Tokyo Rose in Chicago (Pearl: employment, to buy, school)

[MassVt]

I've been reading about the Japanese internment in the Mountain West during WWII, and while doing so discovered the story of "Tokyo Rose", who turned out to be an American citizen ( a graduate of UCLA) who spoke little Japanese, but who was "imprisoned" in Japan during the war because she was visiting relatives just before Pearl Harbor happened, and was forced to use her English skills to transmit "propaganda" to US servicemen over the airwaves. Upon returning to the US, she is imprisoned for almost a decade, loses her husband to permanent exile, is eventually released, and works for the remainder of her life in a relative's laundry/dry cleaning store in Chicago.

The good news is that her case was reopened in the 1970's, as it came out that several witnesses had been coerced into lying by the FBI, and she was rewarded a full Presidential pardon by Gerald Ford.

Pretty fascinating story--anyone know anything else about this?

[Mr Downtown]

Iva Toguri died in 2006.

Tokyo Rose Biography - life, family, childhood, children, parents, name, death, history, school, mother, book, old, information, born, college, husband, time, year, Became Stranded in Japan

The Straight Dope: How did WWII propaganda broadcaster Tokyo Rose get info on Allied ship movements?

[Thepreacherswife]

There's a bit on her in the book "Weird Chicago". She was one of several persons who were forced to make propaganda broadcasts for the Japanese, and the moniker "Tokyo Rose" predates her broadcasts.

Her case was originally dropped by the Army for lack of evidence, but due to popular outcry upon her return to the US, the case was prosecuted by the FBI.

[Avengerfire]

Why is propaganda in quotation marks?

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Why is propaganda in quotation marks?

Because the information she was giving out wasn't always correct; in addition, she apparently gave out subtle clues to listeners ( US servicemen) that she regarded them as being "orphans", just like herself. She also refused to knuckle under to the Japanese authorities, and insisted upon keeping her American citizenship.

Basically, this woman was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was innocent, and yet was coerced into "confessing" as a plea bargain of sorts. Her life, which began with endless possibilities ( how many women had college degrees in the 1930s?), became embedded with misery and disappointment, and shrouded in public mistrust, for much of her life. If anyone might have been entitled for a "re-run" of one's life, she would have been one of them.

I'm just wondering if many Chicagoans knew of her existence in the city, i.e. where she lived, worked, etc. I'm sure that many knew, but not all...

[MKE-Ed]

From what I can remember, she worked or possiibly owned an import business that imported merchandise from Japan that was located on Belmont Avenue about half block west of Clark street. I was a kid at the time and I went their to buy japanese rice candy. The store sold japanese goods. I think it was called something along the lines of Japan Imports Company. It was years later that I found out who she really was.

[linicx]

Illinois. as a whole, has some very interesting history.

[Mr Downtown]

J. Toguri Mercantile, a Japanese-import retail store at 851 W. Belmont, was opened before the war by Iva Toguri D'Aquino's father.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by MKE-Ed

From what I can remember, she worked or possiibly owned an import business that imported merchandise from Japan that was located on Belmont Avenue about half block west of Clark street. I was a kid at the time and I went their to buy japanese rice candy. The store sold japanese goods. I think it was called something along the lines of Japan Imports Company. It was years later that I found out who she really was.

It's still there, one of the last reminders of when south Wrigleyville/Boystown was Japantown. That and some of the old-school sushi joints along Clark.

[MassVt]

One more interesting tidbit:

Although the West Coast Japanese were interred at various camps throughout the Western states, they were allowed to leave and seek employment elsewhere, as long as it was not on the West Coast, and after passing a "loyalty" test. It turns out that Chicago was a very popular destination, and an estimated 20-30,000 people left the camps and emigrated there. Apparently, a large mansion on LaSalle was the epicenter of the migration.

Once the camps closed, many returned to the West Coast, but quite a few remained in Chicago. Very interesting stuff...