Iga Mori: An Online Exhibit of a Stanford Medicine Pioneer
Honor and Obstacles
Over the course of his career, Iga Mori distinguished himself as a health care provider and community organizer. The Japanese government recognized his work by conferring on him the prestigious Order of the Sacred Treasure. In Hawai’i he was widely acknowledged as a community leader, providing direction to the Honolulu Japanese Medical Association, the Japanese Benevolent Society, the Japanese YMCA, the Red Cross of Hawai’i, and many other civic and cultural organizations.
His ability to work, however, was drastically curtailed after Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Along with other Japanese residents of Hawai’i, Mori was arrested by agents of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Also arrested were his son Motokazu Mori and his daughter-in-law Ishiko Mori—both of whom were physicians. Initially assigned to the Sand Island internment camp, the elderly Mori was released due to his poor health. Returning to his home in Hawai’i, Iga Mori retired from regular medical practice and died shortly after the end of World War II.
Motokazu Mori was a physician and the son of Iga Mori. He was incarcerated in internment camps in New Mexico and Texas, as authorized by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066.
Image courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, Victor Mori Collection
Ishiko Mori was a physician and the daughter-in-law of Iga Mori. She was incarcerated in internment camps in California and Texas. After WWII, she pursued biomedical research at the University of Hawai’i.
Image courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, Victor Mori Collection
In this undated family photo, Iga Mori is center and his son, Motokazu Mori, is on the far right.
Image courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i, Victor Mori Collection