On May 8, 1942, over 600 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from the city of Hayward, CA and taken by bus to Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, south of San Francisco.
(Top left): Their luggage was piled up on Watkins St. in the center of Hayward, waiting to be loaded on the buses along with their owners–local Japanese American families at the beginning of a 3.5-year journey to nowhere. (Dorothea Lange. NARA #537499)
(Top center): Among those being taken away to incarceration were artist Hisako Hibi and her daughter, Ibuki, cradling a doll*. (Dorothea Lange. NARA #537522)
(Bottom left): This is Watkins St. today. It borders the Hayward Heritage Park, the site of a memorial to Japanese American residents of Hayward who were removed that day. (Courtesy of Ruth Sasaki)
(Bottom center): Among the names on the memorial is that of Ibuki Hibi, the child awaiting the bus to Tanforan with her mother and her doll.
(Far right): The monument, designed by Patricia Wakida, is a tall cylinder engraved with the names of the 600+ local residents who disappeared from Hayward on that day. Ann Tamaki Dion searches for a name. Fred Shinoda, who was among those taken away, appears in the background, with Watkins St. in the distance. (Courtesy of Ruth Sasaki)
*Read David Izu’s poem, “Doll With Eight Band Aids.”
The Topaz Stories Team
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Media Coverage:
Read Internee’s story told with ‘Topaz Collages’ (Wheel of Dharma, Vol. 5, Issue 3, March 2023).
Watch Topaz survivors tell their stories (abc4 news, 4/22/2022)
Listen to the “In the Hive” podcast with interviews with Ann Dion, Jonathan Hirabayashi, and Topaz survivors Jeanie Kashima and Joseph Nishimura (KCPW, 4/28/2022)
Read How a Utah exhibit about Topaz Camp looks to find empathy in ‘an ugly stain on American history (ksl.com, 4/22/2022)
Read “Topaz Stories rise from the dust,” (Department of Culture & Community Engagement, 4/2022)
Listen to KQED Forum, Day of Remembrance interview with Ruth Sasaki, 2/15/2022
Listen to Max Chang and Ruth Sasaki interviewed (KRCL RadioActive, 2/9/2022
Read On Topaz Stories and ‘Authentic Voice’, the Discover Nikkei interview with Ruth Sasaki (10/14/2022)
Listen to Remembering the Japanese American Incarceration, the Topaz Stories podcast with Ruth Sasaki and Jonathan Hirabayashi (6/2/2021)