A Community Divided 2d

Japanese American National Museum, Gift of Charles and Lois Ferguson (93.3.1)

This object is part of the story , which is about Citizenship.

A Community Divided, Citizenship, Tule Lake

  • What would you say is the tone of this speech?
  • What are the main messages conveyed?
  • What can you conclude about Mr. Kurihara based on his words?
  • To whom do you think this speech is being directed?

This is an excerpt from a speech written by Joe Kurihara while he was an inmate at Manzanar concentration camp. Mr. Kurihara was born in Hawai‘i and served in the United States Army during World War I. During his incarceration, Mr. Kurihara was an outspoken dissident leader against the US government’s unjust imprisonment of Japanese Americans.

Due to his actions as an agitator, Mr. Kurihara was transferred from Manzanar to Tule Lake, the segregated center for Japanese Americans who were alleged to be disloyal.

Mr. Kurihara’s anger eventually led him to renounce his US citizenship and go to Japan, where he lived out the remainder of his life.