Fortunate Exception: Hawai‘i and the Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II

The Hawaiian Historical Society, with its cosponsors, the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i and the Japanese American Citizens League, invites its members and friends to a free public program on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at the Japanese Cultural Center, 2454 South Beretania Street, Honolulu.

Doors open for the event at 5:00 p.m. The Society's annual business meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m., and the evening program will begin at 6:00 p.m. Parking is available at the Japanese Cultural Center for $3.00.

The program, "Fortunate Exception: Hawai‘i and the Internment of Japanese Americans During World War II," will feature guest speakers Tom Coffman, author and film producer; Dr. Greg Robinson, professor of history at the University of Quebec and author of By Order of the President; and Dr. Tetsuden Kashima, professor of American studies at the University of Washington and author of Judgment Without Trial. HHS trustee Walter Ikeda will introduce the program.

Relocation departure, Manzanar Relocation Center. Photo by Ansel Adams (Library of Congress). On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. which authorized the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. More than 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast were sent to relocation camps such as Manzanar, Tule Lake, and Heart Mountain for the duration of the war, losing their freedom and their property.

In Hawai‘i, the story was different. From a populaton of approximately 160,000 Japanese Americans, only about 2,300 were detained for a variety of reasons. What led to the formulation of Executive Order 9066 and why was the Japanese American experience so different in Hawai‘i?

To answer these questions and others about the internment experience and its significance in America's history, Coffman, Robinson, and Kashima will present their research in a panel discussion. A preview excerpt of Coffman's forthcoming film on the internment experience, The First Battle, will also be shown. An exhibit of photographs relating to the internment memoirs of persons living in Hawai‘i will be on display for viewing before and after the program.

For further information, contact the Hawaiian Historical Society office, 560 Kawaiaha‘o Street, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813. Telephone 808-537-6271. Financial support for this program was provided by the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities.

Books on the History of Hawai‘i Available

The following books can be purchased from the Hawaiian Historical Society at the May 10, 2006, membership program or through mail order until May 19, 2006. Telephone 808-537-6271 to order or obtain additional information.

Judgment Without Trial: Japanese American Imprisonment during World War II by Tetsuden Kashima. University of Washington Press, 2003. 336 pages. $19.00 (softcover) plus $5.00 postage.

By Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans by Greg Robinson. Harvard University Press, 2001. 322 pages. $20.00 (softcover) plus $5.00 postage.

The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawai‘i by Tom Coffman. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2003. 419 pages. $18.95 (softcover; HHS members' price $15.00) plus $5.00 postage.

Teaching Mikadoism: The Attack on Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii, California, and Washington, 1919–1927 by Noriko Asato. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2006. 192 pages. $40.00 (cloth; HHS members' price $36.00) plust $5.00 postage.