The Yasui Family

of Hood River, Oregon Exhibit

The Yasui Story

Michi

The University of Oregon

World War II

A Return to Campus

Michi

The University of Oregon
^
1937

A visit to campus

Newspaper text

Michi began her connection with UO when still in high school. She visited campus in her capacity as Assistant Editor of the Hood River Guide to give a talk titled “The Mimeographed Paper and its Problems” at a conference of the Oregon High School Press Association. She was elected secretary of the Association.

^
1938 - 1940
A woman of Asian descent stands on the sunny front steps of a building. She wears a light dress, black and white saddle shoes and has a bow in her hair.
Three women sit together on a bid, wearing matching dresses and aprons. A fan hangs on the wall behind them.
A young woman of stands outside smiling, with brick buildings in the background.
Two images of the same young woman reading and smoking a cigarette. She is of Asian descent and has short, dark curly hair.
Two young women of Asian descent pose in kimonos.

Michi’s high school visit was remembered when she arrived on campus in 1938. Her classmates held her to the promise to “eat my hat” if her former newspaper won the national distinction under its new editor, serving her with a “life size pink peppermint top hat decorated with a brown taffy ribbon,” as reported in the Oregon Daily Emerald. 

Michi quickly became involved with multiple activities on campus. In her first year on campus, she cooked and served Japanese dinners to the foreign foods group of the YWCA and for faculty members in her dormitory, Susan Campbell Hall. She joined the Women’s Symposium Debate Team, the International Relations Club, and was one of three winners of the Jewett Speech contest. She was on the honor roll and pledged Phi Theta. At a regional conference for International Clubs, she spoke on “The Far East and the Present World War,” with the Emerald reporting that Michi “considered it a ‘crowning sin’ that the United States has accepted responsibility for the Philippines without the proper authority.”

Michi’s roommate was Doris Hanson Lee, who saved a photo album with many pictures of Michi and other friends. The photos document their daily lives and activities in Susan Campbell Hall and around campus. Shown here are Arlene Lewis, Michi, and Doris.

Michi with the Women’s Memorial Quadrangle in the background.

Michi in her room in Susan Campbell Hall. On another photo, Doris wrote that “Michi often studied all night during exam week.”

Her interest in Japanese culture and international affairs was not limited to campus clubs. In the summer of 1940 after her sophomore year, the Emerald reported Michi’s plan to tour Japan with an unnamed friend. Michi told the Emerald, “Because I have a sentimental attachment to the culture and ideals of my race, I am going to live in Japan this summer in order to be betetr [sic] informed on my background, heritage, and the history of my forefathers.” The pair hoped to be back in time for fall classes “unless something interesting or exciting came up.”

Michi returned from her travels in Japan at the start of her Junior year, and the Emerald reported that she learned a good deal about Japanese culture, and stayed with friends and relatives of her father, Masuo Yasui.
A large group of women stand on outdoor steps. They all wear skirts.
A large group of women stand on outdoor steps. They all wear skirts.
A young woman of Asian descent wears a dark skirt and sweater with Greek lettering on it. She stands smiling in the sun.

Michi continued her busy schedule of extracurricular activities while maintaining her grades and working towards her degree in English. She led discussion groups in the YWCA on campus, including topics such as “Christianity and Its Place in a Coed’s Life,” “Christian in a World at War,” and a sketch of Toyohiko Kagawa. She remained on the honor roll, and was co-chair of banquet for Phi Theta Upsilons “for women who have attained a grade point average of 3.5 or above.”

Michi was active in the Women’s Symposium, a program of the speech department that posited, “the state of Oregon is the University’s campus.” They sponsored programs and debates on topics to high schools, social groups, churches and more. According to coverage in the Daily Emerald, Michi visited Creswell, Portland, Oregon City, Milwaukee, Colton, and fourteen unnamed stops in Eastern Oregon and Washington. Among the topics she participated in were “The Place of Women in Society,” “From Bridge Table to Wash Tub and Back Again,” and “How does College Training Better Fit Women for her Place in Society?”

Michi kept her grades high throughout and was a member of Phi Theta Upsilon, for students who maintained a grade point average of 3.5. In the 1941 yearbook, a perk for new freshman students was a ball giving the women “a chance to meet the more noted male population of the University.”

Michi

World War II
^
December 7, 1941

The attack on Pearl Harbor

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Michi co-authored a letter with four other women of Japanese descent. They wrote, “We have been reared and educated under the principles of democracy of this country which we sincerely cherish and would preserve at all cost.” Japanese American men penned a similar letter, published together in the Emerald. In the same issue, UO President Donald Milton Erb urged students to adopt “a spirit of sympathy and understanding and tolerance” towards their fellow Japanese American students, who he described as “loyal members of our community.”

^
1942
Graduation photos of three female students, plus one outdoor portrait of a woman of Asian descent. She stands in front of a brick wall, smiling.

Michi remained active during her final months on campus, serving as a representative from Susan Campbell Hall in the Independent Student Association Senate, presenting in the YWCA on “What can Easter Mean this Year?” and she was initiated into Delta Sigma Rho, the national forensics honor society.

^
1942

Executive Order 9066
A woman of Asian descent wears a cap and gown.
In February 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevely signed Executive Order 9066, which initated forced removal and incarceration of “all persons of Japanese ancestry.” In March, Lt. General John DeWitt, Military Commander of the Western Defense Command, issues a Public Proclamation imposing travel restrictions and a military curfew on all persons of Japanese ancestry regardless of citizenship. The proclamation included a curfew from 8pm to 6am.

In April, thinking ahead to her commencement, scheduled to begin at 8pm on May 31, Michi inquired to the Dean of Women if she would be allowed to attend. Her inquiry prompted Earl Pallett, Executive Secretary to the President of the University, to write to the Lane County Defense Council, asking if it would be possible for Michi to attend the ceremony.

Later that month, H.S. Merriam of the Lane County Defense Council referred the question to the Department of Justice and advocated for Michi to be allowed to attend under the supervision of the Dean of Women. He wrote, “the difference between being in the girls’ dormitory on the campus after 8pm and being at the Commencement Exercises three blocks away would seem very trivial, and the spirit and letter of the law could be upheld by the custody of the Dean.”
In May, the inquiry was referred again to the Wartime Civil Control Administration, and a General Wallace Howland responded that “there is every reason to believe that prior to May 31 all persons of Japanese ancestry now residing in Eugene, including students attending the University, will be required to vacate military area No. 1 prior to May 31. Such being the case, the particular question propounded in your letter will become moot by reason of the complete evacuation from that area by that time.”
General Wallace Howland’s response also indicated that their policy was to facilitate the transfer of Japanese American students to universities outside the exclusion zone. Pallet, in turn communicated this policy to other UO administrators, including noting that Michi’s case was likely moot, but if no orders came before May 31, she would not be allowed to attend her Commencement. Pallet also states that while it was permissible to provide information about transfer to other universities to any Japanese American student who inquires, that they should not publicize this information, because it was not a policy announced formally by the government or military. One of the recipients of the letter, Karl Onthank, would go on to work with an organization called the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, which assisted students with transfers.
It is not clear from the UO administrative correspondence how the ultimate decision about her Commencement was communicated to Michi. Regardless, Michi took the risk to defy the curfew and a few days prior to her Commencement she escaped by bus to Denver, where Shu had already arrived. Michi would enroll in graduate courses in education at the University of Denver. The Yasuis were part of a larger trend of Japanese American college students relocating to avoid detention.
Michi posed for a graduation portrait before fleeing campus in May 1942.

Michi

A Return to Campus
^
1985

Because Michi fled Eugene in 1942, she never received her diploma. After UO Archivist Keith Richard “discovered” Michi’s story in the archives, the University invited her back to Commencement in 1986 to receive her diploma.

^
1986
A large group of adults sit at two longs tables in a narrow room. An American flag hangs on a stand in the corner.
A large group of adults sit at two longs tables in a narrow room. An American flag hangs on a stand in the corner.

Full interview with Michi, May 1986

Download Here
A woman of Asian descent wears a graduation cap and gown.
A woman of Asian descent wears a graduation cap and gown.
A woman of Asian descent wears a graduation cap and gown.

Michi’s response letter to Keith Richard’s invitation to the 1986 commencement. She wrote, “In the words of General McArthur, ‘I shall return.'”

The University widely promoted the event. In an interview with the University News Bureau, Michi recounted her motivations for returning to campus as well as her experiences on campus in 1942. She was initially “dumbfounded” at the invitation, but decided that coming to campus would be “like teaching people about history that they didn’t know about. A lot of people in this country aren’t even aware that things like this happened.”
In the same interview, Michi described how she lost friendships after the bombing of Pearl Harbor: “My first three years at the university were the happiest years of my life. It was quite exciting for someone from a small rural town to be able to go to a state university, knowing there weren’t many Japanese American girls there. I felt really privileged. We were taught from the time we were little kids that we were to go out and be a model for others — to really excel.
I remember having a lot of good friends and all of a sudden there was a sort of death knell to friendships. They just weren’t there any more. I don’t think it was anything that they could control. They didn’t know what to do or say to me. I didn’t know what to say to them. One friend had a brother on the U.S.S. Arizona; I knew why she wouldn’t talk to me. I could understand.”
As word began to spread about her visit, Michi wrote to Richard to say, “I have received numerous letters and telephone calls expressing delight that I am returning. I am overwhelmed by the kind sentiments expressed.”
Michi’s visit to campus was widely covered in the press, and she received letters from politicians including Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield, and even President Ronald Reagan who praised her work as a teacher and wrote “America has long been able to boast a cultural diversity that has been unequaled elsewhere.”
In presenting her with a diploma—which itself was a genuine diploma from 1942 signed by President Donald Milton Erb—current UO President Paul Olum said at graduation, “We surely do not pretend that what we do here today can make up adequately for the wrong that was done in 1942 to Michi Yasui…but we can at least tell her of our deep regret at what happened then and of the warmth of our feeling today towards her and her fellow Japanese Americans.”
The Yasui family family values education and the opportunities it brings to immigrant families. When Michi received her diploma, over twenty Yasui family members were present to witness the event.
Michi’s thank you note to Keith Richard. She wrote, “For me, personally, justice has been done. And for the 120,000 Japanese Americans it will be comforting to know that there are those in our great country who care that wrongs be righted.”

Michi reunites with her roommate Doris Hanson Lee at her graduation.