American sutra : a story of faith and freedom in the Second World War

Resource Information

The work American sutra : a story of faith and freedom in the Second World War represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Waubonsee Community College. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

American sutra : a story of faith and freedom in the Second World War

Title remainder

a story of faith and freedom in the Second World War

Statement of responsibility

Duncan Ryūken Williams

Creator

• Williams, Duncan Ryūken, 1969-

Author

• Williams, Duncan Ryūken, 1969-

Subject

• Buddhism and state -- United States -- History -- 20th century
• Buddhists -- United States -- History -- 20th century
• 1900-1999
• United States -- Race relations | History -- 20th century
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans
• Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
• Buddhism and politics -- United States -- History -- 20th century

Language

eng

Summary

"The mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is not only a tale of injustice; it is a moving story of faith. In this pathbreaking account, Duncan Ryūken Williams reveals how, even as they were stripped of their homes and imprisoned in camps, Japanese-American Buddhists launched one of the most inspiring defenses of religious freedom in our nation's history, insisting that they could be both Buddhist and American. Nearly all Americans of Japanese descent were subject to bigotry and accusations of disloyalty, but Buddhists aroused particular suspicion. Government officials, from the White House to small-town mayors, believed that Buddhism was incompatible with American values. Intelligence agencies targeted the Buddhist community for surveillance, and Buddhist priests were deemed a threat to national security. On December 7, 1941, as the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, Attorney General Francis Biddle issued a warrant to "take into custody all Japanese" classified as potential national security threats. The first person detained was Bishop Gikyo Kuchiba, leader of the Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist sect in Hawai`i. In the face of discrimination, dislocation, dispossession, and confinement, Japanese Americans turned to their faith to sustain them, whether they were behind barbed wire in camps or serving in one of the most decorated combat units in the European theater. Using newly translated sources and extensive interviews with survivors of the camps and veterans of the war, American Sutra reveals how the Japanese American community broadened our country's conception of religious freedom and forged a new American Buddhism."--Dust jacket

Cataloging source

MH/DLC

Dewey number

940.53/1773089956

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

D769.8.A6

LC item number

W55 2019

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography