In Miss Yamauchi’s class, the children drew pictures to celebrate the holidays. Kiku drew a Christmas angel to bring “home” to share with his family. When he proudly unveiled his art work, Chizu smiled and clapped her hands with glee.
“Kiku,” she laughed, “I love your angel!”
The little black-haired angel appeared on the Kitow family Christmas tree every year from 1943 to 1997 until Chizu passed away in 1998.
About the contributors: Ann Tamaki Dion and Ken Yamashita are cousins. Ann’s parents, Min Tamaki and Iyo Yamashita, were married in Topaz in 1943. Ann was born in 1948 in Massachusetts, where her father served as an Army pharmacist. After the War, the family returned to California. Ann grew up in Oakland and received a BA and teaching credential from UC Berkeley. She taught in the Oakland Public Schools before she retired. Ann was one of the founders of the Friends of the Topaz Museum.
Kenneth Akira Yamashita was born in Topaz on 9/11/45. His father, Susumu, was on leave in New York City while his mother, Kiyoko Kitano Yamashita, grandmother and aunts remained in camp. Ken grew up in New Jersey and received a BA and MLIS from Rutgers—The State University of NJ and a PhD from Simmons University in Boston. He retired from a 40-year career in public libraries in 2010.
Copyright 2019, Ann Tamaki Dion and Kenneth Yamashita. All rights reserved.
Kiku was a best friend to my husband and me for the last 30 years of his life. He shared so many memories, including those of Topaz. A post script on “Genga” his Christmas angel: his mother asked why she had dark hair instead of golden like so many pictures of angels. He explained to her that his angel was like all the girls that lived in Topaz, and therefore should have the same black straight hair. Ed never held a grudge against the US where he’d been born. He served a long career in the US Air Force, and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He and his parents were great Americans.
Thank you for sharing your memories of Kiku, Jane. It always enriches a story to learn something of the people in other aspects of their lives, outside of the Topaz experience.