Browse > Theme > Heroism – real and perceived

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Dear Miss Breed: True Stories of the Japanese American Incarceration During World War II and a Librarian Who Made a Difference (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Grades 7-8
Young Adult
Coming of age, Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice
Widely available

Book for young adult readers by Joanne Oppenheim that tells the story of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans through the wartime correspondence between a San Diego librarian and the incarcerated young people whom she had befriended at the library.

Fred Korematsu: All American Hero (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Grades 7-8
Comics
Convention and rebellion, Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications, Power of the past
Widely available

Comic book by two University of California at Davis law professors that tells the story of exclusion challenger Fred Korematsu through the eyes of a young Muslim American girl in post-9/11 America.

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up (book)

Books
Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
Children's, History
Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Rights - individual or societal
Widely available

Book for middle school audiences on Fred Korematsu , who challenged the forced removal of Japanese Americans during World War II.

American (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Drama, War
Heroism – real and perceived, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Wisdom of experience
Widely available

Short narrative film starring George Takei as a Nisei veteran and Japanese American National Museum docent named Clinton Nakamoto. While on duty one day at the museum, he meets a woman with a young daughter and starts to give them a tour. The woman mentions that her grandfather had fought in the "422" and shows Clinton a picture of him on her phone. The picture sends Clinton back to the 1942, recalling his anger at the forced removal and later of serving in the 442nd with the grandfather, who was killed in the rescue of the Lost Battalion . He takes her to visit the Go for Broke memorial, where they find his name on it. On the way home on the bus, he strikes up a friendship with a young Muslim boy.

A Tradition of Honor (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heroism – real and perceived, Role of men, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Feature length documentary telling the stories of Japanese American soldiers in the 100th Infantry Battalion , 442nd Regimental Combat Team , and Military Intelligence Service , produced in 2002 by the Go For Broke National Education Foundation.

Act of Faith: The Rev. Emery Andrews Story (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Circle of life, Family – blessing or curse, Heroism – real and perceived, Love and sacrifice
Widely available

Documentary film on Rev. Emery Andrews , a Baptist priest who went beyond the call of duty to aid Japanese Americans from Seattle incarcerated at the Minidoka , Idaho, concentration camp.

The Untold Story of Ralph Carr and the Japanese: The Fate of 3 Japanese-Americans and the Internment (film)

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

Japanese-produced documentary film on Colorado Governor Ralph Carr and his embrace of Japanese Americans during World War II, along with the experiences of three Japanese Americans affected in different ways by his stance.

Valor with Honor (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary, War
War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy, Heroism – real and perceived, Evils of racism
Available

Documentary film by Burt Takeuchi that tells the story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Eschewing a narrator, the film is built around the thirty-five interviews with veterans Takeuchi conducted and also includes brief reenactments of battle scenes that were shot at Sequoia Paintball Park in Santa Cruz, California. Valor With Honor tells the story in largely chronological fashion, starting with prewar life, the impact of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the roundup of Japanese Americans on the West Coast before getting to induction and basic training, combat in Italy, the rescue of the Lost Battalion , the liberation of Dachau sub camps, and the return to postwar society. Much of the running time focuses on the Rescue of the Lost Battalion and includes interviews with members of the 141st, the men who were rescued. The 86-minute film was completed in 2010 and has been screened widely across …

Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story (film)

Films and Video
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary, History
Convention and rebellion, Heroism – real and perceived, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
Available

Feature length documentary film that traces the basketball exploits of Wat Misaka, a Nisei from Utah who starred on two college basketball national championship teams and played briefly for the New York Knicks in the 1940s.

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 .

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.

Woman With a Blue Pencil (book)

Books
Grades 9-12, Adult
Mystery, Historical Fiction
Character – destruction, building up, Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Disillusionment and dreams, Evils of racism, Heroism – real and perceived, Manipulation
Widely available

Novel about a pulp mystery novel written by a young Nisei as World War II breaks out, his interactions with a sometimes overzealous editor, and his protest in the form of an unpublished manuscript centering on the Nisei private detective he was forced to remove from the novel.

Armed with Language (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

Documentary film on the Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage and Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and about Nisei in the MIS in general. Written and narrated by writer and poet David Mura, Armed with Language , begins with the forced removal and incarceration of West Coast Japanese Americans and the dilemma of the men who volunteered for the MIS despite their or their families' incarceration. The film uses interviews with MIS veterans and their families along with military historians to tell the story of the language school and of the MIS soldiers in the Pacific, highlighting stories of Merrill's Marauders, Nisei women in the MIS, and Nisei in the occupation of Japan. There is also a brief segment on resettlement and the growth of the Japanese American community in the Twin Cities as well as on the Redress movement and relevance of the story today.

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.

Burma Rifles: A Story of Merrill's Marauders (book)

Books
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Grades 7-8, Grades 9-12
Historical Fiction, Children's
Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Vulnerability of the strong, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Limited availability

Book for young readers by Frank Bonham centering on a Nisei intelligence soldier in Burma during World War II. Published in 1960, it is among the first children's books to depict the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans.

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves (book)

Books
Grades 9-12, Adult
Romance, Historical Fiction
Communication – verbal and nonverbal, Everlasting love, Family – blessing or curse, Heroism – real and perceived, Love and sacrifice
Widely available

Novel by Kristina McMorris that centers on an interracial romance between a white woman and a Nisei man during World War II.

Blood Hina (book)

Books
Grades 9-12, Adult
Adult
Fiction, Mystery
Family – blessing or curse, Hazards of passing judgment, Heroism – real and perceived, Love and sacrifice
Widely available

The fourth book in the Mas Arai Mysteries series by Naomi Hirahara finds the Kibei gardener coming to the aid of his best friend, Haruo Mukai, whose impending wedding is interrupted by accusations of theft and by his sudden disappearance.

Hunt for the Bamboo Rat (book)

Books
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Adult
Grades 6-8
Children's
Facing darkness, Forgiveness, Heroism – real and perceived, Will to survive
Widely available

Young adult novel by Graham Salisbury based on the wartime exploits of Richard Sakakida , a Nisei intelligence agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps who was captured by the Japanese in the Philippines.

Kash: The Legend and Legacy of Shiro Kashino (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
Documentary
Heroism – real and perceived, Injustice, Patriotism – positive side or complications
Available

Feature length documentary film by Vince Matsudaira that tells the story of Shiro "Kash" Kashino (1922–97), a decorated combat veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team , whose legacy had been tarnished by a court-martial stemming from a fight while in France.

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.

Lucky Ears: The True Story of Ben Kuroki, World War II Hero (book)

Books
Grades 3-5, Grades 7-8
Grades 3-5
Children's, Biography
Patriotism – positive side or complications, Role of men, Heroism – real and perceived, Overcoming – fear, weakness, vice
Widely available

Biography of Nisei war hero Ben Kuroki , written for a fourth grade audience.

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.

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.

Okage Sama De (I Am What I Am Because of You) (film)

Films and Video
Grades 9-12, Adult
History
Heroism – real and perceived, Vulnerability of the strong, War – glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Widely available

Filmed version of storyteller Alton Takiyama-Chung performing a one-person show mostly centering on the stories of Japanese American soldiers during World War II.

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