In honor of graduation season, Topaz Stories presents “The Band’s Visit,” Yae Wada’s recollections of the depressing graduation pseudo-ceremony in the Tanforan grandstand that was transformed by an act of kindness. At the time, Yae had no idea who was behind this gesture, and many years later, she felt a need to recognize those responsible. In researching an answer to her question, we found Yon Kawakita.
Yoneo Kawakita, a member of the San Mateo High School Class of 1942, missed his graduation because he was in Tanforan. In “Pomp and Circumstance,” he gives the inside story behind the act of kindness described in Yae’s story.
In our third story of the week, Ann Tamaki Dion relates how her irrepressible father Min rose to the challenge of finishing pharmacy school from a horse stall.
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The Topaz Stories Team
Technical note: We will generally try to release new stories on Saturday; This means that there may be a window of time (hopefully not more than an hour or so) on Friday evenings after 9 pm when a certain amount of maintenance is going on. If you see any unlinked content, or links that appear to be broken, please be patient. Thank you!
Image: University of Iowa. digital.lib.uiowa.edu/ictcs. Licensed under CC by-NC 4.0.
I love Min Tamaki! and how he cleverly took his final exams to escape the confines of Tanforan in mind, body, & spirit.