Rebuilding Community
Between 1939 and 1945, Seabrook Farms and other agricultural enterprises in southern New Jersey, including the Campbell Soup Company, experienced a substantial influx of seasonal migrant workers brought on board to address the escalated wartime production demands. These workers hailed from various islands within the British West Indies, including Barbados and Jamaica, as well as from Puerto Rico and the United States South. Seabrook Farms leveraged its status as a wartime contractor, utilizing the War Manpower Commission, a federal agency established during the war, and the United States Information Service, a network of employment agencies, to manage its recruitment needs. From 1943 until the war’s conclusion, the War Relocation Authority, […]
Education for Young Japanese Americans
At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a significant number of Japanese American students were enrolled in educational institutions across the United States. In response to the evacuation, local groups endeavored to facilitate the prompt transfer of students to educational institutions situated east of military zones. To that end, a Student Relocation Committee was established in Berkeley on March 21, 1942. This committee successfully coordinated the evacuation of approximately 75 students to educational institutions outside the restricted area. However, the majority of students opted to relocate with their families to assembly centers. In May 1942, Clarence Pickett of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) established the , a […]
Japanese Americans and Democracy
Prior to the war, the Japanese community in New York was divided between the pro-Tokyo Issei and the progressive Nissei. In response to the potential threat of war, the counter-pro-Tokyo forces united to protect community members, leading to the formation of the Committee for the Democratic Treatment of Japanese Residents in the Eastern United States. This coalition comprised Issei artists and activists, as well as Nisei journalists. The organization’s inaugural president was , a young Japanese-born minister of the . The committee’s primary focus was on social service initiatives within the Japanese community. The Vocations and Welfare Committee assisted individuals affected by the closure of Japanese businesses in obtaining unemployment insurance […]
Test Off Canvas Artifact
Takeo Shiota
Frank Masao Okamura
Taro Yashima
Taro Yajima (birth name: Jun Iwamatsu) was born on September 21, 1908, in a seaside town in Kagoshima Prefecture.
He immigrated to the U.S. in 1939 with his wife Mitsu Yashima (birth name: Tomoe Sasago).
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Iwamatsu enlisted in the US Army and worked as an artist for the US Office of War Information (OWI) and later for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). It was during this time that they assumed their pen names.
After the war, Taro and Mitsu were granted permanent residency by an act of the U.S. Congress.
Rev. Hozen Seki
Reverend Hozen Seki emigrated to the United States in 1930 and founded several Buddhist churches, including the New York Buddhist Church in 1937.
During World War II, he was arrested on Elis Island in December 1942, then sent to Fort George Meade, before ultimately being released in January 1946.
He went on to found the American Buddhist Academy in 1948.
Hokubei Shimpo (New York Nichibei)
Miné Okubo
