Japanese tell After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Jane Komeiji's family came under suspicion for allegedly running an ad containing hidden war codes.
their side of
war talesThe panel discussion is to
balance the portrayal of
Japanese in 'Pearl Harbor'By Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinKen Otagaki and a Japanese-American friend had a .45-caliber gun pointed at them by a sergeant who they considered a gambling and drinking buddy.
Those were some of the stories told by four Japanese Americans at a panel discussion about their experiences in Hawaii during World War II.
About 100 people gathered at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii to hear the stories, intended by the event's sponsors to balance what they call a narrow portrayal of the attack in the recent Disney "Pearl Harbor" movie.
Panel moderator Mark Santoki said it was important to tell the stories that were not in the movie.
"At the time of the attack, 50 percent of Hawaii's population was Japanese," Santoki said. He said that in the movie, only two people could be construed as Japanese-Americans.
Sandra Hoshida was separated from her father for a year before her family joined him in an internment camp on the mainland.
"Immediately after the attack, we burned my dad's books and magazines and got rid of all the Girls' Day dolls," said Hoshida, who added that because she was only 1 at the time, her stories come from what her parents have told her. She said her father, who was a black-belt judo instructor and was active in the Japanese community, fit the profile of an enemy alien.
Komeiji, who was 15 in 1941, said her mother was suspected of communicating with enemy Japanese through an ad thought to contain coded messages. The cloud-shaped design at the top of the ad was taken to mean, "We're coming by air," Komeiji told the audience, who laughed at the thought. The $1.15 per yard price for material was taken to mean 1+1+5=7, which signifies Dec. 7. And the letters "arade" in "parade" supposedly meant "air raid."
After hearing the stories, which drew nods of agreement and looks of disbelief, audience member James Takane stood to thank the speakers and said, "You are living proof that many of us are loyal Americans."
The "Pearl Harbor" movie "brings out old scars," he said, adding, "I think there are going to be a lot of repercussions (for Japanese Americans)."
The speakers, however, concentrated on personal stories without analyzing the movie's affect on the Japanese-American condition. And three of the panelists -- two of whom went to school on the G.I. Bill of Rights -- said that despite the harassment and turmoil of the time, they were grateful for their experiences.
"I remember thanking my mother for giving birth to me at a time when I could experience so many changes in Hawaii," Komeiji said. "I still consider myself to be lucky."