This week we share another new story. We considered waiting until next June to publish it, but that’s a long wait; and really, isn’t every day Father’s Day?
Though technically not a Topaz story, “Father’s Day” is a story about avoiding Topaz. People sometimes ask, “If only those in the military exclusion area along the West Coast were incarcerated, why didn’t Japanese Americans just move to another state?” For those with homes, farms, or businesses, it was not an easy decision to sell or liquidate on the basis of rumors. In 1942, many people in these West Coast communities hoped the “evacuation” would not happen–until it did. Besides, they often did not know anyone in other states. Many had extended families that included elders and small children, and moving to a new location would not be easy: finding work, finding a new place that would not be hostile to their arrival. It took exceptional daring.
Even so, there were more than a few stories of Japanese Americans who avoided camp by voluntarily relocating outside the military zone along the West Coast before the forced removal to Tanforan. This is one.
But more than that, this is a descendant’s story: a son, whose father gave him a black box, both actual and metaphorical: a camera, and a self-contained, hidden past. Visual artist David Izu lets the light in with this story, a tribute to his dad Douglas.
The Topaz Stories Team
Image: David and Douglas Izu, Seattle, WA, 1955. Courtesy of David Izu.