Joe Nishimura reads “Leaving Topaz”

Thanks to Dana Shew and her trusty phone, we have raw video footage of Joseph Nishimura reading his story, “Leaving Topaz,” at the Topaz Stories reception at the Utah State Capitol on April 22, 2022.

Joe was eight years old when his family of six was forced to leave their home in Berkeley, CA. His father was a Methodist minister and, as such, was not arrested by the FBI as were so many Buddhist ministers. The family was incarcerated together, first in Tanforan, then Topaz. But they left Topaz in stages–a carefully phased exit planned around the children’s educational needs.