Dave Tatsuno reading to his son and packing his possessions prior to his evacuation and internment, April 13, 1942. Courtesy of the National Archives, photo no. 210-G-A62.
Some individuals who were incarcerated on Angel Island kept journals, while others wrote poetry about their experiences. Below, you will discover a few excerpts from those who were on Angel Island in 1942.
Honolulu businessman Kumaji Furuya wrote the following passage under the pen name Suikei Furuya.
“Although the physical examination was quite severe, the officers, noncommissioned officers, and guards were nice to us. Angel Island turned out to be better than I expected…Behind the building was a small field on a hill. Bushes grew around the field, and I happened to find apricot flowers blooming among the green leaves. Birds were singing, and it felt as if spring were here… I heard the voices of children walking along a road in the middle of the woods beyond. It was the first time I had heard children’s voices since being taken from my home just three months earlier, but it felt as if I had not heard this sound for years.”
Source: Suikei Furuya’s An Internment Odyssey: Haisho Tenten (translated by Tatsumi Hayashi). Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai`i, 2017.
Isoo Kato was an immigrant from Hiroshima Prefecture who became a coffee farmer on Hawai`i island and served on the local Japanese school and Japanese hospital board.
“Here at the Center are about fourteen or fifteen Germans and twenty-three Italians along with us. It is different here from Hawaii in that we are enjoying more privileges. We are free to bathe and use the toilet at any time. All accommodations are comfortable so it’s a good feeling. The dining room is new and the food preparation is sanitary and tasty. The cook and kitchen helpers are all military men and they treat us kindly. During dinner the Germans and Italians are together with us. We are all enemies and comrades alike.”
Source: From Isoo Kato’s unpublished journal in her book Remembering Our Grandfathers’ Exile via Gail Okawa.
Before 1940, immigrants carved poems and other inscriptions into the detention barracks walls while waiting to enter the country. Inscriptions that were written after 1940 are attributed to the post-Immigration Station period when the site was known as the North Garrison. The military held POWs from Germany, Italy, and Japan at the site. Japanese Americans detained on Angel Island during this time were not considered prisoners of war.
The post-1940 Japanese inscriptions are mostly attributed to Japanese POWs. Nearly all these inscriptions were written in pencil since the U.S. Army prohibited sharp implements inside the barracks. These Japanese inscriptions were typically placed near door and window casings or made directly on them. Other inscriptions were placed in the corners of rooms. Most appear to say “I was here” instead of making a profound political or social statement about one’s life or circumstance.
The following inscriptions were translated by Professor Charles Egan for his book, Voices of Angel Island: Inscriptions and Immigrant Poetry, 1910-1945. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.
To Mr. Sawada Takeo
We are keeping in good health.
Please give our regards to the Hakudo [?] Group and to Mr. Kurokawa.
Kanda ??
Togashi Saburo
Yukai [??] Masami
The time has come for me to fulfill my duty.
I think that until it becomes clear whether or not
The separation of life and death will come between us,
I will hold strongly to the proper course.
I pray you will make strong efforts.
More than 600 persons are leaving on November 7.
On July 3, Nineteenth Year of Showa (1944), we left New Caledonia.
On the 24th day of the same month, during daytime, we arrived at the port of San Francisco.
On the 25th we disembarked the ship and came to the holding center.
P.W. (prisoners of war),
39 persons.
To the Honorable Sergeant Takeda:
On September (?) we will set out.
In high spirits we await our opportunities.
We expect smooth sailing ahead, maybe.
Torikai
