Togo Tanaka
Encyclopedia
Togo W. Tanaka was an American
newspaper journalist and editor who reported on the difficult conditions in the Manzanar
internment camp, where he was one of 110,000 Japanese American
s who had been relocated after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
on December 7, 1941.
to Japanese Issei
parents. He grew up in Los Angeles
, where his parents operated a vegetable market, and graduated there from Hollywood High School
at age 16. he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles
, where he wrote for the Daily Bruin
, graduating in 1936 with a bachelor's degree in political science
.
He was hired by the Japanese-American newspaper Rafu Shimpo
while he was still in college, where he edited the paper's English language
content, writing editorials encouraging Nisei
, those born in the United States to Japanese immigrant parents, to be loyal Americans. During a pre-War trip to Washington, D.C.
arranged by the newspaper's publisher, Tanaka tried to ensure that the paper would be able to continue publishing in the event that hostilities broke out with Japan, and was interrogated by officials from the Department of War
who challenged his allegiance to his home country.
s on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. No explanation was offered for his arrest, and he was held incommunicado
for 11 days, forbidden even to contact his pregnant wife, and was released without being charged. In a newspaper interview conducted the day after the Pearl Harbor attacks, Tanaka described how the local Japanese community had "not been in sympathy with Japan's expansion program" and had worked with the FBI and Office of Naval Intelligence
for the preceding several years. He stated that "We think the Japanese Government is stupid and has embarked on a campaign it has absolutely no chance of winning."
Together with his family, Tanaka was sent to the Manzanar
detention camp on April 23, 1942, under the terms of Japanese American internment
that took place under Executive Order 9066
signed by President of the United States
Franklin D. Roosevelt
. He was the editor of the last issue of Rafu Shimpo published before the forced relocation took place. Tanaka characterized the facility as an "outdoor jail", in which he was one of what would eventually be 10,000 Japanese Americans, mostly from the Los Angeles area. These Japanese Americans were people of Japanese descent, most of whom were U.S. citizens from Los Angeles County. Located in California's arid Owens Valley
in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, those moved there lived in crude barracks that did little to protect them from dust storms. Tanaka reported that "I cannot see how it is possible for any human being of normal impulses to be cooped up within limited confines of barbed wires, watchtowers, and all the atmosphere of internment and not be touched by the bitterness and disillusionment all around him."
Using his background in journalism, Tanaka documented the conditions and experiences in the camp for the War Relocation Authority
and sent reports to be included in a study of the internment policy performed at the University of California, Berkeley
. His details reports on the factional divisions within the camp and his advocacy for cooperation with authorities, put him into what his son later described as "a no man's land" in which he had lost his rights as an American and was not trusted by other Japanese internees in the camp.
In rioting that took place on the 1942 anniversary of Pearl Harbor, two protesters were killed. Tanaka was targeted by the protesters, who were critical of his support for cooperation with the military authorities that operated the camp and was able to avoid attack by donning a disguise. He was moved with his family after the incident, along with others labeled as collaborators, to another internment facility in Death Valley
. He was released in 1943 and moved to Chicago
, where he worked with a Quaker
group that assisted other former Japanese internees and refugees from Nazi Germany to find employment and housing.
s. He started a real estate venture in 1963, and retired from the company in 1985 as chairman.
In a 2005 visit to the exhibit at Manzanar, he saw his own desk and typewriter on permanent display. A park ranger
who had prepared the display described the visit by Tanaka as being "like history walking in the front door."
in Los Angeles
. He was survived by his wife, to whom he had been married for 68 years, as well as three children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
TOGO TANAKA Copied from Togo's biosketch 4/27/88 15:35 fax
Chairman, Gramercy Enterprises, 1980--,President 1963-1980,
Director, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco 1983-1989 (end of second term)
Director, Federal Reserve Bank, Los Angeles Branch 1979-1983,
President, Rossmore Management Company,
President, T.W. Tanaka Co., Inc.,
Director, L.A. Wholesale Produce Market Development Corporation,
Advisory Council Member, California State World Trade Commission,
Member Los Angeles Rotary Club 1972—President 1983-84,
Member Stock Exchange Club of Los Angeles,
Mason, 32nd Degree, Beverly Hills Lodge No. 528,
Al Malaikah Shrine, Member,
Member Board of Directors: American Red Cross, LA Chapter: American Heart Association, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Goodwill Industries of Southern California, Greater Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau,
Director, Methodist Hospital of Southern California
Formerly: Commissioner, Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, 1975–76; Director, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, 1973–75; Citizens Management Review Committee of Los Angeles Unified School District 1974-75
Born Portland, Oregon January 7, 1916 Hollywood High School '32 California Scholarship Federation, Ephebian
Ucla '36 Phi Gamma Mu, Phi Sigma Alpha, Phi Beta Kappa
University of Chicago Graduate Studies '43; Who’s Who in Midwest '50-'55, Who’s Who in West '55--, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry ‘75—Editorial Depart., Head, American Tech (Chicago)'50-'52
President, Chicago Publishing Corp '50-'55
Editor-in-Chief, Scene Magazine (Chicago) '49-'55
President, School Industrial Press '55-'68
Married to Jean Wada 11/14/40, 3 Children, 5 grandchildren, resides in Los Angeles
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper journalist and editor who reported on the difficult conditions in the Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
internment camp, where he was one of 110,000 Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
s who had been relocated after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on December 7, 1941.
Early life and education
Tanaka was born on January 7, 1916, in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
to Japanese Issei
Issei
Issei is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify the Japanese people first to immigrate. Their children born in the new country are referred to as Nisei , and their grandchildren are Sansei...
parents. He grew up in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where his parents operated a vegetable market, and graduated there from Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School
Hollywood High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.-History:...
at age 16. he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, where he wrote for the Daily Bruin
Daily Bruin
The Daily Bruin is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles.-Frequency and governance:When classes are in session, the Bruin is published Monday through Friday during the school year and once a week on Mondays in the summer quarter.It is overseen by the ASUCLA...
, graduating in 1936 with a bachelor's degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
.
He was hired by the Japanese-American newspaper Rafu Shimpo
Rafu Shimpo
is a Japanese-English language newspaper based in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, USA.The paper began in 1903 as a one-page, mimeographed Japanese-language newspaper produced by Rippo Iijima, Masaharu Yamaguchi, and Seijiro Shibuya. H. T. Komai became publisher in 1922, beginning a family...
while he was still in college, where he edited the paper's English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
content, writing editorials encouraging Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
, those born in the United States to Japanese immigrant parents, to be loyal Americans. During a pre-War trip to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
arranged by the newspaper's publisher, Tanaka tried to ensure that the paper would be able to continue publishing in the event that hostilities broke out with Japan, and was interrogated by officials from the Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
who challenged his allegiance to his home country.
Arrest and internment
Tanaka was one of the few American-born individuals arrested as enemy alienEnemy alien
In law, an enemy alien is a citizen of a country which is in a state of conflict with the land in which he or she is located. Usually, but not always, the countries are in a state of declared war.-United Kingdom:...
s on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. No explanation was offered for his arrest, and he was held incommunicado
Incommunicado
Incommunicado, as an adjective or adverb, refers to a situation or a behaviour due to which communication with outsiders is not possible, for either voluntary or involuntary reasons, especially due to confinement or reclusiveness....
for 11 days, forbidden even to contact his pregnant wife, and was released without being charged. In a newspaper interview conducted the day after the Pearl Harbor attacks, Tanaka described how the local Japanese community had "not been in sympathy with Japan's expansion program" and had worked with the FBI and Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
for the preceding several years. He stated that "We think the Japanese Government is stupid and has embarked on a campaign it has absolutely no chance of winning."
Together with his family, Tanaka was sent to the Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
detention camp on April 23, 1942, under the terms of Japanese American internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
that took place under Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066
United States Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 authorizing the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones...
signed by President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. He was the editor of the last issue of Rafu Shimpo published before the forced relocation took place. Tanaka characterized the facility as an "outdoor jail", in which he was one of what would eventually be 10,000 Japanese Americans, mostly from the Los Angeles area. These Japanese Americans were people of Japanese descent, most of whom were U.S. citizens from Los Angeles County. Located in California's arid Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, those moved there lived in crude barracks that did little to protect them from dust storms. Tanaka reported that "I cannot see how it is possible for any human being of normal impulses to be cooped up within limited confines of barbed wires, watchtowers, and all the atmosphere of internment and not be touched by the bitterness and disillusionment all around him."
Using his background in journalism, Tanaka documented the conditions and experiences in the camp for the War Relocation Authority
War Relocation Authority
The War Relocation Authority was a United States government agency established to handle internment of Japanese-, German-, and Italian-Americans during World War II...
and sent reports to be included in a study of the internment policy performed at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. His details reports on the factional divisions within the camp and his advocacy for cooperation with authorities, put him into what his son later described as "a no man's land" in which he had lost his rights as an American and was not trusted by other Japanese internees in the camp.
In rioting that took place on the 1942 anniversary of Pearl Harbor, two protesters were killed. Tanaka was targeted by the protesters, who were critical of his support for cooperation with the military authorities that operated the camp and was able to avoid attack by donning a disguise. He was moved with his family after the incident, along with others labeled as collaborators, to another internment facility in Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
. He was released in 1943 and moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he worked with a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
group that assisted other former Japanese internees and refugees from Nazi Germany to find employment and housing.
Post-war experiences
Tanaka left journalism after the war, and worked at a textbook publisher in Chicago. He moved back to California in 1955 and went into the business of creating trade journalTrade journal
A trade magazine, also called a professional magazine, is a magazine published with the intention of target marketing to a specific industry or type of trade. The collective term for this area of publishing is the trade press....
s. He started a real estate venture in 1963, and retired from the company in 1985 as chairman.
In a 2005 visit to the exhibit at Manzanar, he saw his own desk and typewriter on permanent display. A park ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
who had prepared the display described the visit by Tanaka as being "like history walking in the front door."
Personal
Tanaka died at age 93 on May 21, 2009, at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical CenterRonald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He was survived by his wife, to whom he had been married for 68 years, as well as three children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
TOGO TANAKA Copied from Togo's biosketch 4/27/88 15:35 fax
Chairman, Gramercy Enterprises, 1980--,President 1963-1980,
Director, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco 1983-1989 (end of second term)
Director, Federal Reserve Bank, Los Angeles Branch 1979-1983,
President, Rossmore Management Company,
President, T.W. Tanaka Co., Inc.,
Director, L.A. Wholesale Produce Market Development Corporation,
Advisory Council Member, California State World Trade Commission,
Member Los Angeles Rotary Club 1972—President 1983-84,
Member Stock Exchange Club of Los Angeles,
Mason, 32nd Degree, Beverly Hills Lodge No. 528,
Al Malaikah Shrine, Member,
Member Board of Directors: American Red Cross, LA Chapter: American Heart Association, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Goodwill Industries of Southern California, Greater Los Angeles Visitors and Convention Bureau,
Director, Methodist Hospital of Southern California
Formerly: Commissioner, Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, 1975–76; Director, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, 1973–75; Citizens Management Review Committee of Los Angeles Unified School District 1974-75
Born Portland, Oregon January 7, 1916 Hollywood High School '32 California Scholarship Federation, Ephebian
Ucla '36 Phi Gamma Mu, Phi Sigma Alpha, Phi Beta Kappa
University of Chicago Graduate Studies '43; Who’s Who in Midwest '50-'55, Who’s Who in West '55--, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry ‘75—Editorial Depart., Head, American Tech (Chicago)'50-'52
President, Chicago Publishing Corp '50-'55
Editor-in-Chief, Scene Magazine (Chicago) '49-'55
President, School Industrial Press '55-'68
Married to Jean Wada 11/14/40, 3 Children, 5 grandchildren, resides in Los Angeles