Cane Fires: The Anti-Japanese Movement in Hawaii, 1865-1945

10. Bivouac Song

Chapter 10 Bivouac Song Steaming with blood and salt, the lOoth Battalion; Bursting with pride, the lOoth Battalion; Spirits soaring, the looth Battalion; We never give up, the lOoth Battalion. - Yukio Takaki Controlling the Japanese The Office of Military Governor ruled from Iolani Palace, the last seat of an independent Hawaiian monarchy, where former Judge Advocate Green acted as executive officer for Short, the military governor. Martial law enabled strict "control of the civilian population" through sweeping general orders emanating from the palace that were interpreted by military tribunals and imposed by the military police and civil enforcement agencies. Civilian control was punitive in that every general order carried criminal sanctions, and the structure of the military government resembled an army of occupation.! Because its purpose was to contain a specific segment of Hawaii's people, civilian control discriminated against the Japanese. General civilian controls applied to the entire population: restrictions on labor and wages; controls on rents, prices, food, and liquor; the rationing of gasoline and other commodities ; the temporary closing of schools; and the collection of firearms and ammunition. Everyone over six years 225 226 World War II, 1941-1945 of age on Oahu was required to register with the Division of Registration, and the entire population lived under blackouts that varied according to the times of sunset, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., and curfews that began anywhere from 6:00 to 10:00 P.M. and extended to 5:30 or 6:00 A.M. All civilians were excluded from restricted areas; interisland and trans-Pacific travel were regulated by priority ratings; and the mail, newspapers, magazines , and radio stations fell under military censorship.2 In addition, there were controls specific to enemy aliens and citizens of enemy ancestry. The Japanese were the primary target of these extraordinary restrictions because they constituted the largest group embraced by the controls. Only the thinnest line separated Japanese enemy aliens (issei) from citizens (nisei) in the eyes of the military because of the influence of the issei and the kibei, who had been educated in Japan.3 The military justified discriminatory regulations, despite their promise of equal treatment under martial law, as necessary "for their [the Japanese] own protection and for the safety of the United States."4 The military established the Alien Registration Bureau to administer many of the provisions of enemy alien controls. Besides having to register with the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization , enemy aliens were required to carry their alien registration card at all times. They not only had to report changes in residence or occupation but had first to obtain approval for them from the Alien Registration Bureau. Special curfew provisions were applied to enemy aliens, and certain areas and occupations-the West Loch area of Pearl Harbor, Honolulu harbor and waterfront, and work on defense projects-were restricted to the Japanese. Alien Japanese had to obtain permission to travel beyond their home island from the Alien Registration Bureau, which notified G-2 for clearance and requested travel space on the usual waiting list maintained by the Travel Control Bureau. Only then could they purchase tickets, under the watchful eye of a bureau steward who also escorted travelers to the place of departure. Permission to travel by air was granted only in extreme emergencies. Enemy aliens were specifically forbidden to write or publish any "attack or threats" against the government or against anyone in the military. The provision was broadened by General Order NO.5: "No Japanese shall commit, aid, or abet any hostile act against the United States, or give information , aid, or comfort to its enemies." Although freedom of assembly was permitted, people were encouraged to report to the provost marshal Bivouac Song any meeting attended by enemy aliens, and in the case of Buddhist meetings , to report to the army's G-2. Finally, Japanese who received permits to work in restricted areas such as at Pearl Harbor and on the Honolulu waterfront were given special badges to wear, with black borders, that clearly marked them as Japanese.5 The special treatment of the Japanese, both alien and citizen, was manifested in other ways. In the military's consideration of the possibility of another Japanese attack, Hawaii's Japanese figured prominently in the army's defense and evacuation plans. The Office of Civilian Defense directed that in rural Oahu during a general evacuation, all Japanese women and...