We had a full house at the Rosie the Riveter Visitors Center theater on Saturday, February 24 for our Day of Remembrance program, “Topaz Stories: Through the Eyes of Children.”
Our guest storytellers, Kaz Iwahashi, Joseph Nishimura, Michi Mukai and Norman Hayashi, who were three to twelve years of age when they arrived at Topaz in 1942, knocked it out of the park with their moving stories and candid responses to questions.
Thanks to Jim Oshima for extending the invitation, and to the Rosie the Riveter National Park Service staff and volunteers, the Rosie the Riveter Trust, Contra Costa JACL, and Friends of Topaz volunteers. Thanks also to Shoshana Arai, who presented each guest with a crane lei from the Tsuru for Solidarity Crane Committee.
The event was taped and will eventually become available for those who were unable to attend. Meanwhile, you can read Norm’s story, “Every Little Moment,” Michi’s story, “A Topaz Childhood,” and Joe’s story, “Leaving Topaz.” . Kaz’s story, “Questions I Never Asked Mom,” will be posted on Mothers’ Day.
The Topaz Stories Team
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
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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)