Relocation Camps Recalled
In “Spies Like Us,” one of the questions asked of Japanese Americans was given as: “Would you consider an informer of this nature an inu (stool pigeon)?” The word inu is Japanese for “dog” and, referring to a person whom no one could trust or like very much, is simply an insult word. A more appropriate word would be otori or otori ni tsukau , both of which are the Japanese equivalent of “stool pigeon.”
Brent Johnson
Los Angeles
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