sunday - september 5
unlocking issei voices in camp literature
Two new publication projects uncovered the buried past of Issei writing in camp. Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation Museum Manager Cally Steussy unveiled the foundation’s new translations of the Heart Mountain Bungei literary magazine. Steussy and two of the translators, Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda and Allison Markin Powell discuss this work. Writer/editor Frank Abe tells of other recent translations of Issei writing planned for the forthcoming Penguin Book of the Literature of Japanese American Incarceration. This plan includes two works commissioned from the Tule Lake Tessaku magazine.
Hawaiians, Peruvians, and West Coast Leaders: The Issei at Fort Missoula
Courtesy of Historical Museum at Fort Missoula | 34 min
Kristjana Eyjólfsson, the Education Director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, presents a brief discussion on the Department of Justice Alien Detention Center at Fort Missoula during WWII. This presentation covers the difference between the Department of Justice Camps and War Relocation Authority Camps. The discussion also sheds light on why so many leaders of the Japanese American community were arrested and sent to the middle of Montana starting December 7th, 1941 - the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Remembering Our Grandfathers’ Exile: The Imprisonment of Hawai`i’s Japanese in World War II
Courtesy of National Japanese American Historical Society | 1 hr, 6 min
An illustrated talk and a live Q & A by Gail Okawa. Okawa embarked on an 18-year journey to research the story of over 600 Japanese internees from Hawai’i sent to the U. S. continent. Her quest was inspired by her grandfather, Reverend Tamasaku Watanabe, who was arrested and interned by the Department of Justice. Okawa’s story chronicles the story of the removal of Japanese Americans from Hawai’i from their arrest through their detention. Her work presents the arrest of Japanese Americans in Hawai’i, their arrival at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, and the odyssey of detention across the American West. Okawa uses poetry, letters, and photographs to show the ordeals these men lived through, including the loss of sons who served in the U.S. Army. Author and scholar Gary Okihiro calls the book “remarkable and moving.”
before the mass incarceration
Courtesy of Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition | 34 min
Even before the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, the FBI arrested thousands of noncitizen Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants on the U.S. mainland. These people were imprisoned in Department of Justice and Army confinement sites. This presentation by Russell Endo examines what happened and how this process unfolded. Endo focuses on Japanese immigrants in California's Santa Barbara County and the Tuna Canyon Detention Station located within the City of Los Angeles. Russell Endo is a retired professor of sociology and Asian American studies at the University of Colorado. He is the primary researcher for the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition.
Kane Ilio Heiau
Courtesy of Searider Productions | 3 min
The US Military destroyed the sacred space of Kane Ilio Heiau while preparing for WWII. Located off the coast of Wai’anae, the Heiau was not only a space dedicated to the deity of Creation, but also the single most important navigational school in the Northern Pacific Ocean.
aleutian and pribilof island history 1741-wwII
Courtesy of Lauren Peters | 16 min
This video provides a short overview of Aleutian and Pribilof Island history from the first European contact in 1741 to WWII. During WWII the American Army removed people from their island which they had inhabited for over 9000 years. The people were moved to dilapidated camps in Southeast Alaska for the duration of the war. At the same time, Attu Island was captured by the Japanese Army. The Japanese removed Attu Island residents and sent them to prison camps in Japan. The Unangax̂ (Aleutian Island people) are resilient and strong. They are a thriving community which celebrates their history from California to Alaska.
monday - september 6
remembrance: a legacy of executive order 9066
Courtesy of the Washington State History Museum | 14 min
Through first-person narratives, this video explores the intergenerational impacts and legacy of the incarceration of people of Japanese descent during World War II, focusing on communities in Washington State. The Washington State Historical Society collaborated with individuals and families who were directly impacted by this history, including people who were incarcerated and their descendants. REMEMBRANCE was created by the Washington State Historical Society (WSHS, Tacoma, WA) working with Slager Fuj Creative Media (Seattle, WA).
We are sharing this video courtesy of the Washington State Historical Society. It was created as a part of the REMEMBRANCE gallery and associated curriculum. The REMEMBRANCE gallery opened in June of 2021. You can view the gallery at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.
manzanar site introduction by saburo sasaki
Courtesy of National Park Service | 7 min
A 2016 site tour of Manzanar narrated by Saburo Sasaki, who was confined here during World War II. Each year since 2005, Saburo and his wife Ann have returned to volunteer at Manzanar National Historic Site for the month of May.
The untold story
Courtesy of Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i | 30 min
The Untold Story talks about Japanese American internment in Hawaiʻi, which is a topic that is not well known. Hawaiʻi JAs encountered selective internment, meaning only targeted American citizens were incarcerated (without due process). Some of the prisoners transferred to internment camps on the Continental US, while others ended up at Honouliuli. A story that was buried and forgotten is rediscovered and retold by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi.
Typhoon of Steel
Dir. Gena hamamoto | 19 min | 2012
Typhoon of Steel is a short community-based documentary film that explores the lives of two Okinawan American Kibei Nisei who served in the U.S. military as linguists in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. While Japanese Americans on the West Coast were incarcerated in camps, these men risked their lives to prove their loyalty to America. Born in the U.S. and raised in Okinawa, their cultural and linguistic skills were a tactical asset to the military. But emotions ran high as they saved their own families, and witnessed civilian casualties and the devastation of the island they once called home.
The Heart mountain mystery stones
Courtesy of 50 Objects
The Heart Mountain mystery stones represent a story that begins and ends far beyond the barbed wire fences of the Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming. It's a story that stretches all the way from thirteenth-century Japan right up to the present; a mystery that remained unsolved for over fifty years. It may also be the story of one man's act of unshakable faith during one of the darkest periods of his life.
Tuesday - september 7
writing workshop with Alden Hayashi: session 1 overcoming nikkei paralysis
Zoom small group discussion
Taking the first steps with writing often requires you to overcome not just ordinary writer’s block but also several Nikkei-specific challenges. The first challenge is the feeling of “gaman,” that our suffering and hardships must be endured in silence and not made public. Other challenges include the fear that your writing has to be representative of all Japanese Americans, that it has to be perfect, that it has to avoid offending other JAs, and that it has to pay the proper respects to your parents and grandparents. In this interactive online event Alden answers participants’ questions and helps them gain confidence to tell their stories.
honouliuli
Courtesy of Searider Productions | 4 min
Honouliuli was the largest and longest-used incarceration facility in Hawai’i. During WWII the facility was a POW camp and a site for Japanese American incarceration. This video presents the Nishimura family’s story of incarceration in “Jigoku Dani” (“Hell Valley”), as the site was called by incarcerees.
Community Celebration
Courtesy of Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i | 4 min
After preserving Honouliuli forever, the community celebrates with aloha.
Manzanar Curator’s Corner: Charles Isamu Morimoto
Courtesy of National Park Service | 10 min
The story of Charles Isamu Morimoto's paintings and the impact of the incarceration on him and his family.
50 Objects: Ibuki's Doll
Courtesy of National Japanese American Historical Society & 50 Objects | 56 min
Join us for an illustrated conversation with Ibuki Hibi Lee, who carried her doll to Tanforan and Topaz in 1942. She still has the doll, which was memorialized in a photograph taken by Dorothea Lange on May 9, 1942, in Hayward, California, during the mass roundup. We also will be joined by Ibuki's older brother, Satoshi Hibi, for the live Q&A. The program is co-sponsored by the National Japanese American Historical Society and 50 Objects.
wednesday - september 8
Poston’s Tribal History - Past & Present
This presentation includes a video and intercultural panel which reveals the close ties and intersectionality between the Colorado River Indian Tribes and the Poston Community Alliance. We begin with the powerful words of Dennis Patch, current Tribal Chairman of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The panel includes Marlene Shigekawa, President of the Poston Community Alliance and Valerie Welsh-Tahbo, Museum Director of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Our moderator is Shane Sato, of Shane Sato Photography and a Board Member of the Poston Community Alliance.
Ho‘oulu Lahui Aloha
Courtesy of Searider Productions | 26 min
This video provides an overview of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the subsequent social and political outcomes of this event. Today, Kanaka Maoli/Native Hawaiians persist in their pursuit of sovereignty amidst legal challenges, discriminatory policy language, and the denial of federal tribal recognition.
Sand Island - Internment in Hawai‘i
Courtesy of Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i | 1 min
Sand Island is known as the main port for our shipped goods but it served as the first stop for many of Hawaiʻi's internees.
Manzanar Stories
Courtesy of National Park Service | 1 hr, 13 min
In this 2018 illustrated talk Alisa Lynch, Team Lead for Interpretation and Visitor Services at Manzanar National Historic Site, shares dozens of stories about Japanese Americans in Manzanar and elsewhere. She highlights pre-war history, incarceration during World War II, and the preservation and development of Manzanar as a national historic site. Recording courtesy of the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert.
Notable Issei of Heart Mountain
Courtesy of Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | 26 min
The first generation of Japanese immigrants, known as the Issei, are often remembered as keepers of Japanese culture in the United States. However, they were also a generation of people who chose voluntarily to come and live in America, even though many of them never got the chance to legally naturalize as citizens. Come meet Nyogen Senzaki, Satoru Tsuneishi, and Clarence Uno - three Issei who were sent to Heart Mountain during WWII. These three men embraced their life in the United States, despite the many hardships that they faced. They also never gave up on important aspects of their Japanese identities. This program was made possible through the support of the Embassy of Japan in the United States.
THURSDAY - september 9
Issei Women and Work in Hawai‘i: Washerwomen, prostitutes, midwives, and barbers
In many first generation Japanese histories the story of women has been limited to primarily two narratives: the reticent and subservient picture bride and the hard-working, silent plantation field laborer. Whereas many women arrived in the Islands as picture brides and most labored on the plantations, these simplistic characterizations do not capture the wide range of activities performed by Issei women. Because of their secondary economic status and because their husbands defined women’s roles, Issei women’s activities in Hawai’i have not been regarded as worthy of close historical analysis until recently. In this presentation Dr. Kelli Nakamura will shed light on this “invisible” population.
Mine Okubo's Masterpiece
JANM Curator, Kristen Hayashi walks us through the new exhibition about Miné Okubo's book Citizen 13660.
UNBOXED: Miné Okubo’s Masterpiece: The Art of Citizen 13660
Courtesy of Japanese American National Museum | 4 min
In 1946, artist Miné Okubo published “Citizen 13660,” an illustrated memoir that captured her experience of being detained in America’s concentration camps during World War II.
Casting From Confinement: Fishing Stories During Japanese American Incarceration
Courtesy of National Park Service | 11 min
The creeks and mountain lakes surrounding Manzanar enticed many fishermen to sneak out of the barbed wire fences. Watch this session to learn what it was like and how fishing gave people a much-needed feeling of freedom.
Pets of Heart Mountain
Courtesy of Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | 30 min
Humans weren’t the only residents at the WWII Japanese American confinement camp at Heart Mountain. Many of the Japanese Americans adopted pets during their time at the camp. The most famous of these is the magpie Maggie, but there were also chipmunks, lizards, and even rattlesnakes, along with dogs and cats. Come learn more about the furry, feathered, or scaled friends of Heart Mountain!
Friday - september 10
Remember Pearl Harbor to Never Forget 9/11: Teaching Japanese American and Muslim American Histories
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 Tadaima presented a panel discussion. This discussion acknowledges and compares the experiences of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor and Muslim Americans post 9/11. Topics include an overview of xenophobia in US History, discussion of the contemporary racialization of Japanese Americans and Muslim Americans, and strategies for teaching this difficult content. This discussion is moderated by Japanese American media scholar Rob Buscher. Panelists include Dr. Fariha Khan, Co-Director of the Asian American Studies Program at University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, Education and Outreach Director at the Philadelphia Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Those Who Were—and Are—Here
Courtesy of National Park Service | 8 min.
Manzanar National Historic Site's Community Volunteer Ambassador Nicholas Dawson lives on the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Reservation. In this video Dawson introduces us to some of the "untold stories" of his people’s home, Payahuunadü (land of flowing waters).
Sculptures of George and Gerard Tsutakawa
Courtesy of Wing Luke
Please enjoy the videos and pictures on the interactive map of the walking tour featured in "Gerard Tsutakawa: Stories Shaped in Bronze," an exhibit at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, Washington. This exhibit of Gerard’s public work explores the inspiration, process and final artwork, George’s influence on his practice, and the effect these works have on Seattle physically, socially, and culturally. The exhibit showcases how art imbues joy and strengthens community. Click the button below George’s picture (left) to enter the walking tour, then click on the numbers to watch a short video or see a picture for that site.
Toshiki Hamaoka: Life from Tule Lake
Courtesy of Japanese American National Museum | 3 min
Toshiki Hamaoka, a kibei Nisei artist, was among the incarcerees of the concentration camp at Tule Lake. Hired in 1945 by Marvin Opler, a WRA anthropologist, Hamaoka was commissioned to capture daily life at Tule Lake. Hamaoka’s drawings and watercolors were Kept by Opler and passed onto his wife, Charlotte, after his death in 1981. His artwork remained unseen until 2002, when Opler’s widow donated the pieces to the Japanese American National Museum.
