Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II

Rudy Tokiwa, a 16-year-old Nisei, lived on a farm in Salinas Valley, California. His parents, Jisuke and Fusa, ran the farm with the help of his sister Fumi and his brother Duke, but were prohibited from owning the land. Primarily Asian Americans farmed the area. Rudy spent some time in Japan in the Kagoshima prefecture to connect with his language and culture. Life there was hard because of the effects of the American oil embargo and the strict social hierarchy and rules. Nevertheless, Rudy enjoyed being in his parents’ homeland because it made him “tougher, better able to cope with adversity” (70). He was keenly aware of the bellicose path on which the US and Japan were at that time. In an anticipation of federal raids, thousands of Japanese American families destroyed anything that could be linked to their home country, from clothing to photographs. Jisuke left his US Army uniform from World War I, but the FBI trampled it when they searched the family home.

In Spokane, when Fred Shiosaki’s home was searched, even his camera was confiscated. His father was not arrested, but the Shiosakis were now labeled “enemy aliens” (75).