WEEK 1

OCTOBER 1 - 7

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 1

OPENING CEREMONy

This year’s opening ceremony focuses on pilgrimages, the journey back to the incarceration camps that the U.S. government forced many Japanese Americans into during World War II. Pilgrimages exist to share the importance of personal and community healing that it can have on so many people. Please enjoy the testimonials of individuals involved in planning these pilgrimages, individuals who have experienced firsthand the personal and family impacts, and those who look forward to continuing these experiences for generations to come so we don’t lose this part of our history.

MONDAY - OCTober 2

Treating America’s #1 Addiction: Abusive Power

Modern psychiatry recognizes that addictions result from frustrated, traumatic, and diverted belonging. Since the time of colonization to the founding of the American republic to the current day, there has been a drive to declare dominance and subordinate others. Megalomania, the belief in one’s superiority and the drive to control and manipulate others, lives on in conscious and unconscious forms. Dr. Chandra will map out megalomania and the addiction to abusive power, and provide alternative examples of power in service to the greater good.

Native Hawaiian Activist Kaniela Ing on Fires, Colonialism & Banyan Tree

Courtesy of Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! speaks with Kaniela Ing, national director of the Green New Deal Network and seventh-generation Kanaka Maoli, Native Hawaiian, about the impact of the devastating wildfires and their relationship to climate change. The catastrophic fires have destroyed nearly all buildings in the historic section of Lahaina, which once served as the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom. What is now being described as the worst natural disaster in Hawai`i’s history was created by conditions such as dry vegetation, hurricane-level winds and developers redirecting water and building over wetlands, which are directly related to the climate crisis. “Anyone in power who denies climate change, to me, are the arsonists here,” says Ing. “We’re living the climate emergency.”

tuesday - october 3

appreciation vs. appropriation - yuki

Courtesy of Yuki and Twin Cities JACL

Yuki is the creator behind Made by Yuki, a clothing line that utilizes Kimonos and other vintage Japanese textiles. By focusing on the history and craftsmanship of traditional textiles, Yuki creates opportunities for everyone to appreciate Japanese culture without overstepping the boundaries of appropriation.

Okaeri (Welcome Home): The Nisei Legacy at Shofuso Curator Talk

Okaeri (Welcome Home): The Nisei Legacy at Shofuso, is a site-based multimedia exhibit telling the story of the postwar resettlement of Nisei into Philadelphia, and their unique connection and contributions to Shofuso Japanese House & Garden. Focusing on the early 1980s to late 1990s, this exhibit explores the Nisei leaders who organized the Friends of the Japanese House & Garden, a volunteer- led non-profit organization that oversaw the restoration and maintenance of Shofuso until its merger with Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia in 2016. Utilizing audio and projection of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1957 installation of Shofuso, the exhibit allows visitors to hear the stories of the Japanese American community in their own words, through oral history recordings that have been compiled from archival interviews taken with the local Nisei in 1994 and a dozen new oral history recordings captured earlier this year. The exhibit explores topics related to the forced removal and wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII, resettlement to Philadelphia in the postwar era, the role that arts and culture have played in local Japanese American activist movements, and the untold labor that has gone into preserving this Philadelphia landmark.

Join exhibit curator Rob Buscher for a virtual tour of the special exhibition, and visit the exhibit website at https://okaeri.japanphilly.org/

wednesday - october 4

Santa Fe Camp Descendants: Building Community, Finding Issei Voices

The Santa Fe Internment Camp (SFIC), one of the largest DOJ prison camps during WWII, incarcerated predominantly Issei males. In the decades following SFIC’s closure, all remnants of the site were demolished and replaced with a subdivision. In similar fashion, the history of the Issei unjustly imprisoned here was buried, until their descendants and allies entered a decade-long battle to uncover this interred tragedy. Despite great controversy and misunderstanding, advocates succeeded in establishing an historical marker at the site on April 20, 2002. Twenty years later, Dr. Gail Okawa and Krist Ishikawa Jessup, both descendants of SFIC incarcerees, have joined forces across generational lines to develop a community of descendants to foster research and discussion about the Issei incarceration.

We invite you to join us in discussion of this history, the erasure of the Issei narrative, the varied experiences between Hawai’i and the continental US, and the connections between Issei incarcerees and the military. This conversation will highlight the importance of community building among SFIC incarceree descendants, including a Q&A with the speakers, with the goal of inviting descendants to engage in community, share their existing knowledge, and participate in future planning and research efforts centered around SFIC.

If you are interested in joining the Santa Fe group, please fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/iN6t2KMumiLrNvVF6

Appreciation vs. appropriation - emi ito

Courtesy of Yuki and Twin Cities JACL

Emi Ito is a mother and ethnic studies educator, as well as a core member of the grassroots organization, Japanese American Families for Justice. She began writing about the cultural appropriation of the kimono and Japanese culture in sustainable fashion several years ago.

Thursday - october 5

Appreciation vs appropriation - Atsushi Futatsuya

Courtesy of Yuki and Twin Cities JACL

Atsushi was born into a family of Sashiko artisans in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. In 2015, Atsushi and his mother Keiko started Sashi.Co, a website to share the enjoyment of Sashiko. Atsushi now shares stories and techniques about Sashiko to a wide audience through the website and Instagram. In teaching Sashiko, Atsushi highlights the importance of understanding Japanese culture and language.

the art of making do: Matthew Okazaki

Courtesy of Densho

Join Matthew Okazaki for a virtual unveiling of work created as one of Densho’s 2022/23 artists-in-residence. Through archival photos, sculptural pieces, and excerpts from his grandfather’s post-war diary, Okazaki attempts to capture the resilient spirit reflected in the domestic interiors of Japanese American WWII incarceration. As Okazaki writes of his grandfather’s incarceration at Crystal City, “Transforming the sterility of the desert and the architecture into makeshift homes, an act of quiet rebellion took place. A form of perseverance, of gaman, not to be viewed as reactive, but as a radically projective act. Through the transformation of prisons into makeshift homes, this ad-hoc, make-do process brought forth a richness and resilience of spirit into the desolate landscape.”

friday - october 6

appreciation vs appropriation - M Niyiya

Courtesy of Yuki and Twin Cities JACL

Emi “M” Nijiya (they/them) is a half-Japanese, transgender tattoo artist in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. They own a tattoo shop called Jackalope Tattoo that houses 15 artists and staff of marginalized genders. M has worked in the arts most of their life. They work in black and grey realism and gender affirming tattoos. The tattoo industry is very cis-het, white male dominated, but M has made it their priority to give an environment to their clientele that is welcoming, safe and not intimidating. Their shop’s mission is to provide a safe space for women, the LGBTQIA+ community and POC.

the past is not the past: Japanese American WWII Incarceration & the yonsei generation

Courtesy of Densho

“In what ways do you feel the incarceration has impacted your own life?” That’s the question posed in Dr. Donna Nagata’s recent survey of nearly 500 Yonsei descendants of WWII incarceration. Their responses show that the past is anything but over, and that the incarceration continues to impact Yonsei identity, career choices, and much more. In the first major public event for the Yonsei Project, Dr. Nagata will share her preliminary findings and interpretations. She will be joined in conversation by Dr. Satsuki Ina, Brandon Shimoda, and Daryn Wakasa.

saturday - october 7

Writing Fiction From generational trauma

When writing about our families, Japanese Americans often encounter the following obstacle: How to shed light on the damaging effects of intergenerational trauma? Capturing that complex dynamic can be a formidable challenge, requiring us to juggle the pain of the past with the healing of the present. In this session, three authors of novels dealing with Nikkei intergenerational trauma talk about the difficulties in writing fiction from the harrowing events in their family’s history.

Stories of Japanese-Americans' WWII Internment & Exile

Courtesy of Poetry.LA

Japanese-American elders share memories of life during and after World War II. Three members of the Nisei Writers Workshop of the Little Tokyo Branch, L.A. Public Library, read from their work at the 9th annual "Connecting Cultures" event sponsored by Poets & Writers at Beyond Baroque Literary | Arts Center, Venice, CA, on 6/28/19. The video includes an introduction by Naomi Shibata who directs the Nisei Writers Workshop and writers (in the order of appearance) Ron Osajima, Adeline Sakita Manzo, and Irma Fukumoto.

Child Prisoner: Kai & Minkie - A Nisei Perspective

Courtesy of Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages

In the book Child Prisoner in American Concentration Camps author Mako Nakagawa shares her experience of being taken away to the War Relocation Authority incarceration camps during WWII. In this video, Mako’s sisters Kazuko “Kai” Katayama and Midori “Minkie” Akagi give us firsthand accounts from their perspectives.

Child Prisoner: Masao & Trevyr - Issei and Yonsei Perspectives

Courtesy of Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages

Author Mako Nakagawa’s father, Masao Takahashi, submitted a testimonial letter to Congress about redress for the incarceration. In this video, Masao’s great grandson, Trevyr Akagi, reads this letter and shares some thoughts on his family’s incarceration.

Child Prisoner: Lance, Laura, DeeAn, and Mark - Sansei Perspectives

Courtesy of Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages

Child Prisoner in American Concentration Camps author Mako Nakagawa’s daughter, nieces, and nephews share their perspectives on their family’s incarceration. They express their feelings about their grandparents’ and parents’ imprisonment. The cousins also share their insights on the lasting effects of the incarceration on themselves, their family, and their community.