The Manzanar Dojos: How Martial Arts Became Resistance in American Prison Camps

Manzanar’s Judo Dojo and Interracial Tournament Controversy

When war broke out in 1942, over 110,000 Japanese Americans lost everything. FDR’s Executive Order 9066 sent them to camps like Manzanar in California.

Yet amid this pain, they kept their culture alive through judo.

Masters Seigoro Murakami and Shigeo Tashima built a massive dojo where hundreds trained daily on sawdust floors. Then something remarkable happened.

LAPD Sergeant Jack Sergel brought white students from LA for tournaments inside the camp. These matches sparked outrage in 1944 when Hearst newspapers discovered women among the visitors.

The Manzanar dojo’s story of resistance and connection now stands preserved at the Martial Arts History Museum.

Roosevelt Forced 110,000 Japanese Americans Into Remote Camps

FDR signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, starting a harsh chapter in American history. The military kicked over 110,000 Japanese Americans out of their West Coast homes, businesses, and farms.

Families had just days to pack before being sent to quickly built camps in the middle of nowhere.

Manzanar War Relocation Center opened in southeastern California, where thousands lived behind barbed wire and under armed guards for years.

Judo Thrived In California Before The War Began

Japanese Americans built a strong judo community on the West Coast before Pearl Harbor. Southern California alone had 26 dojos with 422 black belts teaching this martial art.

Seigoro Murakami started the San Fernando Valley Judo Club in 1921, making a place where Japanese Americans practiced both physical skills and cultural values.

Judo classes brought together people of all ages, from kids learning their first throws to respected masters who had trained for decades.

Camp Inmates Built A Massive Dojo From Scratch

Murakami and Shigeo Tashima didn’t let prison walls stop their practice. They built a 2,400-square-foot dojo at Manzanar on a canvas-covered sawdust platform.

The makeshift training space became one of the most popular spots in camp, with 400 to 600 people showing up daily. Students from beginners to black belts trained together on the rough canvas mats.

Camp bosses allowed the dojo hoping physical activities would keep tensions down among the upset prisoners.

Training Offered Dignity During Dehumanizing Conditions

Judo gave locked-up Japanese Americans a way to keep their identity despite losing everything. The familiar routines of bowing, practicing throws, and following dojo rules brought comfort in a crazy situation.

Parents sent their children to classes, seeing judo as a way to pass down values like respect and hard work. For many teens in the camps, judo gave them a good way to use their energy and handle their anger.

Two Deaths Sparked A Peace Committee After Camp Riot

Things boiled over in December 1942 when the Manzanar Riot left two prisoners dead and others hurt after guards shot into a crowd. The violence showed deep splits between pro-Japanese and pro-American groups in the camp.

Murakami formed the Manzanar Peace Committee in January 1943, using his status as a judo teacher to help calm things down. The committee worked to fix problems and improve talks between camp bosses and prisoners.

An LAPD Officer Broke Barriers With Tournament Visits

LAPD Sergeant Jack Sergel made a brave move in May 1943 by bringing white judo students from Los Angeles to Manzanar for a tournament.

About 200 camp residents joined the mixed-race competition, creating a rare moment of normal human contact during wartime.

Sergel had learned judo before the war and respected the Japanese American teachers now behind barbed wire. His visit needed special army permission and faced backlash from coworkers who questioned his loyalty.

White Students Competed On Camp Mats Despite Wartime Hate

Sergel came back for several tournaments throughout 1943, each time bringing students eager to test their skills against the camp’s judo players.

These visits happened while newspapers ran anti-Japanese stories and stores put up “No Japs Allowed” signs across America.

The tournaments followed old traditions with formal bows, Japanese words, and respect shown to senior teachers. Camp residents looked forward to these rare links to the outside world.

Female Judoka Challenged Both American And Japanese Norms

Women joined the visiting judo team on Sergel’s third trip to Manzanar in November 1943, breaking gender rules in both cultures.

Female judo players trained with men in matches that needed close physical contact, something shocking to many Americans then.

Young Japanese American women in the camps also joined in, finding in judo a rare chance for physical power. These trailblazing women faced criticism from old-school elders and suspicion from military guards.

Hearst Newspapers Turned Tournaments Into Scandal

The LA Examiner printed shocking headlines on August 28, 1944, making the tournaments seem dirty. “Los Angeles girls wrestling interned male Japanese” screamed the front page, ignoring the true nature of the events.

Reporters played up fears of mixing between white women and Japanese men to sell papers. The articles used misleading photos and quotes taken out of context.

This news coverage turned a positive cultural exchange into a public mess that put everyone at risk.

Police Commissioner Called Judo "Emperor Worship"

Los Angeles Police Commissioner Al Cohen started an investigation after the newspaper stories came out, calling judo “emperor worship” that hurt American values.

Cohen wanted to know why an LAPD officer was bringing white women to “mix with the enemy” during wartime. He ordered Sergel to stop all contact with Japanese Americans and threatened his job.

The commissioner’s reaction showed how deep anti-Japanese feelings ran in city hall.

Sergel Changed His Name And Started Acting In Movies

Facing mounting pressure, Sergel resigned from the LAPD in November 1944 rather than abandon his judo connections.

He changed his name to John Halloran and began a new career in Hollywood, often playing villainous Japanese characters in yellowface makeup.

The former police officer appeared in films like “Tokyo Rose” and “Behind the Rising Sun,” ironically portraying stereotyped versions of the people whose culture he had once respected.

Despite the backlash, the judo tournaments at Manzanar remained a rare example of cross-cultural respect during one of America’s darkest chapters.

Visiting Martial Arts History Museum

The Martial Arts History Museum at 201 N. Brand Blvd., B100 in Glendale shows how Japanese Americans kept their culture alive through judo during World War II internment.

You can see exhibits about dojos they built in camps like Manzanar and learn about interracial tournaments with white judoka who visited despite anti-Japanese feelings. The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from 11am-6pm.

Your self-guided tour takes 40-60 minutes and covers martial arts from different Asian cultures.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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