Browse > Genre > Documentary
232 articles
Leap of Faith: How Enmanji Temple Was Saved (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Evils of racism, Importance of community, Role of Religion – virtue or hypocrisy
- Available
Documentary short film by Lina Hoshino about a group of white Christian teenagers who guard a California Buddhist temple during World War II in an effort to deter vandalism.
Legacy of the Nisei Veterans: WWII Stories of the 100th/442nd and Military Intelligence Service (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real and perceived, Role of men
- Limited availability
Documentary film made up of interviews with ten Nisei World War II veterans from the San Francisco Bay area. Short segments of the interviews are organized by topic in more or less chronological fashion, with the occasional insertion of still photographs from the period. Segments include the reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor, the arrest of Issei leaders, Executive Order 9066 and its aftermath, early recruits to the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), the formation of the 442nd and the loyalty questionnaire episode of early 1943, the battlefield experiences of the MIS in the Pacific and the 442nd in Europe, and the role of the MIS in occupation Japan. The film ends with a brief summary of each man's life after the war. One unusual element in the inclusion of Takeshi "Gish" Endo's story of being recruited out of Heart Mountain by the British Political Warfare Mission, and doing translation …
Looking Like the Enemy (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Evils of racism, Role of men, Heroism – real and perceived
- Widely available
Documentary film on the unique experiences of Japanese American soldiers in Asian wars: World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The 52-minute film was made by Karen L. Ishizuka and Robert A. Nakamura in conjunction with the exhibition Fighting for Tomorrow: Japanese Americans in America's Wars at the Japanese American National Museum and screened in the exhibition gallery.
Lost LA: Descanso Gardens (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, History
- Chaos and order, Nature as beauty, Power of the past
- Widely available
Special episode of the Lost LA public television series that tells the story of Descanso Gardens, a botanical garden in La Cañada Flintridge, California, that is run by Los Angeles County. The wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans plays a key role in the history of the garden.
Lost LA: From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, History
- Empowerment, Importance of community, Power of the past, Social mobility
- Widely available
Episode of the Lost LA public television series that looks at the return of Japanese Americans to Los Angeles Little Tokyo after their wartime incarceration and the postwar evolution of the Seinan or Crenshaw community, where Japanese Americans and African Americans lived side-by-side for several decades. Host Nathan Masters interviews Japanese American National Museum curator and collection manager Kristen Hayashi about the return to Little Tokyo and subsequent move to the suburbs; dancer and activist Nobuko Miyamoto , who grew up in the Crenshaw neighborhood after the war; Vietnam veteran and activist Nick Nagatani, who was one of the founders of Yellow Brotherhood, a social service organization in the community; and Joy Simmons, a local activist and arts advocate who grew up with many Japanese Americans in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lost LA: Three Views of Manzanar: Adams, Lange, Miyatake (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, History
- Expression through art, Power of the past
- Widely available
Episode of the Lost LA public television series that looks at the Manzanar photography of Ansel Adams , Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake . Series host Nathan Masters visits the Manzanar National Historic Site , where he discusses the various approaches of the trio with Park Ranger Rose Masters and contemporary photographer Paul Kitagaki and visits the sites of some of their iconic photographs. Masters then visits the Toyo Miyatake Studios in San Gabriel, California, where he meets Alan Miyatake, the grandson of Toyo.
The Lost Village of Terminal Island (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Displacement, Immigrant experience, Importance of community, Power of the past
- Widely available
A 2007 documentary film directed by David Meltzer about Terminal Island , once home for a large and prosperous Japanese American fishing community located near the Port of Los Angeles, California. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 , nearly 3,000 Japanese immigrants and their families who lived at Terminal Island were forced from their homes and into government concentration camps. Most of the original inhabitants of this tight-knit Japanese American village would never return. This film tells the story of childhood memories of growing up on a once idyllic Terminal Island as well as the painful experiences of suspicion, interrogation and incarceration (most Terminal Islanders were sent to the camp at Manzanar ) that the community suffered following the passage of Executive Order 9066. The film also traces the former residents' continuing identification with Terminal Island, noting the reunions that began in 1971 and climaxing with …
Main Street, Wyoming: Heart Mountain (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Injustice, Power of the past
- Widely available
Episode of the local PBS program Main Street, Wyoming that focuses on Heart Mountain . Originally produced and aired in 1994, it was repackaged with a brief new opening as part of the Main Street, Wyoming Classics series in 2006. Featuring on-camera host Deborah Hammons, the episode includes three segments: : an extended interview with Paul Tsuneishi on his incarceration experience and subsequent military service; a profile of Kaz Uriu, one of the only Heart Mountain inmates to later settle in Wyoming as a farmer, based on an interview with his daughter; and local efforts to build a memorial at the site—which was dedicated in July 1978—featuring interviews with local residents. Produced by Wyoming Public Television, it was funded by the Wyoming Council for the Humanities ad Kennecott Energy. It has been made available online as part of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
Manzanar (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Power of the past, Quest for discovery, Growing up – pain or pleasure
- Limited availability
Experimental documentary film by Bob Nakamura made in 1971 that was one of the first films to explore the legacy of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Manzanar Fishing Club (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Desire to escape
- Available
Feature length documentary film on Manzanar inmates who temporarily escaped from the confines of the camp to fish in the nearby streams and mountains. In addition to interviews with former inmate fishermen (and women) and archival images, The Manzanar Fishing Club also tells its story using animation and recreated scenes with actors. The film had a limited theatrical release in April 2012 and was released on DVD on October 30, 2012. It was funded in part by grants from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant program .
Manzanar: Never Again (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Importance of community, Injustice, Power of the past
- Widely available
Short film shot at a Manzanar Pilgrimage . Attendees—including former inmates and their descendants—talk about Manzanar , the aftermath of camp, and the evolution of the pilgrimages and the Manzanar National Historic Site as we see scenes of the pilgrimage and the preparations for it. The role of activist Sue Kunitomi Embrey is highlighted in reminiscences of those who knew her; her own words are read by an actress.
Masters of Modern Design: The Art of the Japanese American Experience (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Expression through art, Nature as beauty, Role of women
- Available
Masters of Modern Design profiles five Japanese American artists who made their mark on the postwar art world: Ruth Asawa , S. Neil Fujita , George Nakashima , Isamu Noguchi , and Gyo Obata. Using archival footage and stills along with interviews with the artists and their children, the film looks at their lives, the impact of their wartime incarceration, and their impact as artists in various media, focusing on the 1950s and 1960s. David Iwataki composed the period jazz soundtrack.
Matsumi Kanemitsu: A Japanese American Artist (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Expression through art
- Limited availability
Short profile of artist Matsumi "Mike" Kanemitsu that includes his own thoughts about his techniques and goals as an artist. Narrator Amy Hill provides a brief outline of his life and work accompanied by many photographs and the music of Miles Davis. His World War II experience as a Kibei in the U.S. Army is largely passed over to focus on his postwar art career.
Medal of Honor (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Heroism - real and perceived
- Widely available
Short video on the twenty-one Japanese American recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor , produced by the Go For Broke National Education Center and that features footage from June 21, 2000 ceremony at which twenty of the medals were awarded.
Meeting at Tule Lake (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Power of the past, Evils of racism, Injustice
- Limited availability
Documentary film produced and directed by Scott T. Tsuchitani that features interviews with seven former Tule Lake inmates talking about life in the camp, the "loyalty questionnaire" and segregation, and the importance of remembering, intercut with footage of poet Hiroshi Kashiwagi reading the title poem and of a Tule Lake Pilgrimage. Meeting at Tule Lake was produced by the Tule Lake Committee for the 1994 Tule Lake Pilgrimage.
Memories of Place: Clarksburg's Japanese Language School (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, History
- Importance of community, Working class struggles
- Widely available
Short documentary film on the Holland Union Gakuen ( Japanese language school ) in Clarksburg, California.
Memories of the Camps (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Circle of life, Power of the past, Injustice
- Limited availability
Locally produced documentary by Los Angeles TV station KABC that provides an overview of the concentration camps and community efforts to remember them on their fiftieth anniversary. Hosted by KABC news anchor Joanne Ishimine, the program begins at Heart Mountain where former inmate and camp historian Bacon Sakatani gives a tour of the camp and talks about his experience and the larger impact of incarceration. The next segment is on Manzanar , focusing on Toyo Miyatake and his photographs, featuring an interview with his son Archie. The last segments focus on the commemoration of the camps: a visit to a UCLA class that Sakatani speaks to and interviews with the students; some of those same students at the 50th anniversary Manzanar Pilgrimage ; and visits to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center and Japanese American National Museum in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles. A copy of the …
The Merced Assembly Center: Injustice Immortalized (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Power of the past, Injustice, Importance of community
- Widely available
Documentary film on Japanese Americans from Central California who were incarcerated at the Merced Assembly Center and the effort nearly sixty years later to build a memorial at the site. Produced by the Merced Assembly Center Commemorative Committee, the film was funded in large part by a grant from the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program.
Minidoka (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Dangers of ignorance, Injustice, Knowledge versus ignorance, Power of the past
- Widely available
Documentary film that follows Seattle-based activist Joseph Shoji Lachman to the 2017 Minidoka Pilgrimage, documenting discussions with his family about the trip, the bus ride and touring the site. Excerpts from the CWRIC testimony of Samuel T. Shoji, Lachman's great uncle, that illuminate aspects of his family history are also included. Lachman notes the parallels with Trump era policies and his anger at both the World War II incarceration and current events.
Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Evils of racism, Importance of community, Power of the past
- Widely available
Documentary film on Minidoka that serves as the orientation film at the Minidoka National Historic Site. Narrated by George Takei and featuring interviews with Japanese Americans who were incarcerated at Minidoka, the film covers the prewar Japanese American community, the mass forced removal of Japanese Americans in 1942, life at Minidoka, the "loyalty questionnaire," the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , the closing of the camp in 1945 and the return home, the Redress movement , and the importance of remembering the incarceration story.
MIS: Human Secret Weapon (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Heroism – real and perceived, Role of men, Vulnerability of the strong, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
- Widely available
Feature length documentary film on the history of Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) during World War II. Written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Junichiro Suzuki, MIS: Human Secret Weapon is the third film in Suzuki's trilogy of documentaries on Japanese Americans during World War II.
Mission in Manila: The Sakakida Story (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Facing darkness, Forgiveness, Heroism – real and perceived, Will to survive
- Limited availability
Documentary film that tells the story of Richard Sakakida , a Nisei intelligence agent in the Philippines who is captured and tortured by the Japanese during World War II and who confronts—and forgives—his torturers after the war. The film is based almost entirely on an interview with Sakakida, augmented by narrator Jerry Kay, archival footage and family photographs, and illustrations by Roberta Twidwell. The 28-minute film was produced by the Military Intelligence Service and the National Japanese American Historical Society for the Military Intelligence Service Fellowship Program.
Mitsuye and Nellie: Asian American Poets (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary
- Expression through art, Female roles, Power of words, Role of women
- Available
One of the earliest documentaries to broach the topic of Japanese American wartime incarceration, Mitsuye and Nellie profiles Asian American poets Mitsuye Yamada and Nellie Wong, showing them reading their poetry, meeting their family and visiting the Minidoka and Angel Island sites.
Most Honorable Son (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, Biography
- War - glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism - real or perceived
- Available
Documentary film that profiles Nisei war hero Ben Kuroki , tracing his life from his Nebraska childhood, his fight to be allowed to serve in the military after the attack on Pearl Harbor, his bombing missions over Europe and Japan, and his visits to American concentration camps in which Japanese Americans were held. Kuroki tells much of the story in his own words, which are augmented by many interviews with crew members who flew with him in both Europe and Japan. In addition to archival footage and photographs, the filmmakers also film reenactments of a few key episodes. Among the incidents highlighted are the dramatic raid on the Ploesti oilfields in what is now Romania, one of Kuroki's last missions in Europe; his speech before the Commonweath Club in San Francisco upon his return; and his visit to the Heart Mountain concentration camp of which inmates Eiichi Sakauye, Jack Tono, …
Moving Walls: American Nightmare to American Dream (film)
- Films and Video
- Grades 9-12, Adult
- Documentary, History
- Power of the past, Working class struggles
- Widely available
Documentary film about the enduring impact of the Heart Mountain , Wyoming, concentration camp—in particular, its surviving barracks—on both the local Wyoming population and on Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated there.