Kida, Isaku, 1905-1996

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Isaku Kida (1905-1996) immigrated to the United States from Japan in 1930 as a student of theology. Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, he fell under the suspicion of the FBI for his growing interest in Communism. Arrested and interned at Ellis Island, he was subsequently released to work as a language instructor for the Office of Strategic Services. Nearing the end of WWII, Isaku became a business manager, and later, president of the Hokubei Shimpo (renamed New York Nichibei in 1945). During its run from 1945 through 1993, the paper documented the life of New York's postwar Japanese American community, serving not only as a place to obtain community news but also as an important outlet for Asian American writers. A range of progressive causes from civil rights to women's and gay rights found expression within its pages. In addition, the paper regularly documented developments in the Asian American Movement born in Chinatown in the late 1960s and 1970s, the Asian American arts movement, and the redress movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Guide to the Isaku and Emi Kida Papers, 1929-2002, undated Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Hokubei Shimpo. corporateBody
associatedWith Kida, Emi, 1908-2001 person
associatedWith New York Nichibei. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Japan 00 JP
New York City NY US
Subject
Japanese American business enterprises
Japanese American newspapers
Japanese Americans
Occupation
Editors
Journalists
Activity

Person

Birth 1905

Death 1996

Japanese,

English

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Ark ID: w68r1xw3

SNAC ID: 26248064