山形からの一北米移民 : データ、娘と次男の回想及び自筆所感
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I have a copy of Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s journal or memorandum, which my acquaintance entrusted me with more than a decade ago. The journal was written during his detention and internment experiences in World War II. As the year of 2003 drew to a close, I took the plunge and started to trace the whole life of the author. At that time, I had no idea of who Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka was and couldn’t even write his name in kanji. Thanks to the help of several kind people and through my own investigation, in a brief period of a couple of months I managed to make contact with Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s three children who were born in the USA. Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka, a cultivated Issei and the author of the lengthy but interesting journal, was born as the second son of a rich sake brewing family in the year of 1885 in Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture. He graduated from a distinguished school, TsuruokaChugaku (currently Tsuruoka-Minami High School), as an honor student. In 1905 he joined a small number of immigrants from Yamagata to the USA. He came back to Japan to wed Miss Tokuko Shima and brought her to the USA in 1920. All their children are native American citizens and they splendidly succeeded in their walks of life, respectively. Dr. John Tanaka (b.1924), the eldest son, is a very renowned researcher of Chemistry and is a professor at the University of Connecticut. He is a 1991 inductee in the EIC Hall of Fame. Mrs. Iris Fukutaki (b.1925) is a highly charming, intellectual lady, who realized the value of Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s journals and has kept them. Mr. Tyler Tanaka (b.1928), the youngest son, is a very successful businessman and is a 1997 inductee in the Travel Hall of Fame. I believe that they owe their great success to Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s emphasis on “education” to a certain extent. In this article, from Mrs. Iris Fukutaki’s “Memoirs” as well as Mr. Tyler Tanaka’s letter to me, many other documents, a considerable amount of data, and the copies of letters and parts of the journal written by Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka, I could draw Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka in profile. Frequently exchanging e-mails across the Pacific Ocean proved very useful in improving this article. Fortunately, I could meet and enjoy talking over Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s life with Mr. Tyler Tanaka, accompanied by his two brilliant children, Dr. Dian Tanaka and Mr. Brian Tanaka, in April, and Mrs. Iris Fukutaki in October in 2004. Now the subjects of the e-mails between Mr. Tyler Tanaka and I are not confined only to the questioning over Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka but cover a wide range of topics. Although Mr. Tyler Tanaka and I do not belong to the same generation, I would feel very proud and honored if he allows me to consider him as an admirable friend. I’d like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Masako Hanada, Miss Ryoko Matsuno, Miss Mitsuho Murata, Mrs. Tomi Gotoh, Mr. Akira Horiuchi and Mr. Kenji Tanaka (Japan), Mr. Hiroshi Kamei, Mrs. Teruko Sato, Mrs. Toshiko McCallum, and especially to Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s children ... Dr. John Tanaka, Mrs. Iris Fukutaki and Mr. Tyler Tanaka (U.S.). The readers of this article are recommended to read another article included in the same issue of this bulletin that introduces three excerpts of Mr. Keinosuke Tanaka’s journal.