2021 JEROME/ROHWER VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE
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films
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citizen tanouye
Dirs. Craig Yahata & Robert Horsting | 58m | 2005
"Citizen Tanouye” uniquely brings history to life for eight ethnically diverse Torrance, California high school students, through their research into the life of THS class of 1938 alumnus and Medal of Honor awardee, Technical Sergeant Ted T. Tanouye. Their discoveries reveal the impact WWII had on his family, their city, and the national civil rights abuses experienced by the Japanese American community. Looking into his past forever changed their future.
To purchase the DVD of this film or the “Citizen Tanouye: Classroom Edition”and Teacher’s Guide authored by Gary Mukai, SPICE, Stanford University
Please contact:
Robert M. Horsting
natto41@sbcglobal.net
818-913-0640
relocation, arkansas: aftermath of incarceration
Dirs Vivienne Schiffer & Johanna Demetrakas | 1h 21m | 2016
Relocation, Arkansas – Aftermath of Incarceration chronicles the effect of the Japanese American incarceration experience in Arkansas during WWII on the generation that was born after the camps closed, the unlikely tale of those Japanese Americans who remained behind, and the even more unlikely tale of how a small town Arkansas mayor of Italian descent became a legend in the Japanese American community. But with its themes of the complexity and hypocrisy of race relations in America, journeys toward forgiveness and healing, and cross community understanding, the film transcends regional and cultural constraints unlike any other film on the incarceration experience.
Silent Sacrifice
Dir Jeff Aiello | 1h 57m | 2018
SILENT SACRIFICE shares the experiences of Japanese Americans who were living in the San Joaquin Valley prior to Executive Order 9066. Interviewees discuss what drew them to the area, the businesses and farms their families established, and both the discrimination many faced in their adopted land as well as the friendships they formed. They then reveal the shock and confusion felt in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor and the tragic and disorienting uprooting of lives as families were forced to abandon their homes and move into temporary assembly centers before being sent to permanent internment camps.
Time of Fear
Dir Sue Williams | 56m | 2005
In World War II, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and relocate to military camps. This documentary tells the story of the 16,000 men, women and children who were sent to two camps in southeast Arkansas, one of the poorest and most racially segregated places in America. It explores the reactions of the native Arkansans who watched in bewilderment as their tiny towns were overwhelmed by this huge influx of outsiders. Played out in a remote corner of the south, this is a forgotten chapter in America’s unfinished struggle with race that resonates strongly today.
voices behind barbed wire: stories of hawai`i
Dir. Ryan Kawamoto | 75 m | 2018
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai`i
While the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII has been well documented on the US Mainland, new information about the sites and untold stories continue to emerge from Japanese Americans in Hawai`i who endured this dark chapter of history. “Voices Behind Barbed Wire” explores the personal stories of the Hawai'i Island Japanese Americans from their initial imprisonment at Kilauea Military Camp, transfer and interrogation at Sand Island, and their incarceration in far away places like New Mexico, Arkansas and Arizona.
short films
Robert ito
Produced by JAMPilgrimages
In 2019, Robert Ito came to the Jerome/Rohwer pilgrimage with his wife and son. His family was sent from Sacramento to Jerome and then on to Gila River, Arizona. In this video he shares his memories and thoughts about what happened during WWII with his son, Stephen.
rinko
Produced by JAMPilgrimages
Shimasaki Enosaki was sent to Jerome, Arkansas with her mother and seven siblings. During the 2019 Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage we interviewed her and two of her grandchildren.
Lost & Found Parts i & ii
Dir Kimiko Marr | 27m
This is the story of best friends who were sent to different camps. Bob Washino and Robert Okamoto grew up on the outskirts of Sacramento’s Japantown before the war. They and their families went to Tule Lake, but were separated even before they were transferred to other camps. Bob and his family were transferred to Amache, Colorado, while Robert and his family were sent to Rohwer, Arkansas. Over seventy years later Bob and Robert reunite to compare experiences.
a light in the darkness
Dir Kimiko Marr | 10m
Some teachers touch our lives so deeply we remember them long after graduation. They help shape us into the people we are today. Even in the most troubled times teachers can be the helping hand we so desperately need. Lawrence Higashihara tells about how his teacher Ms. Light was truly a light in the darkness.
educational sessions
The art of gaman
Delphine Hirasuna discusses arts and crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942-1946
Rising Above/Rohwer Reconstructed
In an incredibly short time (1942-1946) about five hundred acres of tree-covered swamp went through several transformations. The land was razed and became the site of a barren military-style camp. This camp was transformed into a resourceful community of more than 8,000 involuntary residents. In 1946 the land was wiped clean of almost all traces of this community and was converted to productive farmland. Rising Above / Rohwer Reconstructed tells the story of this transformed landscape and the people who created it. The documentary helps to ensure the legacy of the Rohwer community is preserved for future generations. Presented by Angie Payne of the Center for Advanced
Spatial Technologies.
Everything she touched: the life of ruth asawa
Erin Aoyama and biographer Marilyn Chase discuss the life and art of Ruth Asawa. Everything She Touched recounts the incredible life of American sculptor Ruth Asawa (1926–2013), a woman who wielded imagination and hope in the face of intolerance and who transformed everything she touched into art. This lively and compelling new book by journalist and author Marilyn Chase is the first biography of this major American artist.
tadaima! jerome elder panel
Diana Tsuchida reunites Anna Sakaizawa Hasegawa and Rinko Shimasaki Enosaki. Anna and Rinko attended school together in Jerome and hadn’t seen one another in almost 80 years! From last summer’s Tadaima! Virtual Pilgrimage.
they called us enemy
Renowned actor and activist George Takei reads from his graphic novel They Called Us Enemy. The reading is followed by a discussion with Erin Aoyama.
mikami family history
Jason Mikami of Mikami Vineyards tells of his family’s history in Lodi, California from 1895 to present. Read more on the Mikami Vineyards website:
LIVE STREAMS
telling life stories: family memories of the arkansas camps
With Delphine Hirasuna and Marilyn Chase
Join author Delphine Hirasuna in discussion with fellow writer Marilyn Chase as Delphine traces her family’s journey through incarceration in Jerome and Rohwer, Arkansas. Delphine Hirasuna is the author of The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1947. Marilyn Chase is the author of Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa.
Bitter Sacrifice: Art & Writing from Arkansas's WWII Relocation Centers
With Heather Zbinden and Special Guest Rosalie Gould
Rosalie Santine Gould of McGehee, Arkansas collected artwork and other materials from the Rohwer Japanese American internment camp. This collection includes several hundred paintings and other works of art which were created under the tutelage of high school art teacher Mabel “Jamie” Jamison Vogel. Vogel saved her students’ art in the years following World War II. Vogel also was a champion of preserving the camp and its story. She passed the torch to her good friend Rosalie Santine Gould. In 2010 Rosalie donated her remarkable collection to the Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.
Dog Bait: Ray Nosaka's Secret Mission at Cat Island
With Shari Y. Tamashiro
Join Cybrarian Shari Y. Tamashiro as she explains the controversial failed attempt to create a top secret “War Dogs” program on a small island off the coast of Mississippi. Nisei soldiers took part in the training of donated pet dogs for warfare.
memories of rohwer
With Yoko Fedorenko
Join Nikkei Rising’s Yoko Fedorenko as she speaks with her grandmother Lois Morishita and another former incarceree, June Aochi Berk, about their time in the Arkansas concentration camp.
From Hawaiʻi to jerome, Arkansas
With Brian Niiya
Many narratives of the Japanese American incarceration overlook the fact that people of Japanese descent living in Hawai’i were also incarcerated in the WRA camps. Brian Niiya will discuss the history of how this happened. In addition a panel of former Jerome incarcerees will share their families’ experiences. With panelists Patricia Kirita-Nomura, June Hoshida-Honma, Sandra Hoshida and Jerry Takesono.
For more information:
Jerome Relocation Center, January 1943 - June 1945
Unspoken Memories: Oral Histories of Hawai‘i Internees at Jerome, Arkansas
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Taken From the Paradise Isle: The Hosida Family Story
Training of the Nisei Soldier
With Stu Hirai
Stu Hirai joins 97 year old 442nd Regiment veteran Jack Nakamura to discuss Jack’s experiences training for combat in World War II.
https://www.100thbattalion.org/archives/memoirs-and-journals/jack-nakamura/