I could not have written about Karuizawa, Japan, in an authentic way without the help and generosity of our family friend Jean Mayer. Jean lived in Japan with her parents, Dr. Paul S. Mayer and Frances Mayer, and gave me access to a wonderful memoir written by her mother. The book beautifully chronicled the missionary family’s years in Japan, including their life in Karuizawa, and their repatriation trip back to the United States during the war.
Tom Haar, my father’s schoolmate at St. Joseph College in Yokohama, was also kind enough to share details about his fascinating life. Tom spent his war years in Karuizawa with his parents, Irene and Francis (like Tom, a celebrated photographer), and their accounts of the food shortages that crippled the town were essential to my research. Just before the Nazis arrived, his Hungarian parents fled Paris and emigrated to Japan. Their brave and unique experience was a tremendous inspiration.
My research was aided immensely by the following books: The Train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell, Somehow, We’ll Survive by George Sidline, Undue Process by Arnold Krammer, Shanghai Refuge by Ernest G. Heppner, An Uncommon Journey by Deborah Strobin and Ilie Wacs, and Bridge to the Sun by Gwen Terasaki. The musical Allegiance, the brainchild of actor and activist George Takei, helped spark the idea for the book and I’m grateful for all George does to remind Americans of the injustices of internment.
Lastly, I’d like to thank those who are no longer with us, but whose shared memories over several decades made The Diplomat’s Daughter come alive: Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama, who served as a highly decorated medic in the 442nd Infantry Regiment and whom Senator Daniel Inouye credited for saving his life, and Mr. Kuwayama’s ever-elegant wife, Fumiko, who was a victim of internment. Also, Walter Minao Nishimura, grandfather to my dear friend Keisha Nishimura and father to Francis Nishimura, who was interned at Minidoka Relocation Center in Jerome, Idaho, and also served honorably in the 442nd. Let us hope that those difficult times in our history are never repeated.