Honoring Alameda's Japanese American History (film)

Conventional documentary on the history of the Japanese American community in Alameda, California, that is more or less equally divided between the prewar years and wartime incarceration/aftermath. Perhaps due to sponsorship by the Buddhist Temple of Alameda and the Buena Vista United Methodist Church, there is a focus on the history and activities of those two institutions throughout. While the first half is specifically on the Japanese American community in Alameda and is thus somewhat unique, the section on the wartime removal and incarceration is more general and thus repeats information that can be found elsewhere.

According to the credits, the interviews were recorded at the Alameda Free Library in 2011–12. Funding for the project came from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program , the City of Alameda, and the two churches. No director or producer is credited; David Hall and Claire Coustier are listed as "project coordinators" and Jeannette Copperwaite as "media specialist."

Honoring Alameda's Japanese American History was distributed in a set of three DVDs, with the documentary comprising one. The other two DVDs contain video interviews. "12 Stories" includes twelve interviews that are longer versions of what was used in the documentary, each running between five and ten minutes. The interviewees: George Fukayama, Tomiyo Hashimoto, Mary Higake Hasegawa, Karen Morioka, Evelyn Glen, Keith Nomura, Shegiki Sugimura, Jo Takata, Ikuko "Cookie" Takeshita, Anna Towata, Yo Shinoda, and Yosuo Yamashita. The interviews include background music and the insertion of photographs and documents. The third DVD, "Curriculum Extras," includes two more interviews, with George Kido and Claire Coustier, along with maps and documents. As part of the project, the set of DVDs was distributed to various libraries and community organizations.

Might also like Chrysanthemums and Salt (1994); Return to the Valley: Japanese American Experience After WWII (2003); An American Story: World War II Stories of the Tragedy and Triumph of Our Japanese-American Community During Wartime (2011)