Esther Newman
@esnewmanEsther Newman grew up in California. After college and a career in marketing and media production for Ohio’s Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, she returned to school to study twentieth century American history. While in graduate school, she became interested in her family’s history which led to research on topics affecting the Japanese Diaspora including internment, migration and assimilation. She is retired but her interest in writing about and supporting organizations related to these subjects continues.
Updated November 2021
Stories from This Author
Interview with John Christgau, author of Enemies: World War II Alien Internment
Aug. 17, 2010 • Esther Newman
John Christgau had just finished his first book, a novel called Spoon, when he began to search for a good story idea for his next project. The resulting work of non-fiction, Enemies: World War II Alien Internment, was more than a good story, and the issues Christgau raised therein still resonate decades later. Originally published in 1985, Enemies has just been reprinted with a new afterword by the author. The character-driven narrative features individuals of German, Jewish and Japanese descent. …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 6
Aug. 11, 2010 • Esther Newman
Part 5 >>Few prisoners spoke directly to the enemy in protest but some were willing to speak up when ordered to do so. According to Amano, the military conducted a court martial of the soldier accused of shooting Kanesaburo Oshima, calling ten Japanese as witnesses. One courageous witness, Shindo Tamezo, testified that the soldier said, “I don’t care, he’s just a Jap” after firing at Oshima. After the accused soldier denied hearing requests to hold fire, Tamezo angrily called him …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 5
Aug. 4, 2010 • Esther Newman
Part 4 >>Spirits spiked and plummeted throughout the next several months that included the anxiety-ridden voyage aboard the Florida from Panama to New Orleans followed by long hours on a train through desolate territory to an unknown destination. A high point for the prisoners occurred on the train. An American soldier, fooling around by balancing his weapon on his palm, dropped the gun and watched it fall through a gap under a door. The prisoners expected to see harsh punishment …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 4
July 28, 2010 • Esther Newman
Part 3 >>On the evening of December 7, 1941, Amano recalled ordering his two Panamanian maids to bring whiskey and three glasses. He poured for the three of them and offered a toast to Japan’s victory and a toast to his love of Panama. On impulse, he grabbed the Japanese board game, go, before taking a last look at the home that held happy memories of his family and driving to the police station. Amano revealed his conflicted emotions: At …
Food Tours of Little Tokyo with Six Taste - An interview with Jeff Okita
July 27, 2010 • Esther Newman
Want to get the inside scoop on Little Tokyo? With a Six Taste tour, it’s likely to be mochi flavored gelato, but you’ll also enjoy tasty tidbits of history, culture and samples of Japanese cuisine along seven stops in a 3-1/2 hour walking adventure. The tours place the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)’s goals of understanding and appreciation of cultural and ethnic diversity on a path leading directly to the stomach. It’s one of the latest programs offered through JANM. …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 3
July 21, 2010 • Esther Newman
Part 2 >>Amano confirmed that military personnel did more than mistreat prisoners for entertainment; they gathered intelligence in concert with the FBI. Amano revealed in his statements that his highly suspect activities and defiant attitude made him a target. While captive, the Americans identified Amano only by the number on his prison-issued clothes. “My number was 203, a bad omen. Everyone knew about 203, a fort Japan fought for in Russia.” The significance of number 203 derived from The Battle …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 2
July 14, 2010 • Esther Newman
Part 1 >>In a July 1941 meeting, representatives from both the Department of Justice and the Department of War formalized injunctions that barred enemy aliens from restricted areas such as the Canal Zone, and forbade possession of firearms, ammunition, cameras, short wave radio receivers, and signaling devices. Fishing boats frequently contained these items, raising suspicions that the fishermen could assist Japanese submarines. The United States’ House Committee on Un-American Activities claimed that federal investigators possessed a map, allegedly distributed among …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 1
July 7, 2010 • Esther Newman
My grandfather, Yoshitaro Amano, was one of the more than two thousand Japanese Latin Americans seized abroad, shipped to the United States, and interned without charge during World War II. For a graduate research project on this topic, I read Seiichi Higashide’s memoir, Adios to Tears and watched Casey Peak’s documentary, Hidden Internment: The Art Shibayama Story, but there had to be more sources. After at least a semester-long search for additional first-person accounts, my mother casually announced that her …
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