings for the development of the award-winning documentary film, "Passing Poston". A MUST READ!

Reminiscing in Swingtime: Japanese Americans in American Popular Music, 1925-1960, by George Yoshida. National Japanese American Historical Society (1997) # ISBN-10: 1881506088 # ISBN-13: 978-1881506089 (Non-fiction)

 

     George Yoshida was a former Poston internee and his big band music was the highlight for many of the teenagers and young adults living in the internment camps. The block dances were the common  social event that they recall many decades later at their reunions.

Poston Camp II, Block 211, by Jack Matsuoka. Asian American Curriculum Project Inc. (2003)# ISBN-10: 0934609098 # ISBN-13: 978-0934609098 (Fiction)

  

     Jack Matsuoka is a former Poston camp II internee. This book is a collection of his simple cartoons based on his experiences at the  Poston internment camp . Great for children & families.

Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s - Then and Now, edited by Joyce Hirohata & Paul T. Hirohata. Hirohata Design (January 1, 2004) # ISBN-10: 0972814906 # ISBN-13: 978-0972814904 (Non-fiction)

This book documents and celebrates the lives of the first Japanese American valedictorians of California public schools in the 1930s, including several former Poston internees.

Nisei Christian Journey: Its Promise & Fulfillment, published by the Nisei Christian Oral History Project. 1988. (Non-fiction)

 

Oral histories of Osame Doi (Poston 2), Dave Yutaka Nakagawa, June Hisaye Toshiyuki, Royal Louis Manaka (Poston I), Nobuko Lillian Omi, Jack Nishida (Poston I), and Frances Kirihara.

Nisei Christian Journey: Its Promise & Fulfillment, Volume II, published by the Nisei Christian Oral History Project. 1991.

(Non-fiction)

Oral histories of Rhoda Akiko Iyoya, Dr. Henry Hajime Kazato (Poston 2), Kimi Sugiyama, Ichiro Yamaguchi (Poston 2), Hatsune Helen Kitaji (Poston 2), and Koji Murata.

Nisei Christian Journey: Its Promise & Fulfillment, Volume III Nisei Pastors, published by the Nisei Christian Oral History Project.

Oral histories of the Rev Chaplain George Aki, the Rev. Dr. Donald Kaoru Toriumi, the Rev Howard Noboru Toriumi, the Rev. Dr. Lester Eisaburo Suzuki, the Rev. William Kobayashi (Poston I , 2), the Rev. Lloyd Wake (Poston 3), and the Rev. Dr. Paul Nagano (Poston I, 2).

Ministry in the Assembly & Relocation Centers of World War II, by Lester E. Suzuki. Yardbird Publishing Company (August 1979) . # ISBN-10: 0686598911

# ISBN-13: 978-0686598916 (Non-fiction)

This book is a published version of the Rev. Dr. Lester Suzuki's Doctor of Ministry thesis, "Ministry in the Japanese Assembly Centers and Relocation Centers of World War II." San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, CA, 1975. There is a chapter on the organization of the religious denominations in each of the three internment camps at Poston, Arizona.

 

Inside An American Concentration Camp: Japanese American Resistance at Poston, Arizona. by Richard S. Nishimoto, edited by Lane Ryo Hiragayashi. University of Arizona Press (August 1995) ISBN-10: 0816514208 ISBN-13: 978-0816514205 (Non-fiction)

This is a written account by  a former Poston internee who was selected to participate in working "undercover" as an important staff member of the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study.  At times, it appeared that he was reporting information for internal intelligence. The study was a University of California, Berkeley- sponsored, systematic attempt to document life inside the camp.

Imprisoned in the Desert: The Geography of World War II-Era, Japanese American Relocation Centers in the Western United States, by Dr. Karl Lillquist. (Non-fiction)

(See Chapter 9. Poston) 

Detailed information of numerous facts and statistics. Excellent resource. 

Available for download at: 

http://www.cwu.edu/~geograph/faculty/lillquist/pubs/ja_relocation/chapter9poston.pdf

Hi-Times Spotlight Volume 1 Poston III 1943-1945

This is a collection of the Poston high school newpapers written by the high school and junior high students. 

Available only from the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego.

Hi-Times Spotlight Volume II Poston III 1943-1945

This is a collection of the Poston high school newpapers written by the high school and junior high students. Available only from the Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego.

"From Our Side of the Fence: Growing Up in America's Concentration Camps" by Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California (Corporate Author), Brian Komei Dempster (Editor. Kearny Street Workshop Press (April 2001)

# ISBN-10: 0970550405 # ISBN-13: 978-0970550408 (Non-fiction)

 This is a collection from eleven former internees who recall their memories of childhood and youth in American's internment camps. This collection traces Florence Dobashi, Kiku Funabiki, Sato Hishizume, Fumi Hayashi, Florence Nakamura, Ruth Okimoto (Poston 3), Wayne Osaki, Toru Saito, Daisy Satoda, Harumi Serata and Michi Tashiro's personal and psychological journey through war.

Dusty Exile: Looking Back at Japanese Relocation During World War II, by Catherine Embree Harris. Mutual Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-56647-274-1  (Non-fiction)

  

     The author, Catherine Embree, a Caucasian, was hired by the federal government to teach the school-age children at the Poston, Arizona internment camp.  She remained in Poston until 1944. She lived inside the internment camp and tells her first-hand experiences from living at the Poston internment camp. 

Dandelion Through the Crack, by Kiyo Sato.

Willow Valley Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9762697-1-7 (Non-fiction)

The 1st edition sold out, and is re-printed as "Kiyo's Story: A Japanese-American Family's Quest for the American Dream". (Hardcover) Soho Press (April 1, 2009)# ISBN-10: 1569475695 ISBN-13: 978-1569475690 (Non-fiction)

   Excellent reading for junior high level readers. Kiyo tells about her inner struggles with prejudice and racism, as she was first forcibly evacuated to the Pinedale Assembly Center, and then to the Poston II internment camp.  Kiyo's determination allows her to not let anything interfere with her goals to complete her education while maintaining her position as the eldest child in her family. What a truly inspirational person!

 Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites, by Jeffery F. Burton, Mary M. Farrell, Florence B. Lord, and Richard W. Lord. University of Washington Press; 1st edition (August 2002)# ISBN-10: 0295981563 # ISBN-13: 978-0295981567 (Non-fiction)

This book is now available to read on the internet. The chapter on Poston contains many pictures.

 City in the Sun: The Japanese Concentration Camp at Poston, Arizona by Paul Dayton Bailey. Westernlore Publications (June 1979)# ISBN-10: 087026026X

# ISBN-13: 978-0870260261  (Non-fiction)

Camp Florence Days: A World War II Prisoner of War Camp, by Ralph Storm. ISBN: 0-9788260-4-3 (Non-fiction)

     The author was an Army recruit from Camp Grant, Illinois received his basic training in western Arizona. He served as a Military Police guard working with the Italian and German prisoners-of-war, as well as guard duty at the Japanese-American internment camp in Poston, Arizona in early 1944. There are two chapters on the Poston internment camp in this 8th grade reading level book. The author includes extensive research into the background on the anti-Asian "Yellow Peril" movement.

Camp Days 1942-1945, by Chizuko Judy Sugita de Queiroz. Edinger Printing, 2004.

     This is a collection of memories created in beautiful water-color artwork by an artist/author who had lost her mother before the family was forcibly evacuated and relocated when she was  9 years at the Poston I internment camp in Arizona. For children of all ages.

An Enemy Among Friends, by Kiyoaki Murata. Kodansha Amer Inc; 1st edition (November 1991)#  ISBN-10: 4770016093  # ISBN-13: 978-4770016096 (Non-fiction)

Editor Review (reviewed on October 15, 1991)

     Japanese journalist Murata warmly remembers his 6-year career as a student in the US during WW II, maintaining the awestruck tone of the diary he began as a teenager.

     Barred from his own country's top colleges due to a lung disease, he leaves his rural town in 1941 to come to America, where an aunt has pledged to support his studies. A patriotic product of Japanese public school during its military campaign against China, he plans to earn a degree as fast as possible and return to serve in the Japanese army. 

     But less than 6 months after he begins studying English in San Francisco, his country bombs Pearl Harbor. As he ponders why Japanese-Americans express embarrassment at the bombing rather than being  "just as angry as any other American," the federal government begins to plan to evacuate all Japanese and Japanese-Americans from the West Coast. 

     Here, Murata is not interested in investigating the complaints of other Japanese who tell of their property being seized and of being held against their will. He asserts that his own stint in Arizona's Poston War Relocation Center (block 326-4-B) was "more or less satisfactory under the circumstances"; he was able to leave the (Poston camp 3)  after 9 months with a letter from a prospective employer. 

     Staying away from concentrations of Japanese, he successfully earns a B.A. from Carleton College after two-and-a- half years of intensive study, and goes on to earn an M.A. in international relations from the Univ. of Chicago. Impressed by "American friendliness"' and other national traits (such as "not laughing at or abusing someone for failure"'), he observes himself picking up some American traits--and winds up tutoring American officers-in-training in Japanese customs in preparation for the postwar occupation.

     Controversial only in its omissions, Murata's tale has the charm of a traditional wartime boy-comes-of-age account, with an international twist.

Source:http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/non-fiction/kiyoaki-murata/an-enemy-among-friends/