We returned to the parched, cursed land where blood was spilled eighty years ago.
We were Topaz survivors, descendants, survivors or descendants of other camps, Utah allies–all gathering to remember James Hatsuaki Wakasa, the Issei man who was shot and killed by a Topaz guard 80 years ago on April 11, 1943.
There was nothing but a vast expanse of cracked ground with occasional patches of dried greasewood, which we carefully stepped around, and an immense blue sky. All barracks, all people, gone–not only us, but those who came before us–and yet the land remained.
We walked the path James Wakasa probably walked in the last moments of his life. A distant silver balloon marked the location of the guard tower from which his killer had taken the shot. The distance was so great that surely, no called warning could have been heard.
Part 2: Healing
We are not alone in having suffered here, and we were not alone in our quest for some kind of healing. Eric Pikyavit of the Kanosh Band of the Paiute Tribe of Utah was with us, and he blessed the land, which his people had stewarded long before our arrival. With healing smoke, he cleansed the air of the presence of death; and he blessed us, and all who lost and were lost in this place.
A memorial in the desert… Rev. Michael Yoshii delivered words of reflection and inspiration.
A Christian prayer; a Shinto purification and Buddhist chant; the soaring strains of “Rock of Ages,” in English and in Japanese.
Finally, at the site where Mr. Wakasa had fallen, and where the Issei residents of Topaz were forbidden from holding a memorial or raising a monument, we offered paper flowers like the ones offered 80 years ago.
Can Mr. Wakasa’s spirit finally rest in peace? Can the healing smoke of the original stewards of this land cleanse us and this place of the pain of his and all of our blood soaking into the cursed dust?
Mr. Wakasa had no known family. He was alone in death, as he was in life. Now, 80 years later, he is alone no more. As we look to the future, we will remember Mr. Wakasa and all the others who died in Topaz. We will share their stories, not only of their deaths, but of their lives. We will not carry the burden of the past alone; but together, in our long journey toward healing.
Thanks to the Wakasa Memorial Committee and the Friends of the Topaz Museum, who worked together to make the weekend’s events so memorable and moving.
Images courtesy of Ruth Sasaki.
Ruth Sasaki
Topaz Stories Editor
Media coverage about the Wakasa Memorial Events, courtesy of Kathy Kojimoto:
James Wakasa honored on 80th anniversary of his murder
Ceremonies at Topaz Salt Lake City to mark 80th anniversary of the murder of James Hatsuaki
Wakasa
Utah ceremonies keep WWII Japanese American experience alive | Kiowa County Press –
Eads, Colorado, Newspaper
Japanese-Americans visit Topaz internment camp in Utah
His Life Mattered. Descendants of Topaz inmates remember man killed 80 yrs ago
James Hatsuaki Wakasa memorial tribute
Utah ceremonies keep WWII Japanese American experience alive