was “like meeting Buddha in hell.”…

The effects of the war on the camp(page 36, from “Yusho Reppai [Survival of the Fittest]” section)Those of us who were detained at Honouliuli could actually sense the defeat of the Japanese military. This was because the number of Japanese prisoners of war, who numbered only a few at the internment camp in the beginning, gradually increased as the war turned in favor of the US military that continued to advance from island to island in the Southwest Pacific Ocean….

…It was interesting to note that there was discord among Korean prisoners numbering more than 15,000. They were separated into two groups of pro and anti-Japanese. American authorities, in dealing with those opposing two groups, treated the anti-Japanese group preferentially in terms of providingwar, apologies by the American government, and issues of reparations. Forced evacuations, relocations, and detentions of the Japanese Americans were against the founding spirit of America that stands for liberty and equality: This was a setback to the national principle upholding human rights and seeking worldly justice. I feel a strong desire to protest against the American government and demand reconsideration with regard to those compulsory measures. After all, “Issun no mushi nimo, gobu no tamashii. [Even an inch-long worm has a soul half-an-inch long]*

*A Japanese proverb meaning, “The most defenseless and weak creature will fight back under duress.”

(page 37, from “Reparation Issues” section)Our rights to pursue freedom and happiness as guaranteed by the Constitution were snatched away during the Pacific War, and 120,000 citizens of Japanese ancestry