TOPAZ, Utah — A set of solemn and respectful ceremonies permeated through the Central Utah breeze April 22 under dotted clouds over the former Topaz concentration camp and the Topaz Museum in Delta, Utah. They served as a contrast to the sudden and violent death of Japanese immigrant James Hatsuaki Wakasa 80 years ago, […]
Wakasa remembered in Utah, 80 years after fatal shot in concentration camp
May 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Canadian filmmaker explores a gap in family history
May 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Filmmaker Natalie Murao contemplates the conversation she never got to have with her grandfather in “Blue Garden” (2022, 5 minutes). The hybrid-doc-animation tells the story of Murao’s grandfather, a Japanese Canadian fisherman who was incarcerated during World War II. The Vancouver-based filmmaker first thought about creating the film in 2020 after she returned home at […]
S.F.: 21-Gun salute, flyovers commemorate 81st anniversary of Bataan Death March
April 27, 2023 by Leave a Comment
A 21-gun salute rang out and planes roared over the Presidio in a ceremony April 15 commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Bataan Death March. Organized by the Bay Area-based Bataan Legacy Historical Society, the event was held in remembrance of the infamous World War II massacre in the Philippines. The Bataan Death March was […]
Odori ‘rock star’ Fujima Kansuma dies at 104
March 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — Fujima Kansuma, the legendary Japanese dancer who taught thousands of students in a career that spanned nearly eight decades, died on Feb. 22 at 104. Miyako Tachibana, Kansuma’s daughter, who took over her mother’s teaching duties, stated via e-mail that when her father died when Tachibana was 12 years old, “my mother […]
BACK IN THEATERS: 12th annual Films of Remembrance
March 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Following two years of online-only programming, the Nichi Bei Foundation held its 12th annual Films of Remembrance film series in person at the AMC Kabuki 8 in San Francisco’s Japantown Feb. 25 and the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin in San Jose’s Japantown Feb. 26. According to Kenji G. Taguma, president of the Nichi Bei […]
Japanese Americans protest a wind project near the Minidoka site
March 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Advocates say 400 turbines will threaten the sanctity of the historic Idaho location that served as an incarceration camp during WWII Mary Abo is in her 80s now, but can recite her childhood address on command: block six, barrack four, apartment C. Abo is a survivor of Minidoka, one of several camps that the U.S. […]
Day of Remembrance program looks to future while returning to roots
March 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
After two years of virtual programming, the Bay Area Day of Remembrance Consortium returned to its roots hosting its annual event as an in-person event. Attendees packed the Christ United Presbyterian Church in San Francisco’s Japantown Feb. 19, with many more observing via an online stream for the 44th annual Bay Area Day of Remembrance. […]
Hayward, Calif. community holds dedication for Japanese American Memorial
March 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Dozens of Bay Area community members paid tribute to the 606 Japanese American residents of the Hayward, Calif. area who were forcibly removed from their homes in 1942, at a ceremony Feb. 4, dedicating a new public sculpture installed at the Hayward Heritage Plaza. The sculpture, designed by artist and historian Patricia Wakida, was commissioned […]
L.A. Day of Remembrance focuses on inter-community support
March 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
LOS ANGELES — The 2023 Day of Remembrance, held Feb. 18 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo, urged the Japanese American community and individuals to work together with other communities “to fight for a strong and democratic society.” Organizers dedicated the event, titled “Uniting Our Voices: Making Democracy Work for All,” to […]
Ninth Circuit affirms dismissal of Tule Lake Committee v. FAA, et al.
Earlier this month, the Tule Lake Committee lost its appeal in Tule Lake Committee v. FAA, et al. The U.S. Ninth Circuit in San Francisco affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the Committee’s lawsuit that sought to assert a Japanese American voice to preserve a site sacred to our community. The dismissal was a setback […]