The North American Post
Takami Page 2
[Editor’s Note]: All names are rendered in the English First, Middle, Last name order.
The Elderly Immigrant’s Suicide Report
In 1932, when Takami Hibiya joined The North American Times (Hokubei Jiji) as a reporter, the newspaper was printing about 6,000 copies, and its competitor, The Great Northern Daily News (Taihoku Nippō), was printing about 3,000. It was said 9,000 Japanese immigrants and their descendants were living in Seattle and the surrounding area. It was the city with the third largest Japanese community after Los Angeles and San Francisco. Seattle’s Japantown that had flourished with the Meiji and Taishō periods was just past its peak but still demonstrating its vitality.
After Mr. Hibiya quit the Furuya Company, he went out to a neighboring lettuce farm to scratch out a living. Mr. Hibiya, who spent his youth in Tokyo and the castle town of Odawara, probably never expected to return to America and cut lettuce on a farm, covered in dirt to survive. Unable to work long-term on the farm, he sought a steady job and finally joined The North American Times. In those days, Nisei were hard pressed to find a job opening, especially those who were unable to speak English well. Mr. Hibiya even mentioned, “Pronunciation brought me to tears. I couldn’t pronounce ‘lieutenant’ and Americans didn’t understand me.” He took charge of the Japanese-language version of The North American Times. Terumitsu Kanō (who would later become editor-in-chief of The North American Times) was his fellow reporter. Mr. Kanō was also a second-generation Kibei. He had returned to Seattle after graduating from Takasaki Junior High in Gunma, Japan.
At the time, the Japanese Special Higher Police regarded Kibei receiving an education in Japan as spies. Mr. Kanō grew tired of their patrolling on a regular basis, so he returned to America. Unable to get by without English, he entered local Garfield High School. He was so poor he didn’t even have a nickel to his name. At lunch he would gulp down water while glancing sidelong at his classmates eating their bread. He would lay down on the school lawn, staring up at the sky. “If I only had a nickel, I could buy some milk…” Mr. Kanō reminisced with a pained expression on his face.
The North American Times was owned by Sumikiyo Arima’s[1] sons, Sumiyoshi and his younger brother Sumio, who also served as editors-in-chief. Keitarō Kawajiri (aka Kyōu) was in charge of editorial. The aforementioned Mr. Kanō, along with Kitayama Hideo, who worked as secretary for The Japanese American Association of New York after WWII, were reporters. Bud Sarai was in charge of the English-language articles. When Mr. Hibiya joined The North American Times (March 17, 1931; Shōwa 6) he was writing articles like this:
At 9 o’clock this morning, a Japanese man who had hanged himself with a wire in a boat house near Leschi Park’s Lakeside Avenue was discovered by a caucasian man named Brozou, who lived in the neighborhood. The boat house belongs to a Mr. Johnson. According to a letter found on the body, he seems to have been living in Portland up until a few years ago. The letter was sent to 417 Maynard Avenue on the 13th from St. Paul’s Northern Pacific Railway foreman, or loadmaster. According to the letter, his name is Sukenao Motoma. He had a dollar watch, a key, a paper on which was written, ‘Portland City North 19 Avenue 40, Okayama Prefecture Fukunaga Fukutarō,’ and the previous letter written in English. It seems he was currently unemployed. The Nisshō social department is looking for someone who knows him. He is about 60 years old and used to be a train cook for the railway. It has also been reported that he may recently have had a bit of a mental breakdown.
As a report of the elderly immigrant’s suicide, the data is roughly arranged. As for the Japanese language, it could be said to be an unpolished piece of amateurish writing.
♢
inhale skies of blue;
then exhale life’s purest notes
–Fujiko Omoto
[1] from Ōgaku, Kagoshima prefecture
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