What was it like for Japanese Americans to return to the San Francisco Bay Area after the War? The fortunate ones had houses to return to; but most had nowhere to go. They had to find housing and jobs in a climate of lingering hostility.
Join us on Thursday, December 5 (2-3:30 pm) as we share stories by Topaz survivors Kazuko Oyamada Iwahashi; Michi Takeshita Mukai; and Harue Minamoto (read by her daughter, Gay Kaplan, who was born in camp); and Topaz descendant Meri Mitsuyoshi. They will share achingly personal stories of resettlement, providing a sense of the challenges of coming home and the lingering impact of the camp experience on survivors, decades later.
What: “Return to California: Stories of Postwar Resettlement”
Where: J-Sei, 1285 66th St., Emeryville, CA.
When: Thursday, December 5 (2-3:30 pm)
The event is free and open to the public and will be held in person and online via Zoom. Register to get a Zoom link by the day before the event–those who register after noon on the day of the event may not receive links, as we are busy setting up and greeting in-person attendees. In-person registration is also requested at the same link.
The Topaz Stories Team
Contact us if you have a Topaz Story to share.
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Media Coverage:
Read ‘Topaz Stories’ exhibit travels Utah showing human side of WWII internment (KSL.com, May 24, 2024)
Read ‘Topaz Stories’ mines the history of a Japanese American internment camp (ParkRecord, May 18, 2024)
Read Remembering Japanese American Internment–Day of Remembrance (Rosie the Riveter Trust blog, March 24, 2024)
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)