
Biography:
Edward Hiromu Yanagisako was born on August 16, 1910, in Wahiawa, Hawaii, the son of Yasutaro and Take, who were immigrants from Japan. Yanagisako moved to Los Angeles in 1930, where he attended Roosevelt High School for two years. He then worked as an auto mechanic in the 10 years before the forced removal. Yanagisako married Toshiye “Tillie” Tanaka on September 17, 1941. They lived in the J-Flats neighborhood of Los Angeles before the forced removal in which they were sent to the Pomona Assembly Center on May 11, 1942. He and his family arrived at Heart Mountain on August 19, 1942. Yanagisako’s daughter Kaomi Ruth was one of the first babies born in Heart Mountain on October 12, 1942. They lived in apartment 8-12-F. He received leave clearance to work on the farm of Noel Cover in Cozad, Nebraska, in 1943, and Yanagisako, his wife and daughter moved to Nebraska. After their return to Heart Mountain, they lived in apartment 9-22-C. Yanagisako answered No to Question 27 and Yes to Question 28 of the 1943 loyalty questionnaire. He was arrested on April 7, 1944 and was among the 63 draft resisters tried and convicted in June 1944 of violating the Selective Service Act. Yanagisako was pardoned by President Harry Truman on December 24, 1947. After his release, Yanagisako and his family returned to Hawaii, where he worked as a deliveryman and salesman for the Island Noodle Co. Edward Hiromu Yanagisako died on September 14, 2002, in Mililani, Hawaii.