Browse > Theme > Individual versus society

31 articles

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A Hero's Hero (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Convention and rebellion, Heroism – real and perceived, Individual versus society, Rights - individual or societal
Available

Documentary film on Nisei draft resister Yosh Kuromiya and his nephew, civil rights activist Kiyoshi Kuromiya, directed by Robert Shoji. The film begins with Shoji's first person narration of meeting Yosh Kuromiya and with scenes of Kuromiya, shot shortly before his 2018 passing, in which he discusses growing up in the San Gabriel Valley before the war and being forcibly removed with his family to the Heart Mountain , Wyoming, concentration camp, where he was among the young men who resisted the draft, subsequently serving time in prison. The film then follows him to the cemetery, where he visits the resting place of Kiyoshi, while recalling his life of activism. An audio interview of Kiyoshi continues the story of his role in the Civil Rights Movement and as founder of the Critical Path newsletter that provided crucial information about HIV/AIDS. The film ends with Shoji expressing gratitude for having met …

Barbed Wire Baseball (book)

Books
Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
Children's
Empowerment, Individual versus society, Will to survive
Widely available

Children's picture book by Marissa Moss with illustrations by Yuko Shimizu that focuses on the true story of Kenichi Zenimura , an Issei baseball pioneer who builds a baseball field in the Gila River concentration camp.

Beyond Loyalty: The Story of a Kibei (book)

Books
Grades 9-12, Adult
Adult
Memoir
Evils of racism, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Individual versus society, Role of Religion – virtue or hypocrisy, Self – inner and outer
Widely available

Memoir of Kibei scholar Minoru Kiyota (1923–2013) that focuses on the difficult World War II years that saw him incarcerated in American concentration camps and eventually renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Originally published as a Japanese language autobiographical novel in 1990, it was translated and reworked into an English language memoir published in 1997 by the University of Hawai'i Press.

Chikara!: A Sweeping Novel of Japan and America From 1907 to 1983 (book)

Books
Historical Fiction
Change versus tradition, Coming of age, Death - inevitable or tragedy, Disillusionment and dreams, Displacement, Emptiness of attaining a false dream, Evils of racism, Facing reality, Family - blessing or curse, Forgiveness, Greed as downfall, Fate and free will, Heartbreak of betrayal, Heroism - real and perceived, Immigrant experience, Individual versus society, Inner versus outer strength, Lost honor, Lost love, Nationalism - complications, Patriotism - positive side or complications, Power of the past, Will to survive
Available

This work of historical fiction traces the tumultuous rise and fall of the Hoshi family, whose scion, Sataro, takes his wife Itoko and eldest son Noboru to California in 1907 to seek his fortune and restore his family's honor. He leaves his second son Hiroshi behind with family, a decision that marks the inauspicious first step of the tragic transpacific drama that unfolds over the course of the novel.

Civil Rights and Japanese-American Internment (curricula)

Curricula
Grades 9-12, Adult
Expression through art, Immigrant experience, Individual versus society, Injustice, Overcoming, Patriotism, Rights, War

Developed in 2000 by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and the Institute for International Studies (IIS) at Stanford University, this high school/college curriculum module presents civil rights in the context of the Japanese-American experience from immigration in the early 20th century to World War II, and on through more contemporary issues of redress, reparations and memorializing the incarceration. Organized into six lessons, this curriculum can provide up to three weeks of stand-alone instruction or select lessons can be used to augment U.S. history textbook coverage.

Drops of Water (short story)

Short Stories
Grades 9-12, Adult
Capitalism – effect on the individual, Immigrant experience, Individual versus society, Working class struggles
Widely available

Short story by Ferris Takahashi. A presumably young Sansei social worker and a colleague discuss the case of an elderly Issei homeless man who seems to want to remain homeless. Sections written from the perspective of the Issei man reveal his life as a laborer first on Hawai'i sugar plantations , then in the continental U.S. and the impact of his wartime incarceration and the razing of the residential hotel he once lived in.

From a Silk Cocoon (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Individual versus society, Injustice, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Documentary film recounting the wartime story of a Kibei couple, Itaru and Shizuko Ina and their two young children as reconstructed by their daughter Satsuki Ina. Ina and co-directors Emery Clay III and Stephen Holsapple tell the story largely through the couple's own words in the form of Shizuko's diary and letters to each other when they become separated in the course of their incarceration.

Good Luck Soup (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Coming of age, Growing up – pain or pleasure, Importance of community, Individual versus society, Power of tradition
Widely available

Autobiographical documentary film by Matthew Hashiguchi that explores his and his family's experience growing up as mixed-race Japanese Americans in Cleveland, Ohio. Hashiguchi draws inspiration from his Nisei grandmother and family matriarch Eva Hashiguchi, who settled in Cleveland after leaving the Jerome , Arkansas, concentration camp during World War II and chose to remain there. In addition to the feature length film, the Good Luck Soup project also includes an interactive website that serves as an "participatory storytelling" platform.

Home in the West (short story)

Short Stories
Grades 9-12, Adult
Evils of racism, Individual versus society, Injustice, Loss of innocence, Totalitarianism
Widely available

Short story recounting the return to California by Hirosho Yugi and his wife after their incarceration at Heart Mountain . His initial happiness is dulled when a group of neighbors try to force him out, first by burning down a shed and throwing rocks through windows, then by the burning down of their house. The day after their house is torched, they receive a telegram informing them of the death of their son in combat in Italy.

Korematsu v. The United States: World War II Japanese-American Internment Camps (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 9-12
Young Adult, History
Convention and rebellion, Evils of racism, Individual versus society, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
Available

Book for young adult readers on the Korematsu v. U.S. Supreme Court case by Karen Latchana Kenney. The 160 page volume is part of ABDO Publishing Company's "Landmark Supreme Court Cases" series of eight books.

Korematsu v. United States: Japanese-American Internment (book)

Books
Grades 9-12
Grades 9-12
Young Adult, History
Convention and rebellion, Evils of racism, Individual versus society, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
Available

Overview of the Korematsu Supreme Court case —as well as the related Hirabayashi , Yasui , and Endo cases—as part of Marshall Cavendish Benchmark's "Supreme Court Milestones" series.

Korematsu v. United States: Japanese-American Internment Camps (book)

Books
Grades 7-8
Grades 7-8
Young Adult, History
Convention and rebellion, Evils of racism, Individual versus society, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
Available

Overview of the Korematsu Supreme Court case as part of Enslow Publishers' Landmark Supreme Court Cases series.

The Legend of Miss Sasagawara (short story)

Short Stories
Grades 9-12, Adult
Fiction
Female roles, Hazards of passing judgment, Individual versus society, Losing hope
Widely available

Short story by Hisaye Yamamoto that takes place in an Arizona concentration camp during World War II and centers on the odd activities of one woman in the camp, as described by a college age female fellow inmate. Mari Sasagawara, a former ballet dancer, arrives with her Buddhist priest father upon transfer from another camp and soon becomes the subject of much gossip by other camp inmates for her regal bearing and aloofness. After being absent from the camp for a few months—taken to an institution in Phoenix—she returns a changed woman, friendly and sociable, even organizing and teaching a dance troupe of young girls. But after the narrator leaves the camp to attend school in Philadelphia, her friend tells her that Miss Sasagawara's malaise had returned and that she was taken out of the camp again. The story ends with the narrator finding a poem by Miss Sasagawara published …

Mr. Tanimoto's Journey (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Individual versus society, Injustice, Power of the past
Widely available

Documentary film about Gridley, California, farmer and former Tule Lake inmate Jim Tanimoto that focuses on his wartime incarceration and on the postwar memory of that time. The film is built around interviews with Tanimoto and footage of him at his farm and at a Tule Lake Pilgrimage, along with interviews with his daughter and granddaughter. Tanimoto and his family went to Tule Lake directly in July 1942 and were placed in Block 42. He was among the many inmates in that block who resisted filling out the loyalty questionnaire and were subsequently imprisoned and held for a time at Camp Tulelake , a former CCC camp. He was eventually allowed to return to Tule Lake and then returned to Gridley in 1945, where he nonetheless faced a great deal of discrimination from locals. Tanimoto and his family also talk about the postwar silence about the incarceration, redress , and …

My Friends Behind Barbed Wire (film)

Films and Video
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary, History
Heroism – real and perceived, Individual versus society
Widely available

Short film that tells the story of the Rev. Emery Andrews , pastor of the Japanese Baptist Church in Seattle, and his family and their support of Japanese Americans during their World War II ordeal. The story is largely told through an interview with Brooks Andrews, Emery's son, and through historical photographs, including images from the Andrews family. Brooks provides an overview of the forced removal and incarceration and his childhood recollections of his Nisei friends being taken away. He also recounts the Andrews' family's move to Twin Falls, Idaho, so as to continue to serve the congregation that had been incarcerated at the nearby Minidoka concentration camp and the discrimination they faced from the local community. He also cites parallels to the contemporary treatment of Muslim Americans.

Never Give Up!: Minoru Yasui and the Fight for Justice (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Biography, Documentary
Convention and rebellion, Heroism – real and perceived, Individual versus society, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
Widely available

Documentary film on the life of Minoru Yasui (1916–86) made by his daughter, Holly Yasui.

No-No Boy (play)

Plays
Grades 9-12, Adult
Convention and rebellion, Family – blessing or curse, Heroism – real and perceived, Individual versus society, Role of men
No availability

2010 play by Ken Narasaki based on John Okada's classic 1957 novel . While the play largely followed the plot of the novel, the decision to change the ending to a "happy" one proved controversial.

Security, Civil Liberties, and Terrorism (curricula)

Curricula
11th grade+
Chaos and order, Individual versus society, Rights - individual or societal, Facing darkness

Since the September 11, 2001, attacks on The World Trade Center and Pentagon, terrorism has emerged as one of the most prominent security concerns for the United States. Multiple sectors of society—military, judicial, public health, diplomatic and so on—have been impacted in the effort to address the threats of terrorism. The Security, Civil Liberties, and Terrorism curriculum prompts students to examine the complex issues surrounding terrorism including how to define it, how to analyze it, and how a liberal democratic government can react to it while realizing the consequences and tradeoffs involved.

Seed: The Life of the Rice King and His Kin (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Circle of life, Immigrant experience, Individual versus society, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice, Wisdom of experience
Widely available

Japanese produced documentary film on Issei rice farming pioneer Keisaburo Koda and the family business he founded in Dos Palos, California.

The Summer of '43 (short story)

Short Stories
Grades 9-12, Adult
Historical Fiction
Evils of racism, Individual versus society, Working class struggles
Limited availability

Short story centering on Akira Koyama, a Nisei man who has left an unspecified concentration camp to attend college in Utah. There, he stubbornly tries to find a summer job in the face of rampant discrimination. After being turned down for a draftsman position because of his ancestry, he visits a laundry owned by an acquaintance's family in search of other leads. Meanwhile, Dale, a white navy veteran and one of his college roommates, suffers from stomach pains that resemble appendicitis. Akira accompanies him to the hospital and waits as Dale has successful surgery. After a conversation with the doctor, Akira is offered a job at the hospital.

Take What You Can Carry (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Young Adult
Coming of age, Individual versus society, Vulnerability of the strong, Wisdom of experience
Widely available

The lives of two older teen boys, Kyle and Ken, alternate stories in the graphic novel Take What You Can Carry (2012) by Kevin C. Pyle. Although experienced a generation apart, the stories of these two teens merge into a complete story of healing and redemption.

The Service Flags (short story)

Short Stories
Grades 9-12, Adult
Evils of racism, Heroism—real and perceived, Individual versus society, Loss of innocence, Self-reliance
Widely available

Short story by Bill Hosokawa about the first days of resettlement of a young mother and her nine-year-old son. Helen Yamano and her son Jamie arrive in an unspecified city, and she hangs two flags, one for her brother who had been killed, presumably as an Military Intelligence Service linguist, and one for her husband, who is serving in Europe in the 442nd . Her first days on the job are difficult, as one of her co-workers makes trouble for her. Jamie is called a "Jap" by one of the boys on his first day of school. Helen tells him that like his father, he needs to fight to be accepted, and the next day he does.

Tokyo Rose: Victim of Propaganda (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Facing darkness, Individual versus society
Available

Television documentary for A&E network's "Biography" series that sympathetically tells the story of Iva Toguri d'Aquino and the myth of "Tokyo Rose."

Tsuru (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama
Desire to escape, Evils of racism, Individual versus society, Will to survive
Widely available

Short dramatic film about an elderly Issei couple whose attempt to avoid the mass roundup of Japanese Americans during World War II is aided by a white nurse. Tsuru was a senior year project at Chapman University by Chris K. T. Bright.

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.

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