Isaac "Ike" Nakata

Nisei student Isaac “Ike” Susumi Nakata was born in Hawaii to first-generation immigrants from Japan.

In his application to Black Mountain College in 1940, he wrote that he hopes to “develop the habits and understand the principles of Americanism so vital to good citizenship.” He was working on a sugar plantation and shared that he wanted "more grounding in American land and the people, I being a second generation youth born in Hawaiis separated by a generation from my forefathers in Japan by lineage." (Letter from Ike to BMC 5/2/1940 asking for application)

In 1941, he enrolled in the Army and regularly sent updates back to the college. He did take coursework on and off from Fall 1940 to summer of 1948. He focused on "economic and political history and theory and industrial problems and organization." He graduated on June 12, 1948. His senior paper was titled "The Development and Control of Monopolies in the United States, 1850-1914; A Study in Economic Change."

Photograph of Army postcards sent from Ike to BMC in 1941 giving his updates from the Army.

Relationships

Wife: Fellow BMC student, Virginia McLane

Examiner: Dr. Louis M. Hacker, Professor of Economics, Columbia University

Asheville Art Museum Collection

There are many excerpts in college bulletins, like that shared below, as Ike shared his experiences during the war. You can search through the AAM collections by "Nakata" to see other references.

2017.40.203 May 22, 1945 bulletin,

"PFC Isaac Nakata writes from Europe on May 8: “This morning we had official word that Germany has surrendered. Our commentary on victory is not complete without some misty reflection on dead comrades. So many of the finer youth have died! We don’t honestly celebrate a victory without sharing it with those who have fallen. Now that we have victory here, we face the tremendous task of imposing the conditions of unconditional surrender on Germany. Without vengeance, but by common sense, we must exploit the peace to rebuild political morality in and among nations and to guarantee a future of peace and prosperity. What a task faces us! By crushing Germany we must sink to her level and from there begin to ascend to our aims and purposes and traditions. We must accept her as an outlaw nation, for there is still present the germ of the Nazi ideology of Master race and world domination....I’m hoping to sail for America either this Christmas or next spring....A free environment is the best discipline, after all, for work or play. We servicemen have to get rid of our inhibitions and our memories of grandeur before we can be accepted citizens again in a free world..”"