1943 Internment Camp Letter From Reverend Hiram Hisanori Kano in Camp Livingston to Bishop John Jackson

The internment of the Japanese living in the US after the start of US involvement in World War 2 has been, for the most part, universally judged as wrong-headed and a byproduct of racism and war hysteria.

Reverend Hiram Kano was an Episcopal minister in Nebraska at the time of his internment. He was moved through at least four different camps before he was finally settled at Camp Livingston in Louisiana and has been rightfully referenced as Camp Livingston's most celebrated prisoner.

This letter, written in English, is to Bishop John L. Jackson in New Orleans and references a bit of Kano's camp life, his gratitude for donations of church supplies, and more. It is a testament to the character of the man who, when told of reparations for his imprisonment, made clear that he wasn't interested and that the time spent in the camps were just another way for him to do God's work.