Enemy Alien

Abstract

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Paul Rusch was detained at a makeshift, minimum-security jail in Tokyo. Sharing quarters with other missionaries and clergy, Rusch acted as chief organizer and camp cook, preparing meals with food scrounged from the black market and gleaned from his loyal network of students. Daily life among internees at Sumire camp was amiable, almost pleasant, until the Americans bombed Tokyo and Yokohama. The Doolittle Raid sparked a fierce debate between pacifists and prowar factions in the camp, foreshadowing the heated controversy that would arise while Rusch was repatriated on the ships Asama Maru and Gripsholm. Missionaries aboard ship were divided into opposing factions who debated the morality of the war. On the journey home, Rusch made connections with American intelligence officers aboard the ships, setting him up for his work in military intelligence during World War II. Despite his loyalty to the Japanese, Rusch cooperated with military intelligence, dedicating himself to winning a war against a militarist government he believed was enslaving a great people. Rusch still trusted his Japanese colleagues in Tokyo, believing they would hold fast to their promise to protect Rikkyo’s Christian identity while safeguarding Seisen-Ryo.