Group Media & Photos
Organizers of 1st Labor Strike on Oahu, ca. 1909. 1st Row (L-R): Matsutaro Yamashiro (1st), Yasutaro Soga (2nd), Kinzaburo Makino (3rd), Motoyuki Negoro (4th), Yokichi Tasaka (5th). 2nd Row: Yasuyuki Imai (1st), Tsurumatsu Okumura (2nd), Katsuichi Kawamoto (3rd), Hidekichi Takemura (4th), Keitaro Kawamura (5th), Shuichi Ihara (6th). JCCH/ Takuzo Kawamoto Collection.
Maui Nikkei Community Members. ca. 1925. Front Row (L-R): Gunsuke Yasui (1st), Katsuichi Kawamoto (2nd), Dr. Seiichi Ohata (3rd), Dr. Koshiro Tofukuji (4th), Hisahi Ito (5th or 6th). Back Row: Nagao Otsuka (2nd), Miyamoto (3rd), Dr. Yukihide Kohatsu (4th), Jiro Fujiyoshi (5th), Tomoeda (6th), Yasujiro Matsuda, Dr. Kohatsu's driver (7th), Matsuzo Kozaki (8th). JCCH/ Takuzo Kawamoto Collection.
Undated. Front Row (L-R): Yokichi Tasaka (1st). Back Row: Ishichi Matsuda (1st), Miyakichi Ota (7th), Kazuyuki Kawano (9th), Katsuichi Kawamoto (10th). JCCH/ Takuzo Kawamoto Collection.
Welcome Reception for Tatsuichi Nakamura of the Toyo Paint Manufacturing Company at Mochizuki Teahouse, Honolulu, 1939. Row 1 (L-R): Shoichi Asami (1st). Row 2: Daizo Sumida (1st), Seiichi Tsuchiya (4th). Row 3: Katsuichi Kawamoto (3rd), Katsuichi Wakimoto (4th). JCCH/Seiichi Tsuchiya and Fred Kinzaburo Makino Collection.
Santa Fe Internment Camp, July 1943. Bottom Row (L-R):Ninryo Nago (5th), Rev. Kodo Fujitani (8th). 2nd Row: Matsujiro Otani (1st), Tsuruichi Sarae (3rd), Katsuichi Kawamoto (6th), Ryuten Kashiwa (10th). 3rd Row: Ryuichi Ipponsugi (1st), Yasutaro Soga (3rd). 4th Row: Kazuyuki Kawano (3rd), Rev. Tenran Mori (5th). Top Row: Hirouemon Yamamoto (2nd). JCCH/Takuzo Kawamoto Collection.
Santa Fe Internment Camp. Bottom Row: Matsujiro Otani (4th from R). Row 1: Rev. Kakichi Okamoto, Waimea, Kauai (1st from L, standing); Rev. Doro Kanda (1st from R); Mankichi Miura, Kapaa, Kauai (2nd from R). Row 3 (L-R): Yuichi Nakaichi (14th); Nekketsu Takei (17th); Tsuruzo Hasegawa, Kekaha, Kauai (19th from L/6th from R); Katsuichi Kawamoto (20th from L/5th from R). Top row (L-R): Sunao Fujii (4th); Masaichi Kobayashi (8th); Zenkichi Morita, Eleele, Kauai (11th). JCCH/Sunao Fujii Archival Collection.
Santa Fe Internment Camp. Bottom Row (L-R): Katsuichi Kawamoto (1st), Ryuichi Moribe (2nd), Uyemon Inokuchi (3rd), Koichi Iida (4th), Shuntaro Ikezawa (5th), Hatsuichi Toishigawa (6th), Yasutaro Soga (7th), Daizo Sumida (8th), Ryoichi Tanaka (9th), Mannosuke Komu (10th). 2nd Row: Heiji Yamagata (1st), Gihei Tanada (2nd), Totaro Matsui (3rd), Kumaji Furuya (4th), Osuke Shigemoto (5th), Rev. Ninryo Nago (6th), Tokuji Onodera (7th), Minoru Murakami (8th), Kanji Tanaka (9th), Shigeo Shigenaga (10th), Shujiro Takakuwa (11th), Yukihide Kohatsu (12th), Mankichi Goto (13th). 3rd Row: Tetsuji Kurokawa (1st), Eita Sato (2nd), Hirouemon Yamamoto (3rd), Hyotaro Nakami (4th), Sadato Morifuji (5th), Ryuichi Murata (6th), Kakujiro Nishiki (7th), Sawajiro Ozaki (8th), Soichi Obata (9th), Masaichi Kobayashi (10th), Kango Hamada (11th), Takasuke Isomura (12th), Katsukichi Wakimoto (13th). Top Row: Yojiro Osaki (1st), Hego Fuchino (2nd), Teiichiro Maehara (3rd), Kinzo Sayegusa (4th), Yuichi Nakaichi (5th), Yoshihisa Tamura (6th), Tsuneichi Yamamoto (7th), Muneo Kimura (8th), Hideo Tanaka (9th), Toraichi Kurakake (10th), Tamasaku Watanabe (11th), Mankichi Miura (12th), Riuichi Ipponsugi (13th). JCCH/Riuichi Ipponsugi Archival Collection.
Santa Fe Internment Camp. Bottom row (L-R): Ryuichi Moribe (5th), Nekketsu Takei (6th), Matsujiro Otani (7th), Yasutaro Soga (8th). Top row (L-R): Mannosuke Komu (1st), Katsuichi Kawamoto (2nd), Masaichi Kobayashi (5th), Sadato Morifuji (6th), Rev. Kogan Yoshizumi (7th). JCCH/Joan Oya Collection.
Kabuki at Santa Fe Internment Camp. Row 2 (L-R): Sawajiro Ozaki (4th). Row 3: Tsuneichi Yamamoto (1st), Masayuki Chikuma (2nd), Shigeki Mizumoto (3rd), Genpachi Tsushima (4th), Shoho Fujiie (5th), Shigeru Yano (6th), Katsuichi Kawamoto (7th). Back row: Zenkichi Morita (1st), Kiyoshi James Yonemura (5th). JCCH/Matsumoto-Tsushima Family Collection.
Oshibai, Santa Fe Internment Camp, ca. 1944-1945. Row 1 (L-R): Tsuneichi Yamamoto (7th), Masayuki Chikuma (8th/1st fr R). Row 2: Katsuichi Kawamoto (1st), Yuichi Nakaichi (2nd), Genpachi Tsushima (5th). Row 3: Hamada (3rd frm R), Zenkichi Morita (2nd fr R), Soichi Obata (1st fr R). JCCH/Joan Oya Collection.
Cast and crew of “Hiroshima miyage to Tamazo” (Hiroshima souvenir and Tamazo), Santa Fe Internment Camp, performed in March 1945. The script for this drama was likely written by an internee. 2nd row from bottom (L-R): Shigeru Yano (10th). 3rd row (L-R): Shigeki Mizumoto (2nd), Tsuneichi Yamamoto (3rd), Masayuki Chikuma (4th), Genpachi Tsushima (7th), Katsuichi Kawamoto (8th). JCCH/Patsy Saiki Archival Collection.
Hawaii Internees in front of Liaison Office. Santa Fe Internment Camp, January 1945. Front Row (L-R): Kumaji Furuya, Shujiro Takakuwa, Mankichi Goto, Chosuke Kayahara, Suekichi Oka, Nisshu Kobayashi, Shuji Mikami, Sadasuke Hamamoto, Konin Matano, Isaku Orita, Makitaro Tamura, Minosuke Hanabusa, Giichi Sasaki, Ryosen Yonahara, Tomiji Kimura, Ninryo Nago, Shin Yoshida. 2nd Row: Katsuichi Tanaka, Yasuemon Miki, Ryoichi Tanaka, Hatsutaro Toyofuku, Toshio Iinuma, Masaichi Hirashima, Tamaichi Tanaka, Uemon Ida, Kinai Ikuma, Hanzo Shimoda, Yoshizo Ishikawa, Taira Ida, Katsuichi Kawamoto, Daizo Sumida, Aisuke Shigekuni, Sadato Morifuji. 3rd Row: Takegoro Kusao, Setsuzo Toyota, Jinshichi Tokairin, Hidekichi Nakamoto, Gendo Okawa, Joei Oi, Yasutaro Soga, Zensuke Kurosawa, Tsunetaro Harada, Tamaki Arita, Hego Fuchino, Kogan Yoshizumi, Osuke Shigemoto, Hakuai Oda, Shinri Sarashina, Yoshinobu Sasaki, Unknown, Seiichi Fujii, Tokikichi Sugimoto, Shuntaro Ikezawa, Goki Tatsuguchi, Suekuma Takaki. Back Row: Unknown, Suijo Kabashima, Koichi Iida, Sawajiro Ozaki, Shoho Fujiie, Unknown, Shigeki Mizumoto, Soichi Obata, Muneo Kimura, Yukihide Kohatsu, Tomoichi Hayashi, Kakujiro Nishiki, Takeo Miyagi, Josen Deme, Gikyo Kuchiba, Eita Sato, Ryuichi Kashima, Hideyuki Serizawa, Kinzo Sayegusa. JCCH/Rev. Hakuai Oda Collection.
Two GIs visiting Santa Fe Internment Camp, January 1945. First Row (L-R): Osuke Shigemoto (2nd), Shigemoto's son (3rd), Totaro Matsui (5th). Second Row (L-R): Daizo Sumida (1st), Kumaji Furuya (2nd), Ryuichi Moribe (3rd), Kogan Yoshizumi (4th), Katsuichi Kawamoto (5th), Sawajiro Ozaki (6th), Koichi Iida (7th). Back Row (L-R): Yasutaro Soga (1st), Masayuki Chikuma (3rd), Riuichi Ipponsugi (4th), Kinzo Sayegusa (5th). JCCH/Riuichi Ipponsugi Archival Collection.
Internment Locations
Arrested: December 1941
Sand Island Internment Camp, Honolulu, Oahu Island
This internee was in the first group of 172 men (mostly Issei) who were sent aboard the military transport ship U.S. Grant for internment in U.S. Army and Justice Department camps on the Mainland. The internees were sent together from camp to camp, with some paroled to War Relocation Authority camps to reunite with family or transferred for repatriation to Japan.
Angel Island Detention Facility, California
March 1942
Camp McCoy Internment Camp, Wisconsin
March 1942 - May 1942
Camp Forrest Internment Camp, Tennessee
May 1942 - June 1942
Camp Livingston Internment Camp, Louisiana
June 1942 - June 1943
Santa Fe Internment Camp, New Mexico
June 1943 - December 1945
Returned to Hawaii: December 1945
Arrived in Honolulu with about 775 other internees aboard the military troopship the Shawnee.
To read a transcript of an oral history interview with Katsuichi Kawamoto's son Toshio Kawamoto, click the link above.