70 years later

&0 Years Later: The Japanese-American Internment as Remembered by Those Who Lived Through It

This is a book of interviews and photographs of 13 Japanese-Americans that narrate a timeline of the major events in the relocation of people of Japanese ancestry, beginning in 1941. Their personal memories of internment, military service and opposition to government decisions give depth and alternative perspectives to the overarching subject of what is was like to be Japanese-American during World War II.

Guard Tower

Manzanar War Relocation Center, March 2015

Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34

Civilian Exclusion Order No. 34 announcing civilian and non-civilian persons of Japanese descent be evacuated from their homes.

William “Bill” Hiroshi Shishima - born December 24, 1930

Evacuated from Los Angeles, California

Santa Anita Assembly Center

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

Boy Scouts

Bill Shishima's Boy Scouts troop at Heart Mountain, July 1944

Shishima family store in downtown Los Angeles

On Main Street near Union Station

Willie Katsutoshi Ito Jr. - born July 7, 1934

Evacuated from San Francisco, California

Tanforan Assembly Center, California

Topaz War Relocation Center, Utah

Shigeru “Shig” Yabu - born June 13, 1932

Evacuated from San Francisco, California

Pomona Assembly Center, California

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

Cherry blossom trees and mess hall

Manzanar War Relocation Center, March 2015

Yoshisuke “Jack” Kunitomi - born October 10, 1915

Evacuated from Los Angeles, California

Manzanar War Relocation Center, California

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service Language School

Cherry Ishimatsu - born March 25, 1925

Evacuated from Palo Alto, California

Fresno Assembly Center, California

Jerome War Relocation Center, Arkansas

Barracks

Manzanar War Relocation Center, March 2015

Joe Mizufuka - born May 19, 1921

Evacuated from East Whittier, California

Santa Anita Assembly Center, California

Rohwer War Relocation Center, Arkansas

Santa Anita Plot Plan for housing evacuees

Those who were not in the stables were on the asphalt.

Grandstand

Santa Anita Assembly Center, March 2015

Ei George Takagi - born January 6, 1925

Evacuated from Los Angeles, California

Pomona Assembly Center, California

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

Takashi Hoshizaki - born October 3, 1925

Evacuated from Hollywood, California

Pomona Assembly Center, California

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

Drafted; "Heart Mountain Draft Resister"

Drafted twice, resisted once

Takashi Hoshizaki was one of the prosecuted draft resisters at Heart Mountain after being drafted at age 18. He was drafted again and served in the Korean War.

Sachi Kaneshiro - born January 1, 1920

Voluntarily left Covina, California

Poston War Relocation Center, Arizona

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

Cedrick Masaki Shimo - born October 1, 1919

Drafted from Los Angeles, California

U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service Language School

1800th Engineer General Service Battalion

Leland “Lee” Hayashi - born February 20, 1940

Evacuated from Portland, Oregon

Portland Assembly Center, Oregon

Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho

Nagiko “Nagi” Hashiba - born June 30, 1919

Evacuated from Hawthorne, California

Santa Anita Assembly Center, California

Rohwer War Relocation Center, Arkansas

Fumiko Okamura - born May 2, 1919

Evacuated from Los Angeles, California

Santa Anita Assembly Center, California

Heart Mountain War Relocation Center, Wyoming

Barbed wire

Manzanar War Relocation Center, March 2015

Photographing Manzanar

This is a video a classmate and I produced about my experience photographing an internment camp. Manzanar War Relocation Center is the closest of the 10 camps to my home. I went to photograph for my 70 Year Later project to see if I could begin to imagine what it would be like for my paternal grandparents and 110,000+ others.

The faces from my book created for my college thesis, "70 Years Later: The Japanese-American Internment as Remembered by Those Who Lived Through It," a 117-page documentary photography and first-person book of experiences during WWII.

The book is formatted to be read in-person. Read the preview here.

Contact me if you would like to read it in its entirety.