Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment

Jeanne provides a transcript of an interview between Papa and a government employee at Fort Lincoln. The interviewer asks Papa about his upbringing and if he has had any contact with family in Japan. Papa admits that he is a “black sheep” and has not returned to Japan. The interviewer asks him about his children; he replies with all of his children’s names, minus Jeanne.

When the interviewer questions Papa about the use of oil drums on his fishing boats in Long Beach, Papa replies that they are bait. The interviewer asks him about his feelings toward the war and the American military, to which Papa states that he is “sad for both countries” (62). Finally, the interviewer asks Papa if he feels a sense of loyalty to Japan. Papa redirects the interview by asking the government official a series of his own questions. The chapter ends with Papa asking, “When your mother and your father are having a fight, do you want them to kill each other? Or do you just want them to stop fighting?” (64).

With Papa back in Manzanar, the mood has greatly changed in the family’s barracks. Papa has a “dark, bitter, brooding presence” (65), spending much of his time drinking the alcohol he brews using food from the mess hall. Jeanne initially believes that Papa’s drinking and abusive behaviors are alienating other people in the camp, but then she hears rumors that they believe he is inu—a word that means both “dog” and “traitor/informant” (67). Many believe that Papa bribed his passage out of Fort Lincoln with information that he learned as an interpreter. After hearing this rumor, Mama and Jeanne tell Papa the news. In a fit of rage, he abuses Mama and threatens to kill her. As he raises the cane to hit her, Jeanne’s brother Kiyo runs over and punches Papa in the face. Afterward, Kiyo stays with his sister in a different barracks for two weeks, eventually asking for Papa’s forgiveness. Papa accepts; however, his behavior does not change.

Although Papa spent nine months at Fort Lincoln, he rarely speaks about his time there. Jeanne notes that the “charge of disloyalty” was the worst “disgrace” that a man from Japan could experience (72).

There is a riot in Manzanar in December 1942. The “December Riot,” the buildup of months of tension, involves protests for better conditions, including higher pay and improved food; some advocate a return to Japan. The catalyst is an anonymous attack on a Manzanar prisoner who was favored by the camp’s government administration. A young Japanese cook who recently blamed a non-Japanese worker for stealing sugar is arrested for the attack, causing the Manzanar community to organize against the government officials. Leaders of the riot claim the Manzanar administration framed the cook to cover up the shortage of sugar.

By evening, over 2,000 people have joined the riot, with mobs heading for both the hospital and the police station. Soldiers launch tear gas and fire several shots at the protestors, dispersing them and ending the riot. The rest of the night and the following morning are quiet; Jeanne hears nothing but the ringing of bells until noon the following day. Papa does not involve himself in the riot since he considers it foolish and believes that the protestors will be forced back to Japan.

During the riots, Kaz (Jeanne’s brother-in-law) works at the reservoir that provides water in the camp. Although most work pauses during the riots, the reservoir crew is ordered to continue their duties. While Kaz and his team are working, several military privates burst into the room and accuse Kaz and his colleagues of participating in the riot. Kaz argues with the men, stating that they were given orders to continue working; the sergeant leaves to validate their orders. He returns 30 minutes later, confirming the truth of their story.

After the December Riot in 1942, the following “Loyalty Oath” is issued to every person in Manzanar. It includes two questions, each with the option to answer YES or NO:

27. Are you willing to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?

[…]

28. Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and faithfully defend the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power, or organization?

[…]

-     from the War Relocation Authority Application for Leave Clearance, 1943 (81).

This Oath raises the question of what loyalty means for many in Manzanar, and families and friends debate how to answer the questions. Papa and Woody discuss the idea of loyalty, especially as it relates to willingness to serve in the US Army (another thing the Oath aims to assess). At this point, there are three ways of leaving Manzanar: enlisting in the army, being deported to Japan, or joining the employment relocation scheme, which involved securing a job and a “sponsor” away from the West Coast. Two weeks before the riot, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) approved legislation encouraging nisei to fight in the war. In Manzanar, the introduction of the Loyalty Oath is counterproductive, as it ultimately “prod[s] many once-loyal citizens to turn militantly anti-American” (86).

Papa grapples with how to answer the Oath. If he answers YES/YES, then he will turn his back on the country where he holds citizenship, but if he answers NO/NO, he could be deported to Japan, forcing him to start over. In the end, he decides on the YES/YES response.

The issue of how to answer the Loyalty Oath becomes a divisive issue in camp, with many people organizing movements supporting NO/NO responses. Proponents of the NO/NO response argue that a YES/YES response means continuing to live in a society that is anti-Japanese. To defend the YES/YES position, Papa goes to a meeting in the mess hall for the heads of household. As Papa begins to speak, people chant “inu,” leading him to attack one of the prominent chanters. Back in the barracks, he sings the Japanese national anthem as he sits and cries by the light of the fire. This anthem is also known in Japanese society as “a personal credo for endurance” (91).