Issei and Internment at Ellis Island
Jiro Kozai (center) in New York City. c. 1930s. Courtesy of Kozai Family Collection at the JAANY Archive The story of Japanese Americans in New York has long been overlooked, yet it is rich with perseverance, injustice, and hope. Unforgotten Stories traces this journey beginning with early struggles, deepened by wartime internment, and evolving into […]
Unforgotten Stories
Unforgotten New York Stories: Japanese and Japanese Americans in the 1940s To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Digital Museum of the History of Japanese in New York has organized an online exhibit to trace the experiences of Japanese and Japanese Americans in New York in the 1940s. This […]
Japanese American Committee for Democracy
The Japanese American Committee for Democracy (JACD) was an anti-fascist civil rights and social organization that united New York’s wartime Japanese community. Heavily influenced by the Communist Party, its members were engaged in both politics and the arts.
The JACD was founded in 1940 under the leadership of Reverend Alfred Akamatsu, the pastor of Manhattan’s Japanese Methodist Church.
The JACD was active throughouth WWII. First, it worked to build support for the war effort. Committee members organized a well-publicized blood donor brigade for soldiers, and made public statements calling for victory over Japan. Meanwhile, JACD members joined forces with the Office of War Information to make pro-allied radio broadcasts and pamphlets. They also focused on community activism and support, helping families find homes, employment, and social support networks.
After the Allied victory in summer 1945, JACD activities tapered off, before disbanding in late 1950.
University of Connecticut baseball Team: Baseball and the Second Wold War
The Nikkei Weekender League, All-Japanese Softball League in New York City
1934 American League All-Star Tour to Japan
The First Japanese American MBA Player in New York: Lenn Haruki Sakata
Yamanaka & Company
Heart Mountain Bungei, the First Issue 1943
Jiro Kozai's Internment Card at Ellis Island
Jiro Kozai, originally from Tottori Prefecture, immigrated to the U.S. in 1911. He was the president of the Japanese Association of New York and publisher and owner of a Japanese-language newspaper in New York.
He was interned at Ellis Island in 1941 and eventually sent back to Japan.
