Lucky Luciano: 3 prisons. Al Capone: 4 prisons. Otokichi Ozaki: 8 prisons — for teaching Japanese.
April 24, 1917: Otokichi Ozaki, who was later incarcerated in eight different camps, arrived in U.S. territory
Born in Japan and arriving in Hawaii, Otokichi Ozaki became a respected Japanese language teacher in Maui. He wasn’t a political agitator or a radical. But he listened to Japanese radio, maintained contact with the Japanese consulate (as many teachers did), and helped organize educational activities for local Nikkei communities.
For this, the FBI flagged him as a threat.
On December 6, 1941, one day before the attack on Pearl Harbor, FBI files show that agents had already planned for Ozaki’s arrest. The next morning, war began, and within hours, agents swept him up, and took him away from his family. He was labeled a danger to national security, though he was never charged with a crime.
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i
Otokichi Ozaki with his Japanese parents, Shōbu and Tomoya Ozaki.
Ozaki and his family were living in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i
Otokichi Ozaki taught Japanese. And for that, he was transferred through eight detention centers including Sand Island before finally reuniting with his family at Jerome.
A letter from J. Edgar Hoover recommending Ozaki be arrested, December 6, 1941, the day before Pearl Harbor
Sand Island detention camp in Hawai‘i, where Japanese immigrants and community leaders like Otokichi Ozaki were held shortly after their arrest.
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i
Men from Hawaiʻi who were removed from Sand Island to Santa Fe Internment Camp. Otokichi Ozaki in front row center.
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i
Otokichi Ozaki's four children in the incarceration camp.
From Camp to Camp
Over the next several years, Otokichi Ozaki was transferred from one prison to another — eight incarceration centers in total — including Kilauea, Sand Island, Angel Island, Sharp Park, Lordsburg, Santa Fe, Jerome, and Tule Lake.
He was interrogated, surveilled, and held behind barbed wire, often without knowing why or for how long. Along the way, his possessions were stolen or lost by the very guards detaining him.
Ozaki’s wife and four children voluntarily entered a prison camp, hoping to reunite the family. But even then, the government kept them separated. It took until his seventh camp before they were finally together again.
A Criminal Without a Crime
His story highlights one of the more chilling truths of wartime hysteria: It wasn’t what you did — it was who you were.
Otokichi Ozaki didn’t commit a crime. He taught a language. And for that, an ordinary father of four was imprisoned as if he was the Godfather.
But even after the humiliation of eight separate camps, the loss of possessions, and years apart from his wife and children, he was able to keep his dignity.
Courtesy of U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Mug shots of Otokichi Ozaki, taken after his arrest during WWII, despite never being charged with a crime.
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i
After being sent through eight incarceration camps, Otokichi Ozaki never lost his dignity.
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i
Otokichi Ozaki with his eldest son Earl Tomoyuki
Labeled Disloyal, Clear Conscience
Ozaki was also an established tanka poet. After being transferred through eight different incarceration sites, he wrote:
「不服従」と
烙印押され
トゥーレイクに
送られし溝
癒えることなく
“Disloyal”
With papers so stamped
I am relocated to Tule Lake
But for myself
A clear conscience