What was lost on LA’s Terminal Island after forced evacuations of local community

More than a decade ago, when Geraldine Knatz was the director for the Port of Los Angeles, she visited Terminal Island with Minoru “Min” Tonai, a community activist who had grown up in what was once a bustling Japanese American fishing community.

“We were there for hours,” recalls Knatz, who had come with the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. “We were captivated.”

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The excursion was the seed for “Terminal Island: Lost Communities on America’s Edge,” which has just been re-published by Angel City Press. Co-authored by Knatz and award-winning mystery novelist Naomi Hirahara, the first edition of the book was issued in 2015 under the title “Terminal Island: Lost Communities of Los Angeles Harbor.”

“There was no real marketing for it or anything like that,” says Knatz, noting that the book had been sold through historical societies, institutions like the Japanese American National Museum and at places like Manzanar National Historic Site. “It went out of print very fast.”

The book’s updated title reflects the Terminal Island story’s reach beyond Los Angeles County.

Hirahara notes its significance in respect to the history of the broader Japanese American community. “It was such a vibrant part of the community with a unique story in terms of the World War II experience,” she says.

Terminal Island has lived a lot of lives. At one point, it was home to a laboratory, a precursor to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla. Artists used to squat on Terminal Island, too. Knatz has a watercolor of East San Pedro, aka “Squatter Town,” hanging on the wall behind her during our video call. The island was also a destination for wealthy Angelenos, who stayed at resorts and established summer homes there before the area got more industrialized.

With the rise of the local fishing industry, Terminal Island became home to a Japanese American community that differed from others in the region. Hirahara, who previously worked as a reporter and editor for the Japanese American newspaper Rafu Shimpo, mentions a Shinto shrine that once existed on Terminal Island as one of the unique characteristics of the community.

“There weren’t that many Shinto shrines on the mainland. They were mostly in Hawaii,” Hirahara explains. Moreover, the shrine’s altar included portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. “It really shows you the intersection of the two cultures,” she says.

There was also a legacy of political activism amongst Terminal Islanders during early 20th century immigration debates. A section of the book focuses on Kihei Nasu, who worked for the Southern California Japanese Fisherman’s Association and wrote to Congress, which was in the midst of anti-Japanese immigration arguments, in 1919.

Hirahara stumbled upon the information via the Los Angeles Public Library (which now owns Angel City Press) and turned to social media to find out about this man. “I just put it out there on social media and it turned out to be the great uncle of someone I knew and had all these photos,” she says.

The story, Hirahara explains, shows that Terminal Islanders, as the residents were known, had a keen understanding of the hurdles they faced. Plus, she adds, “They actually hired lobbyists to fight against that.”

Says Hirahara, “I thought that was amazing and probably has lessons for us today as well.”

But the United States’ entrance into World War II would mark the end of Terminal Island’s Japanese American fishing community.

In the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attacks, homes were raided by the FBI and some residents were incarcerated. Others could not travel to and from the island without checking with the military, whose presence had increased. The signing of Executive Order 9066 in February of 1942 paved the way for the Navy to take over portions of Terminal Island. Residents of all ethnic backgrounds were forced to leave. One month later, those of Japanese ancestry were forced from the coastal areas in what would become a mass incarceration that impacted over 120,000 people. Those from Terminal Island, according to the book, often ended up at Manzanar.

There’s a poignance to the re-release of “Terminal Island.” Its history remains relevant, but many who remember it best have since passed.

“Now, in terms of survivors of Terminal Island, there’s hardly anybody who is left, who could really speak on it,” says Hirahara. “Or, they may have been babies at the time, so they don’t really have the recollection.”

Hirahara recalls interviewing members of the Hori family, who have since died, for the book. “They could share the experience of being a family of fishermen and the dangers of it and just funny stories,” she says.

Knatz also notes that Min Tonai, whose recollections inspired the project, died last year.

Still, there are physical markers of the community that remain.

“There are two buildings left on Tuna Street,” says Knatz. Plus, there’s the memorial for the Japanese Fishing Village. While not located at the exact site of the former community, it is a reminder of the lives that were lived on Terminal Island.