In Time of War (film)

Documentary film on the Japanese American experience in the Pacific Northwest including " voluntary evacuation ," forced removal and confinement, and the debate over military service. Produced by North By Northwest Entertainment for Whitworth College, the project was funded by a grant from the Washington Civil Liberties Public Education Program .

After an overview of the mass forced removal of Japanese Americans highlighted by comments from scholars Gail Nomura, Robert Sims, Dale Soden, and Douglas Sugano, narrator Patty Duke introduces a series of stories that tell various parts of the Japanese American story in Washington state. First is a segment featuring Ed and Heidi Tsutakawa, who talk about their experiences at Minidoka , while visiting the site with Sims and walking through a restored barrack. Ed, an artist, also displays some of his cam artwork. Next comes a segment on "voluntary evacuation," featuring Seiko Edamatsu, who as a 22-year-old, moved from Seattle inland to Spokane to avoid incarceration. A segment on the exploits of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the rescue of the "Lost Battation" features Fred Shiosaki, who volunteered from Spokane, and George Morihiro and Jack Sameshima, both of whom were drafted from Minidoka. The draft resistance story is told by Gene Akutsu. After a brief segment on the legacy of anti-Japanese sentiment prior to World War II, the last section of the film highlights three women left the concentration camps to attend Whitworth College in 1943 and became best friends:, Toki Sekijima, Ellen Kubokawa, and Mary Hosoda.

In addition to being interviewed, the Nikkei are all shown going about their present lives, often with family members. The stories are augmented with family and archival photographs, footage from the camps, and excerpts from period documentaries by the Office of War Information and War Relocation Authority .

As part of the project, a website and and lesson plan aligned to Washington state standards were also prepared. One hundred copies of the DVD were distributed to Washington state schools.

Might also like After Silence: Civil Rights and the Japanese American Experience (2003); Conscience and the Constitution (2001); Nisei Soldier: Standard Bearer for an Exiled People (1983)