We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration

Japanese American Graphic Novels

by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Matt Sasaki (Illustrator)

Three voices. Three acts of defiance. One mass injustice.

The story of camp as you’ve never seen it before. Japanese Americans complied when evicted from their homes in World War II -- but many refused to submit to imprisonment in American concentration camps without a fight.

In this groundbreaking graphic novel, meet:

-- JIM AKUTSU, the inspiration for John Okada’s No-No Boy, who refuses to be drafted from the camp at Minidoka when classified as a non-citizen, an enemy alien;

-- HIROSHI KASHIWAGI, who resists government pressure to sign a loyalty oath at Tule Lake, but yields to family pressure to renounce his U.S. citizenship; and

-- MITSUYE ENDO, a reluctant recruit to a lawsuit contesting her imprisonment, who refuses a chance to leave the camp at Topaz so that her case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Based upon painstaking research, We Hereby Refuse presents an original vision of America’s past with disturbing links to the American present.

Genres: History, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Historical, Comics, World War II, Graphic Novels Comics

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2021

About the author

FRANK ABE is lead author of a graphic novel, WE HEREBY REFUSE: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration (Chin Music Press, 2021), named a Finalist in Creative Nonfiction for the Washington State Book Award. He won an American Book Award as co-editor of JOHN OKADA: The Life & Rediscovered Work of the Author of No-No Boy (University of Washington Press, 2018), in which he authored the first-ever biography of Okada and traced the origins of his novel. He is co-editor of a new anthology, The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration, from Penguin Classics.

Abe wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning PBS documentary Conscience and the Constitution on the largest organized resistance in the camps, and with writer Frank Chin helped organize the first-ever “Day of Remembrance” in Seattle in 1978. He was an original member of Chin’s Asian American Theater Workshop in San Francisco and studied at the American Conservatory Theater.

Reviews

[Frank Abe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washington State Book Award, Finalist for Creative Nonfiction

Three voices. Three acts of defiance. One mass injustice.

As the nation comes to a reckoning with a spate of anti-Asian violence that is rooted in a history of systemic exclusion and racism, the Wing Luke Museum and Chin Music Press are publishing a graphic novel that sheds new light on a major part of that history – the WW2 exclusion and incarceration of Japanese Americans.

This is the story of camp as you’ve never seen it before. While Japanese Americans complied when evicted from their homes in 1942, many refused to submit to imprisonment in American concentration camps without a fight. Based upon painstaking research, We Hereby Refuse presents an original vision of America’s past with disturbing links to the American present.

In this groundbreaking graphic novel, we meet:

-- JIM AKUTSU, the inspiration for John Okada’s celebrated novel No-No Boy, who refuses to be drafted from the camp at Minidoka after the Selective Service classifes him not as a citizen but as an enemy alien;

-- HIROSHI KASHIWAGI, who resists government pressure to sign a loyalty oath at Tule Lake, but yields to family pressure to renounce his U.S. citizenship, putting himself at risk of deportation; and

-- MITSUYE ENDO, a reluctant recruit to a lawsuit contesting her imprisonment, who refuses a chance to leave the camp at Topaz so that her case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court. For the first time, we see Mitzi Endo as a person and not just a name on a legal brief.

Through these characters, we see the devastating impacts of mass incarceration based solely on race, reveal the depth and breadth of the long-suppressed story of camp resistance, and locate government actions in the continuum of systemic exclusion of Asian Americans.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stirring history of the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II that draws attention to the resistance movements in the camps. Many prisoners engaged in civil disobedience and protests against their unconstitutional mistreatment, and some were even radicalized toward becoming the enemies they were labeled to be by a distrusting and disloyal government. Others cooperated with the government to an uncomfortable degree. Many were just trying to keep their head down until they could get on the other side of these unthinkable circumstances.

I was particularly impressed with the quiet courage of Mitsuye Endo, whose court case led to the Supreme Court finally putting an end to this black mark on American history.

I could quibble about the art and the writing, but in the end I just found myself swept up by the events and the individuals involved. This is a terrific companion to George Takei's They Called Us Enemy.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate that these stories are being told, but found the interconnected stories a little difficult to follow. It also didn't help that there were different art styles, which made the book feel more jarring than cohesive.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up, I did not learn much about Japanese-American internment, nor was my ignorance remedied by a college history education. Though it took place in local areas—like the state fairgrounds and McNeil Island—it was a topic of WWII that, in my experience, was covered only in passing. Even today, some people shrug it off as a shameful but long-gone incident, or some unfortunate wartime strategy, like the atomic bombings. The idea perhaps is that since reparations occurred, we don’t need to dwell on it anymore. It is one thing to close the case, but without ongoing education on it, we will forget too soon the manipulation, surveillance, and persecution carried out by the US government under FDR, only about 82 years ago.

Read the full review on my blog: We Hereby Refuse

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I will be the friend we didn’t have when we needed one the most.”

“It happened to us. We refuse to let it happen again.”

[Garpu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both brutal and moving.

[Kristine Ohkubo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having authored a book about the Pacific War, I am rather knowledgeable about the Japanese American internment during World War II. During my research I poured through countless books, interviews, and films to reconstruct the story of how the United States turned against its own citizens due to baseless fears generated by war-time hysteria. I asked myself why wasn’t this important historical event included in our education? Why did our history books neglect to discuss how the Constitution, the instrument designed to protect every American man, woman, and child, was rendered practically useless in this case?

The answer is simple, history books are often written from the perspective of the victor and events which present the winners of wars in a negative light are usually left out. It is the job of authors committed to revealing the truth to bring these facts to the forefront of discussion. However, most of the authors who take on such monumental tasks produce scholarly works that do not appeal to the general public. This is not the case with “We Hereby Refuse,” a graphic novel co-authored by Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura.

Although it is a graphic novel, do not misunderstand and think that it is any less scholarly than the works previously published about the Pacific War or the Japanese American experience during World War II. “We Hereby Refuse,” is a well-researched and historically accurate work which presents a sobering look at the experiences of the first and second generation Japanese who were living in the United States following the attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japanese forces. The various events are related to the reader by three young Japanese Americans, Jim Akutsu, Hiroshi Kashiwagi, and Mitsue Endo, key figures in the resistance to wartime incarceration and the struggle to prove the unconstitutionality of the internment.

I found it to be a refreshing approach to retelling the story. The reader is made aware of key historical facts, peoples’ experiences, their inner thoughts and feelings through conversational exchanges between various individuals. Finally! A work that has the potential to appeal to the masses and serve as an important educational tool! As Edmund Burke once said, “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” I sincerely hope that this book will help educate the masses for this is one segment of history I do not wish to see repeated.

[Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Aneesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important antidote to the last book I read. Where Citizen 13660 was “objective” (full of observations but little point of view), this book told scarier stories of different camp experiences, factions, pressures, justified bitterness, resistance, and violence.

A bit hard to follow because of format, but this book explains the background of some of the events which most confused Okubo. For instance, the political forces at work ensuring that the Japanese community would go to the camps willingly, and the intentionality behind the confusing loyalty questionnaire which you will learn about in every book on this topic.

[Jessica (JT) Thelen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading. A fresh take on “familiar” scenes with a deft use of archival materials. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for every high schooler in America.

[Carl Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Americans know about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Many of us know the heroics of the 442nd regiment and their accomplishments, all while their parents were in "relocation camps" in isolated areas throughout the western states. Did anyone protest their imprisonment? Actually quite a few.

Japanese American writers Frank Abe and Tamiko Nimura bring this story to live in their graphic novel, "WE HEREBY REFUSE: Japanese American Resistance To Wartime Incarceration." The carefully researched book focuses on three people with very different stories to tell the larger story of their resistance. Do we know the full story of the "No-No Boys?" Do we know the story of mass trials that seemed more like a kangaroo courts than getting their day before a jury of their peers?

I had never read a graphic novel before but it turns out to be the perfect format for bringing the stories to light. The artists help de-mystify a very complex situation and one of the greatest denials of constitutional rights in American history. And it still very relevant today.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find that graphic novels are a great way to break into an historical topic, and this is no exception.

In this trade we follow three young Americans pulled from their homes on the West Coast and sent to concentration camps on US soil.
The lost their livelihoods, their property, and their businesses and were detained as enemy aliens, despite being full US citizens, born on US soil.
The bureaucratic nightmare in the camps causes some to be coerced into announcing loyalty to the Emperor (in a country many have never even visited) and some to even denounce citizenship and become stateless. There is brutality, hunger, punishment and roving gangs.

The story follows three characters based on real people from the time period: Jim who is repeatedly denied the draft, Hiroshi who is trying to keep his head above water, and Mitsuye who is martyred to take the case of her countrymen to the supreme court.

The story is a horrific nightmare. There may not be physical torture here but this is just as chilling as reading stories of the Nazi concentration camps, since the crimes are perpetuated on US soil. It also all happened so very recently.
As an immigrant in this country myself I am well aware of the pressures of always behaving like a model citizen, with the threat of renewals being denied around every corner. This truly reads like a nightmare.
I'm so grateful that Chin Music Press teamed up with the Wing Luke museum to put together this story and continue to raise awareness of such a recent atrocity on US soil. Especially, as the epilogue notes, that another race is continuously singled out even now.

In terms of the graphic elements of the story I think this is a 4/5. The paneling is well designed and the two art styles contrast well. One style has clean, simple lines which make parsing the legal scenes easier. The other communicates well the brutality and violence of the camps. My big issue is with the coloring of the piece, the palette in the simple style is full of autumnal pinks and browns and the dullness cheapens the feel of the piece.

Overall this is an excellent introduction to the horrific internment of US citizens during WW2. Highly recommended.

[Nic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the art in this graphic novel is truly HIDEOUS. I try not to be too harsh but in presenting such a painful history, Hiroshi’s story was illustrated in a way that felt disrespectful and jokey. I can’t believe this was presented as a serious book, it was truly upsetting.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, along with No-No Boy, made me feel some of the depth of the emotional, mental, family, community, indeed--all-encompassing-- trauma experienced by the people forced into the U.S. 1942-1945 race-based concentration camps.

[Krisanne Knudsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really moved by these stories of those who resisted Japanese American citizens' internment during WWII. It is heartbreaking to read how much these families lost--homes, communities, family members, mental and physical health--and unconscionable what our country was capable of doing to its own citizens while fighting the Nazi regime. A couple of good companion books for this: Displacement by Kiku Hughes and They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

[Tim O'neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, this was needed. I think by the time I learned about Japanese internment, we were past the “shameful but what else were we supposed to do?” part of the narrative and into the “shameful and unnecessary, but the Nazis were worse” interpretation. And reading books like They Called Us Enemy* cemented in my mind the strategy of “these people we locked up were, absurdly, some of the most patriötic Americans,” which is where I was until reading this volume. To complete this portrait, if earliër works established Japanese Americans’s decency in the face of prejudice†, WHR establishes their humanity, equal to those of non-Japanese Americans who reäcted to the conradixions of internment specifically and WWII in general in varied ways.

The book accomplishes this goal by showing three ways that Japanese Americans fought back against inhumane and, again, contradictory treatment. However, it dœs this by telling what, in real life, were three distinct stories, and the ways they fought back were all distinct. Part of the reason it was difficult to distinguish these stories is the fault of the circumstances: had these people not been taken from their distinct homes and placed in indistinct camps, for example, the setting would have helped tell their stories apart. And I’m not goïng to pretend there isn’t some internalized racism involved in my complaint that I didn’t know which character I was following at a given time: Anglo Americans like me can, unfortunately, scan right over non-Anglo names (even if one of the characters is named “Jim”), or look for hair color to tell people apart among people who share a hair color. But the book should shoulder some of the blame as well, especially for having two artists depict three stories, meaning the the two stories told by one artist were more difficult to differentiäte than the one told by one artist.

Everyöne should read this book: it’s quick and successfully accounts a, to me, untold side of a crucial event in American history. It would’ve just been a bonus had it also successfully distinguished three characters’ approaches to this event.

*I have a more favorable memory of TCUE than my ⭐⭐⭐ review would indicate, and this makes sense, synce in that review I said I found the internment section to be very effective, and I’d actually forgotten all about the to-me extraneöus information at the end.

†I don’t want to say TCUE ignored this, as I was already familiär with the Catch-22 of the loyalty statements from that book, but it wasn’t a major theme.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great information here, especially details I didn't know. I didn't love the art from the second artist, as it was confusing and hard to follow. That's the only thing keeping it from a 5 star rating, honestly.

[heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy non fiction graphic novels. This told different stories of Japanese internment in the US during WWII. It is an important part of American history that I didn't learn much about prior to college. I appreciated having different experiences shared and how it used different artists to help you separate the story lines.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s most interesting and frustrating about this is the focus on the amount of nefarious and bureaucratic bullshit involved.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read numerous books on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. This is one of the very few books that use a graphic novel-type format. It has a text size that is easy to read. The artwork quality is really up to whoever is looking at it. I like a lot of the artwork and some of the more what I would consider abstract forms I don't like.

What is really important, though, is that the book covers the events leading up to the internment, the beginnings of the internment (being taken to the assembly centers), then being moved to the actual semi-permanent camps and on to the end of the internment.

It also centers around a few particular characters and what they did and the effect of the interment upon them. It also covers the controversial questionnaire problem, violence in the camps, the troubles at Manzanar and the gradual release of some of the internees who were taking jobs somewhere else in the U.S. But not on the West Coast.

Then it also includes the various court activities that tried to overturn the internment rulings. It also has a very strong anti-JACL emphasis.

I think using the graphic novel format is good since it giving actual (drawn) faces to the people involved yet, at the same time, it is providing a lot of good information on the entire situation. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting an overview of just what happened to these people (2/3rd of who were actual American citizens).

[MARK FUNK · Rating 5 out of 5]

A "Maus" for that terrible time in our nation's history when citizens were taken from their homes, forced from their farms and businesses and placed in concentration camps. "We Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration," a graphic novel for young adults, is an important addition to the World War II canon. It focuses on a story that is not well known - the abuse of Japanese-American citizens' constitutional rights and their determined reaction to resist. It is part of the history of those unfortunate times that their response - from Supreme Court cases, to draft resistance and protests both non-violent and violent - has been overshadowed. The storied wartime contribution of Japanese-American volunteers and such units as the 442nd Regimental Combat Team continue to dominate the narrative. We Hereby Refuse helps to balance that narrative and add context to what was happening in the concentration camps. The graphics, too, are haunting, right down to an illustration late in the book of the Wah Mee Club, presaging a tragedy of a later time. I'll close with the book's last line: We refuse to let it happen again . . .

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Hereby Refuse is a really interesting look into Japanese American resistance against incarceration in WWII. It primarily focuses on the resistance of Jim Akutsu, who refused to be drafted into the war while being held in a concentration camp; Hiroshi Kashiwagi, who gave up his American citizenship when pressured by family and the actions of the US government, and went through a long battle to have it restored; and Mitsuye Endo, who remained in the camps longer than necessary for her personally so that her legal case could make it to the Supreme Court and effectively challenge the imprisonment of all Japanese Americans. It has a lot of interesting information about an area of history that often goes without much notice. It's definitely worth a read for anyone looking to have a better understanding of not just what happened but how people fought back.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a solid read. This book tells the stories of three different people who were interred in the concentration camps the US built to house Japanese & Japanese-American citizens during WWII. I would say it's a very concise telling of each story, as the book is not long. The perspectives of all three stories are very distinct, each story was chosen to illustrate different perspectives of the internment experience and different ways people resisted the racist violation of their civil rights at the hands of both their fellow countrymen and the State. It was very interesting to see the different ways people rationalized their treatment and the ways in which they resisted.

[em]

i read this for school, for my graphic novels class!
i enjoyed some parts more than others. i felt like i was missing a lot of key players, or i kept losing who the main characters were and who was connected to who or what meant what.
i liked the concept a lot, and i appreciated the varying illustrators that told different stories, but sometimes it just felt confusing.
regardless, this is a book that im excited to dive more into, and more than anything it's pushed me to do my own research about wartime incarceration instead of putting me off of the topic entirely.

[Chalida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working on a bibliography of YA and middle grade books covering Japanese American incarceration and this book brings together the stories of three resisters. Each time I read about the loyalty oath, I become more and more infuriated. Here is no exception. What I noticed this time was all the covering up Americans did at Tule Lake, the problematic compromises the JACL made and again the impossible situation Japanese Americans were put in. I was reminded how that loyalty oath tore families apart, tore communities apart and how American policy turned Japanese friends and neighbors against one another. To be as steadfast and true to your beliefs during this time was truly heroic.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel is an ingenious way to deliver sensitive American history. The authors and illustrators created a flawless way to tell three intermingled storylines surrounding the Japanese American resistance and America’s concentration camps. I didn’t realize a lot of the facts surrounding the why and how these camps came to be, and this novel elucidates these points well. Another entry into the “what we should teach our kids” file.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent recounting of the incarceration of Japanese Americans in the western United States during WWII and their fight to retain and regain their rights as American citizens. The book centers on the lives of three who were taken from their homes, removed from their jobs and everyday life, and unfairly treated as enemies by their own country. The writing and the illustrations are superb!

[Pamela Okano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic historical novel focuses on 3 real Nisei during World War II, two men and one woman, who resisted against the unconstitutional removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. It's a quick read and I learned some things about Tule Lake that I never knew before. It's a good introduction to the civil rights issues raised by the US Government's treatment of West Coast JAs.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I thought parts of it were disjointed, I did like following the three different voices to see how internment affected different parts of American-Japanese interred. I think "When Can We Go Back To America" gives a much fuller picture, but it is longer, so I appreciate this as an intro into some of the intricacies of the incarceration and internment of Japanese-American citizens.