November 4, 2023: “Forced Removal”

We are honored to bring you the story of a Nisei woman who lived through the turbulent period of the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. It is a timely reminder of the dangers of wartime hysteria, as we are once again thrust into a dangerous situation in the Middle East with ramifications for all of us.

(L): An official letter from the U.S. Dept. of Immigration and Naturalization services attesting to Harue Minamoto's U.S. citizenship and employment status. Photo of a young Japanese American woman with glasses is in the bottom corner. — ^{(L): Copy of a letter written by the S.F. District Director of the INS, Harue’s employer. Courtesy of the Minamoto family. (M): Civil control station in Oakland. Dorothea Lange for the War Relocation Authority. NARA #537706. (R): Japanese Americans board a bus to Tanforan Assembly Center. Oak St., Oakland, May 6, 1942. Dorothea Lange, War Relocation Authority. Courtesy of the Oakland Museum of California.}

After graduating from Oakland Technical High School in 1937, Harue Hirai Minamoto was hired by the Department of Immigration and Naturalization Services because of her bilingual and bicultural skills. She often accompanied inspectors onto Japanese ships to serve as translator and scribe. Ironically, this put her on the spot as Issei community leaders were arrested and incarcerated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Harue’s own family was soon separated and incarcerated in different camps.

Through the generosity of Harue’s daughter, Gay Kaplan, granddaughter, Melyssa Minamoto and other family members, we will be sharing Harue’s memoir in four parts, beginning with Part 1: “Forced Removal.”

The Topaz Stories Team

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)

November 4, 2023: “Forced Removal”

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