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Tule Lake: An Issei Memoir (book)
- Books
- Widely available
The autobiographical account of Noboru Shirai, published in 2001 by Muteki Press. The book was originally published in Tokyo, Japan, in 1981 by Kawade Shobo Shinsha under the title, Kariforunia nikkeijin kyōsei shūyōjo , and translated into English by Ray Hosoda. Illustrations in the book are by Sylvia Neff, calligraphy by Etsuko Wakayama.
Two Homelands (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Historical Fiction
- Death – inevitable or tragedy, Emptiness of attaining a false dream, Evils of racism, Family – blessing or curse, Heroism – real and perceived, Individual versus society, Nationalism – complications, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Vulnerability of the strong
- Widely available
Epic three volume novel by best-selling Japanese novelist Toyoko Yamasaki that centers on the identity dilemmas of a Kibei man during and immediately after World War II. Published in Japan in 1983, it was adapted into a popular Japanese television drama the following year. Alarmed by reports that the novel/TV show portrayed Japanese Americans as having split loyalties, Japanese American leaders succeeded in preventing the TV drama from being shown in the continental U.S. In 2007, the University of Hawai'i Press published an English language translation by V. Dixon Morris under the title Two Homelands .
To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Adult
- Memoir
- Coming of age, Disillusionment and dreams, Displacement, Family - blessing or curse, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Identity crisis, Importance of community, Love and sacrifice
- Widely available
Famous actor and celebrity recounts some of the most important periods of his life, including his early childhood spent at Rohwer and Tule Lake concentration camps.
Tule Lake (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Historical Fiction
- Evils of racism, Family – blessing or curse, Importance of community, Individual versus society
- Available
Novel by Edward Miyakawa set in the eponymous concentration camp. Tule Lake was likely the first novel by a Japanese American set in one of the World War II concentration camps to be published when it first appeared in 1979. It was also notable for its unflinching portrayal of life in the most repressive of the camps.
We the People: A Story of Internment in America (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Evils of racism, Importance of community, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of women
- Available
Memoir of Florin, California-based Nisei educator and activist Mary Tsukamoto co-authored by Elizabeth Pinkerton and published in 1987 when Tsukamoto was seventy-two. Though the book covers her entire life, well over half of it focuses on her and her family's wartime confinement, their resettlement in the Midwest, and eventual return to California.
We, the Dangerous (book)
- Books
- Widely available
We, the Dangerous: New and Selected Poems is a collection of poetry by Sansei Janice Mirikitani , published by Virago Press in 1995. The poems' subjects range from remembering the World War II American concentration camps and her family's first-hand experiences ("Breaking Silence" is based on her mother's experience testifying before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians in 1981) and the outrage of sexual abuse victims, to the politics and protest of the Gulf War. Several of the poems also address topics of the devastation of war, violence, silence, and activism.
Weedflower (book)
- Books
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Grades 7-8
- Children's, Historical Fiction
- Growing up – pain or pleasure, Evils of racism, Fear of other, Losing hope
- Widely available
Coming-of-age novel for young adults set in Poston with a young Nisei girl as the protagonist. Weedflower was author Cynthia Kadohata's second young adult novel, after the Newbery Medal winning Kira-Kira .
Welcome Home! (short story)
- Short Stories
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Evils of racism, Injustice, Totalitarianism
- Widely available
Short story that contrasts the reception of two returning soldiers to their homes after serving overseas. Two soldiers meet on a train and talk about what they look forward to upon returning home. The first, presumably white, gets off the train to a warm welcome by parents, a girlfriend and the family pet. The second, a Japanese American has no one waiting for him, since his family is still incarcerated in an Arizona concentration camp. He is ignored or greeted coldly by the locals in his hometown and when he gets to his family home, finds that it has been vandalized and painted with racist epithets. Authored by Sgt. Len Zinberg, Welcome Home! was first published in Yank , a weekly magazine published by the U.S. Army and reprinted in the Pacific Citizen in 1945.
What the Scarecrow Said (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Importance of community
- Facing darkness, Importance of community, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
- Widely available
Novel set in the last months of World War II whose protagonist is a middle-aged Nisei widower who resettles in a small New England town.
When Justice Failed: The Fred Korematsu Story (book)
- Books
- Grades 3-5
- Grades 3-5
- Children's, Biography
- Convention and rebellion, Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Power of the past
- Available
Biography for children of activist and exclusion challenger Fred Korematsu by journalist Steven A. Chin.
When Military Necessity Overrides Constitutional Guarantees: The Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Evils of racism, Immigrant experience, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
This curriculum guide examines the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans through the lens of its constitutional merit. It should be noted that it was published in 1982, and it contains terminology that in 2017 is considered inappropriate and/or offensive in the use of "Oriental" versus Asian or Asian American. In addition, many of the suggested classroom materials are outmoded (filmstrips) or out of print and may be difficult to access. The guide refers to a "media kit" which may have been available when the guide was first published.
When National Security Trumps Individual Rights (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Individual versus society, Injustice, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Power of the past, Rights - individual or societal, War - glory, necessity, pain tragedy
- Widely available
This lesson prompts students to think about the balance of civil liberties and national security during times of national crisis by considering the Supreme Court case of Korematsu v. United States (1944). Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu fought against the mass removal of Japanese Americans during World War II by refusing to report to the Tanforan Assembly Center in 1942. He challenged his felony conviction on constitutional grounds, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court where he lost in a 6-3 decision. In 1983, this conviction was vacated after information surfaced proving that the government had originally withheld critical evidence.
When the Emperor Was Divine: Teacher's Guide (curricula)
- Curricula
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
- Displacement, Growing up - pain or pleasure, Evils of racism, Injustice
The Information provided in this 10-page guide aims to get students to understand When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka "as both a work of art and a meditation on freedom, identity, and loyalty" (page 2). There is background information about the novel and the author, including excerpts from an interview with Otsuka. The historical information provided about the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans was garnered from Lauren Kessler's Stubborn Twig: Three Generations in the Life of a Japanese-American Family (New York, Random House, 1993).
When Your Body Has Been Rolled in Thorns (short story)
- Short Stories
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Fiction
- Evils of racism, Facing reality, Loss of innocence, Will to survive
- Widely available
Short story by Ferris Takahashi about a Japanese American family leaving a concentration camp to return to their old home in Los Angeles. Told from the perspective of a college educated Nisei husband and father of two young children, the story begins as they gather up their possessions and prepare to leave the camp. Yosh, a friend who had returned earlier and was able to reestablish his business, greets them at the train station. When they return to their home, they find it trashed and vandalized, with all the furniture gone. They also learn that the Buddhist temple in which they had stored other possessions had burned down. Yosh and his family offer to put them up until they can fix their house. Returning to look more closely at the house after dinner, the man and his Issei mother find racist graffiti. His mother assures him that they will rebound.
Woman from Hiroshima (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Historical Fiction
- Immigrant experience, Motherhood, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Wisdom of experience
- Available
Novel by Toshio Mori written in the first-person voice of an Issei woman telling her life story to two grandchildren shortly after World War II.
Words, Weavings and Songs (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Role of women, Expression through art, Power of the past
- Widely available
2002 documentary film profiling three Nisei women who drew on their experiences as teenagers in American concentration camps to pursue different types of creative expression both in camp and afterwards. The three artists featured are writer, playwright, and painter Wakako Yamauchi , weaver Momo Nagano , and singer Mary Nomura . A project of the Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center at the Japanese American National Museum , Words, Weavings & Songs was produced and directed by John Esaki and was funded in part by a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program .
Wyoming Chronicle: Aura Newlin—Japanese Americans in Wyoming (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Injustice, Power of the past
- Widely available
Aura Newlin, a Northwest College faculty member and board member of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, talks about her family history as a fourth generation Japanese American and a fourth generation Wyomingite, then takes the viewer on a tour of the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center , telling the story of the forced removal and incarceration and of the Heart Mountain concentration camp. The last third of video is a sit-down interview between producer Craig Blumenshine and Newlin that covers her students' knowledge of and reaction to the incarceration story, the role and purpose of the museum and the relevance of the story today and its place in Wyoming history.
Yamashita (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Animation, History
- Coming of age, Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Facing darkness, Family – blessing or curse
- Widely available
Short animated film by Hayley Foster that tells the incarceration story from the perspective of a girl of about eight: her removal from home with her parents and grandfather, the hardships they face at Manzanar (meals in communal mess halls, the barbed wire fences, and saying the pledge of allegiance in a barrack classroom), and her embrace of Japanese culture that her mother discourages, but that her beloved grandfather supports. The hand drawn animation is mostly in black-and-white, with strategic bursts of color.
Yukiko and Carlos (short story)
- Short Stories
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Everlasting love, Family – blessing or curse, Power of tradition, Working class struggles, Youth and beauty
- Widely available
Love story by Rubén "Funkahuatl" Guevara about a Chicano young man and a Nisei young woman that begins in 1941. Written in the first person voice of Carlos Gutiérrez, the story begins when he spots Yukiko Nakamura dancing at a bon dance while he is walking home from work. At Roosevelt High School, he approaches her, and they become friends, with each learning about the other's culture. Carlos aspires to be a boxing champion and is estranged from his alcoholic father. He soon becomes a regular at Yukiko's family's restaurant and begins taking lessons in the martial arts from Yukiko's father, eventually winning his respect and the right to date Yukiko. But the coming of war and the forced removal of Japanese Americans separate the couple, as Yukiko and her family are sent to Manzanar . Carlos eventually becomes a war hero by applying the lessons he learned from Mr. …
Why She Left Us (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Historical Fiction
- Family – blessing or curse, Motherhood, Power of the past, Role of women
- Widely available
A 1999 novel by Rahna Reiko Rizzuto that follows the Okada family from the 1920s to the 1990s and includes their incarceration at the Santa Anita Assembly Center and Amache as well as the experiences of two Nisei who serve in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team . The novel is structured as a series of vignettes told from the points of view of four characters. Why She Left Us was honored with an American Book Award in 2000.
Arnold Knows Me: The Tommy Kono Story (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Role of men
- Widely available
Documentary film that charts Nisei Tommy Kono 's unlikely rise from a World War II concentration camp to becoming one of America's greatest Olympic style weightlifters.
An American Contradiction (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Evils of racism, Injustice, Power of the past, Power of words
- Widely available
Filmmaker Vanessa Yuille goes to visit the Heart Mountain site, where her mother was born, to learn more about its history. Through interviews with former inmates—particularly Bacon Sakatani—and local residents and experts, she provides an overview of the mass removal and incarceration and of life at Heart Mountain. We also see LaDonna Zall, acting curator at the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center , lead tour of the site as it is today. The film concludes with Sakatani leading what looks like a local community meeting in a discussion about whether the camp should be called a "concentration camp."
An American Hero: Shiro Kashino (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, Animation
- Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications
- Widely available
Short documentary film that uses animation and archival footage to tell the story of Shiro Kashino, a Nisei from Seattle who becomes a war hero as a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , but who loses his rank for his role in a fight in France.
The Art of Gaman: The Story Behind the Objects (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Expression through art, Will to survive
- Widely available
A short documentary film created by Rick Quan in 2010 to accompany the traveling exhibition, The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946 which features arts and crafts created by Japanese American internees while living in World War II concentration camps. The film includes stories about the inmates who created the objects included in the exhibition, as told by their children and grandchildren. It also includes an interview with the exhibition's curator, Delphine Hirasuna, who describes The Art of Gaman' s purpose of celebrating the unique talents of these camp artists and helping people understand the larger story of the Japanese American mass confinement. The DVD release also includes Voices Long Silent , a 1980 short film by Bob Matsumoto, that was also shown in conjunction with The Art of Gaman exhibition.
An Internment Odyssey: Haisho Tenten (book)
- Books
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Memoir
- Immigrant experience, Nationalism – complications, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Will to survive
- Widely available
An Internment Odyssey: Haisho Tenten is the third book in a series published by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i and University of Hawai'i Press of a Hawai'i inmate's account of their incarceration experience during World War II. It represents a critical addition to Japanese American history as it provides the perspective of an Issei from Hawai'i who authorities incarcerated at multiple sites in the Islands and the mainland. The author, Kumaji Furuya , thus gives voice to some of the experiences faced by the 1,320 inmates from Hawai'i who like Furuya were often separated from their families for the duration of the war.