Jonathan Hirabayashi and Joe Yoshino, Topaz descendants, both attended the Topaz Stories reception on April 22.
But they have more than that in common: Jonathan’s mother, Shizu Mitsuyoshi, and Joe’s parents, Joe and Jean Yoshino, were all captured in this iconic Dorothea Lange photograph of Japanese Americans from the East Bay waiting in line for the evening meal at Tanforan Assembly Center in 1942.
Shizu, Jonathan’s mother, is in the center, in a white coat. Jean and Joe are at the far right, Jean in a scarf and sunglasses, and Joe wearing a hat.
Jonathan wrote about his parents’ courtship and marriage at Tanforan in “The Proposal.” Still waiting for Joe’s story… ;-).
But meanwhile, Joe was an engaging unofficial docent the day before the reception when a family from Ecuador stumbled on the exhibit and was fascinated, asking questions and sharing some of their own experiences in other countries.
Plan to visit the Topaz Stories Exhibit in Salt Lake City.
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
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The Topaz Stories Team
Media Coverage:
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: Voices 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)