Sept. 22, 2024: Children of Topaz (photos)

We celebrated the opening of the Topaz Stories 2024 Exhibit at J-Sei on September 22, in conjunction with J-Sei’s annual Family Festival. Sharing some belated photos below.

A young girl holding a microphone reads from a paper. A photo of three boys and a dog is projected on the screen next to her.
Addie Adao reads “Brownie” by Roy Iwata on Sept. 22, 2024 at J-Sei. Photo by Patricia Wakida.
A young boy with a white headband holds a microphone and reads. A photo of a senior Japanese American woman (his great-grandmother) is projected on a screen next to him.
Toshi Minamoto reads his great-grandmother Harue Minamoto’s Tanforan memories. Photo by Melyssa Minamoto.
A young boy in a bright yellow-green vest stands at a microphone and reads from a paper.
Kumi Arbizo reads “The Wizard of Provo” by Jon Yatabe. Photo by Patricia Wakida.

Initially, the idea of having kids read stories by Topaz survivors who were kids in camp was just a fun idea; but it began to gain a deeper significance. The population of Topaz survivors grows smaller each year; and if we want to keep the stories alive, it’s going to be the younger generations who pass them on, as an enduring reminder of the human cost of injustice and the fragility of our democracy. Especially meaningful was Toshi Minamoto reading his great-mother (Harue Minamoto)’s memories of Tanforan. Go Addie, Toshi and Kumi–you guys knocked it out of the park!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error: Content is protected !!