Imprisoned Apart: The World War II Correspondence of an Issei Couple

Louis Fiset, 1997

The book is about Iwao and Hanaye Matsushita Issei, meaning that, at the time, they were not allowed to become U.S. citizens. Iwao was interned in a INS camp as an "enemy alien" at Fort Missoula. His wife was in Seattle, then was shipped to the Puyallup, Washington assembly center, then to the Minidoka, Idaho internment camp.

They had been married in 1919 and were never parted until the government interned them in two different camps 23 years into their marriage.

The author starts off recounting the younger lives of the two and their journey to the U.S. He also writes about the anti-Japanese hostility that was present even then in Seattle then goes on to cover the events immediately after Pearl Harbor and the arrests of Japanese Americans by the FBI.

Next is a discussion of the Fort Missoula center where Iwao ended up. The application of the Geneva Convention terms to the camps is discussed and problems and violations of that agreement that occurred at Fort Missoula. The author also goes into the kinds of activities the internees had, especially in relation to the crafts, and the population changes at the center as various prisoners were released into the community.

The book the moves into the evacuation of Japanese Americans from Seattle to Puylallup assembly center. Fortunately Iwao was finally able to join his wife at Minidoka. The book then goes into their lives after the end of the internment.

The next part of the book consists of their correspondence while they were separated. It gives the reader a good insight into exactly what was happening in their lives within the camps. Quite interesting, especially with the historical material added that puts everything into context.

---

Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page