Missionaries and Nisei as “Informants” in U.S. Preparation for the Military Occupation of Japan

Abstract

From 1944 to 1945, the U.S. Department of War contracted with six universities, including Stanford University, to operate Civil Affairs Training Schools (cats) for the Far Eastern theaters. Their mission was to prepare U.S Army and U.S. Navy officers with assignments to administer civil affairs in the anticipated occupation of Japan. This article focuses on two groups of “informants” that Stanford University sourced for language and area study instruction in its cats program – first, Christian missionaries repatriated to North America after spending many years in Japan and second, Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans) recruits from War Department incarceration camps. In response to Stanford University’s inquiries, nearly 130 missionaries shared their first-hand experiences in Japan and offered suggestions on how civil affairs officers should engage with the Japanese. Some of these suggestions showed Christian biases that led to mixed reactions among the Stanford staff. Despite the challenge of bringing persons of Japanese ancestry to a campus with the U.S. government’s exclusion orders in place, Stanford University managed to hire 23 Nisei as “language informants.” Their work, however, largely consisted of leading language drills for student officers as “native speakers” rather than providing expert knowledge. This article highlights the circumstances and issues around the U.S. military’s use of missionaries and second-generation immigrants for their linguistic and cultural knowledge of the enemy.