“On the West Coast there was talk of possible sabotage and invasion by the enemy. It was ‘Jap’ this and ‘Jap’ that.”

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor led to the rise of xenophobia against not only Japan but Japanese people living in the US. There was suspicion that Japanese Americans were secretly working with Japan during World War II. The term “Jap” became a widely used racial slur during this time.

“Better get ready for induction, kids. It’s your turn now!”

While Okubo did not mention many of her family members aside from her brother who she was interned with, she had another brother in the US army whose joke regarding their internment ultimately became a reality. In the beginning, it was uncertain what internment life would look like for Japanese Americans, making it a joke-worthy event, in Okubo’s brother’s case. However, Okubo would come to find that the harsh and demoralizing conditions of the internment camps provided few occasions for humor.

“On March 27, 1942, voluntary evacuation was halted and the army took over, to bring about a forced and orderly evacuation.”

The shift from a voluntary evacuation to a forced evacuation revealed the growing suspicion of the Japanese during World War II. While the process of “evacuation” seemed to portray a sense of escape from danger, as its meaning suggests, evacuation for Japanese Americans meant being placed in containment in the internment camps. According to this shift, the Japanese were the ones who posed a danger to the rest of the US. 

“We had not believed at first that evacuation would affect the Nisei, American citizens of Japanese ancestry, but thought perhaps the Issei, Japanese-born mothers and fathers who were denied naturalization by American law, would be interned in case of war between Japan and the United States. It was a real blow when everyone, regardless of citizenship, was ordered to evacuate.”

Okubo draws this contrast between two generations of Japanese Americans to illustrate the depth of US xenophobia following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Due to rising anti-Japanese sentiment, the US decided to intern all Japanese Americans regardless of citizenship status. This enforced the idea that all Japanese people were enemies or perpetual foreigners, and therefore, should be contained as a singular population.

“A two-inch layer of dust covered the floor, but on removing it we discovered that linoleum the color of redwood had been placed over the rough manure-covered boards.”

When Okubo and her brother arrived at Tanforan Assembly Center, they did not know what to expect. They were housed in former horse stalls, treated as if they were animals. It became evident to Okubo that the linoleum floor of her room was haphazardly designed such that it did not take long for her to discover that it merely concealed the horse manure-covered boards below. Okubo pointed to this detail to illustrate the inhumane treatment that her and other Japanese Americans received during internment.

“The humor and pathos of the scenes made me decide to keep a record of camp life in sketches and drawings.”

Despite the grim conditions of life in internment, Okubo found “humor and pathos” in the daily activities of the camp. Her sketches and drawings revealed not only the bizarre bureaucracy of camp life but also the ways in which other interned Japanese Americans would strive to make the most of their circumstances by inventing games, pastimes, and other forms of entertainment despite the sad conditions of their internment.

“The infrequent letters from my father were always postmarked from a new camp in a different state. Letters from my European friends told me how lucky I was to be free and safe at home.”

By contrasting the different postal mail that she received from her interned father and her European friends, Okubo wanted to illustrate how little the world outside of the US know about the internment of Japanese Americans. While Okubo and her family endured the poor conditions of internment life, her European friends were under the impression that she was “safe” back in the US. 

“The smallest of the first pay checks were for four cents; it cost ten cents to cash them.”

At Tanforan Assembly Center, all internees were given the opportunity to work for pay. However, wages were meager and the cost of cashing one’s paychecks after using the money for the clothing allowance was sometimes more than the actual paycheck itself. This deficit demonstrated the exploitation of labor in the internment camps.

“We were close to freedom and yet far from it.”

Tanforan Assembly Center was based in San Bruno, California, which was right outside of the San Francisco Bay Area where Okubo and her brother once lived. The proximity of Okubo’s old life to the place where she was interned presented a cruel irony in which home had also become a place of imprisonment.

“The election gave the Issei their first chance to vote along with their citizen offspring. But army orders later limited self-government offices and votes to American citizens. To our disappointment, in August an army order dissolved all Assembly Center self-government bodies.”

The internees’ efforts to establish their own government within Tanforan Assembly Center was a demonstration of democracy in action. In contrast to the US democratic state of the time, this government would offer citizenship rights to the Issei, a privilege that the US did not grant. Despite internment, the internees were able to imagine democratic freedoms for themselves outside of the established social order. Ironically, it was the US army that eventually halted this exercise in democracy.

“Although idleness is a trait which the Japanese ordinarily will not tolerate, as the result of the demoralizing effect of center life we saw men lying around asleep in unusual places.”

While internment life did not feature more explicit punishments or torture, the poor conditions of confinement did contribute to a diminishing quality of life that had cultural repercussions. Internment removed Japanese Americans from daily employment and participation in civic life. While this would be disruptive for any member of society, the injury was also culturally specific because it perpetuated a behavior that was commonly looked down upon by the Japanese. It is suggested that idleness contributed to a diminishing sense of self.

“Everyone knew the camp was not a permanent one.”

Despite knowing that they would all be transferred from Tanforan Assembly Center to another camp, many of the internees still insisted on attempts to beautify the camp, such as planting trees and shrubs. It was an attempt to make their confinement livable even if only temporary.

“In the late afternoon the train stopped in the desert somewhere in northern Nevada and for half an hour we were permitted to get off the train and walk around. Barbed-wire fences bounded the stretch on either side of the track and military police stood on guard every fifteen feet.”

By describing the detail of armed guards at close distances, even as the internees are resting in between stops, Okubo illustrated the level of policing that was comparable to incarcerated life. Outside of the camp temporarily, the internees appeared as everyday civilians, but the presence of armed guards gave the impression that they were criminals.

“All residential blocks looked alike; people were lost all the time.”

The monotonous state of internment life was reflected in its construction. The design of identical residential blocks was part of the camp’s expedited way of creating mass housing for the larger number of internees. There was no concern for how internees could make a comfortable home for themselves.

“With the passing of time and the coming of cold weather, stealing no longer became a crime but an act of necessity. Everybody was out to get building material. There were guards everywhere, but the residents became skillful at dodging them; worried mothers were the most skillful of all.”

The internees began stealing building material as the camp administration did not have the capability of providing internees with proper insulation during the cold weather in the desert. They had to learn to patch up their homes themselves. Stealing was an act of survival, particularly for mothers who needed the materials to keep their children warm during the winter. Despite the dire circumstances and limited resources, stealing was still concerned criminal in the camp.

“A feeling of uncertainty hung over the camp; we were worried about the future. Plans were made and remade, as we tried to decide what to do. Some were ready to risk anything to get away. Others feared to leave the protection of the camp.”

While many of the internees were certain that internment was only temporary, the prolonged time they spent in the camp seemed to instill an air of restlessness. As conditions worsened during the winter at Topaz, the internees were especially concerned about their survival.

“The dead were sent to Salt Lake City for cremation, and the ashes were held for burial until the day of return to the Bay region. The cemetery at the far end of the camp was never used.”

While the cemetery established at the camp was reserved for internees who passed away during their internment, internees opted to cremate their loved ones instead for future burial in the Bay. For internees, the camp would never be a permanent home. By reserving their loved ones’ ashes for future burial, they fostered hope in their eventual release from the camp.

“Question 28 read: ‘Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States of America and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese Emperor or any other foreign power organization?’”

Question 28 of the loyalty test was first administered to Japanese men joining the US military and then later to internees as a way of distinguishing Japanese Americans who were loyal to the US from those who were not. The framing of the question was controversial as it compelled Japanese Americans to forgo their Japanese identity in favor of their American identity. Many Japanese Americans felt this was an unfair choice that they were forced to make, particularly as an affirmative answer led to their freedom from internment.

“A few weeks later the Wakasa case stirred up the center. An elderly resident was shot and killed within the center area inside the fence, by a guard in one of the watchtowers. Particulars and facts of the matter were never satisfactorily disclosed to the residents.”

In spring of 1943, James Hatsuaki Wakasa, a Japanese American internee, was shot and murdered by a camp guard. The camp guard was never found guilty nor was he punished for his crime. Furthermore, the lack of disclosure regarding the details of the death fueled the collective anger of the internees.  

“Whatever decision was made, families suffered deeply. Children had to go to Tule Lake with their parents, but some adolescents resented the label ‘disloyal’ and fought bitterly to remain behind.”

The loyalty test split the camp into two—those who waived their loyalty to Japan were permitted to stay and receive their eventual freedom from the camp while those who refused were sent to Tule Lake. This split led to tension within families, particularly among children who felt resentful that their parents’ responses forced them to be uprooted again. The loyalty test was not only politically divisive, it also created ruptures within family units.

“Much red tape was involved, and ‘relocatees’ were checked and double checked and rechecked.”

Despite passing the loyalty test and being granted permission to return to civilian life, the internees were still under suspicion by the US government. The term “relocatees” seems to undermine the xenophobic impetus behind Japanese internment, implying that the internment experience was anything but another form of detainment.

“After plowing through the red tape, through the madness of packing again, I attended forums on ‘How to Make Friends’ and ‘How to Behave in the Outside World.’”

Due to prolonged internment, internees struggled to reacclimate to civilian life. In preparation for returning to civilian life, there were forums on different social topics intended to help. Internment life had eroded internees’ social skills to such an extent that they had to reteach appropriate social behavior to everyone.

“I was now free.”

After having gone through several administrative hurdles, Okubo was finally granted permission to exit the camp. Her release was startling to her after such prolonged time away from civilian life. She wrestled with what to do with her newfound freedom.