Yamato Ichihashi

On August 22, 1942, three months after respected Stanford University professor Yamato Ichihashi was forced to leave his home and his livelihood for the Japanese assembly center at the Santa Anita racetrack outside of Los Angeles, Attorney General Francis Biddle issued a warrant for his arrest. As a result of past contacts with high-ranking Japanese diplomats, Ichihashi was deemed a dangerous enemy alien who posed a threat to the security of the United States. He was taken from his wife Kei and sent to Sharp Park, an internment camp run by the Immigration and Naturalization Service near San Francisco. In the following essay, adapted from Ichihashi's written account of his detention, he describes his interrogation by federal authorities and the conditions at Sharp Park.

Editor's Note: This essay is transcribed with original editor Gordon H. Chang's comments intact. Words...