National Defense Authorization Act: Nikkei Community Must Redouble Efforts To Defend Constitutional Rights

Manzanar Committee Co-Chair Bruce Embrey, shown here during the
42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
on April 30, 2011.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

by Bruce Embrey

LOS ANGELES — President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on December 31, 2011, allowing indefinite detention without charge or trial to be codified into law. As a result, Americans citizens and others could be subjected to imprisonment without ever being charged or convicted of a crime. This provision of the NDAA denigrates the very foundations of this country, and undermines the Bill of Rights. Without question, it threatens the very foundation of our democracy.

Seventy years ago, 110,000 members of the Japanese American (Nikkei) community, our families and friends, were subjected to imprisonment without ever being charged by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he signed Executive Order 9066. The Nikkei community was denied habeas corpus, rounded up by the United States military and incarcerated behind barbed wire in desolate places.

Indeed, indefinite detention is an indelible part of our experience. In this sense, the Nikkei community is part of the democratic conscience of the United States. Read more of this post

43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, 2012 Manzanar At Dusk Program To Be Held On April 28, 2012

A portion of the crowd attending the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
on April 30, 2011, at the Manzanar National Historic Site.
The cemetery monument is featured in the background.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — The 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, is scheduled for 12:00 PM PDT on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located on US Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles.

Each year, hundreds of students, teachers, community members, clergy and former incarcerees attend the Pilgrimage. Planning is underway for the afternoon event, as well as for the Manzanar At Dusk program, scheduled from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM that same evening at the Lone Pine High School gymnasium, located at 538 South Main Street (US Highway 395), in Lone Pine, nine miles south of the Manzanar National Historic Site, across the street from McDonald’s. Read more of this post

Dancing With Grace – Gracious And Graceful

Editor’s Note: The following piece by Jenni Kuida, a tribute to former Manzanar Committee member Grace Harada, was originally published in January 2002, in the Rafu Shimpo, and on her family’s web site. She posted a link to her story on Facebook on January 18, commemorating the tenth anniversary of Harada’s passing. We thought it would be a fitting tribute to publish it here as well.


Former Manzanar Committee member Grace Harada (center), shown here with Jenni Kuida (left) and
Sue Kunitomi Embrey (right), who passed away in 2006.
Photo: Jenni Kuida

You might not have ever met Grace Harada. But if you’ve been to an Obon at Senshin Buddhist Temple or the Manzanar Pilgrimage in the last thirty years, chances are, you have surely seen her. She was the petite Nisei woman dancing Bon Odori in the inner circle, leading Sansei like me, trying to follow along in the outer circle. I would always seek her out when stumbling through the moves, because I knew that if I followed her, I’d be ok.

Sadly, she passed away on January 18 at age 76. Only one week earlier, she suffered from a massive stroke and slipped into a coma. Just like that. At the memorial service for Grace at Senshin Buddhist Temple, Reverend Mas Kodani spoke fondly of Grace, using the words “gracious” and “graceful” to describe Grace. He talked about how Grace loved to dance. She lived her life doing what she loved to do. She found true joy in dancing, and in teaching dance to others. Read more of this post

Future Of The Nikkei Community, Not Just The Manzanar And Tule Lake Pilgrimages, Was The Topic Of JANM Event

PILGRIMAGES: After talking about the origins, history, and the status of the present-day Manzanar and Tule Lake Pilgrimages, the focus of an October 8, 2011 event at the Japanese American National Museum turned to the future of both pilgrimages, along with that of Japanese American community organizations.


Tule Lake Committee members Barbara Takei (left) and Stan Shikuma (right)
were panelists during an event discussing the origins, history and
future of the Manzanar and Tule Lake Pilgrimages at the
Japanese American National Museum on October 8, 2011.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — Panelists representing the Manzanar and Tule Lake Pilgrimages, along with students, primarily from the University of California, Los Angeles, discussed the origins, history and future of both pilgrimages during Community Builders: Japanese American Activism, 1960-1980 (Part 1), an event sponsored by the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) on October 8. Read more of this post

Panel Looks At Past, Present And Future Of Manzanar And Tule Lake Pilgrimages During JANM Event

PILGRIMAGES: The origins, the history, and the future of the Manzanar and Tule Lake Pilgrimages was the focus of an October 8, 2011 event at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo. The following is the first of two stories covering the event.


California Assemblymember Warren Furutani broke down
the origins and history of the Manzanar Pilgrimage during
an event at the Japanese American National Museum
on October 8, 2011.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — The history and future of the Manzanar and Tule Lake Pilgrimages, along with the different generations who participate in them, both young and not-so-young, were in the spotlight at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) on October 8.

During Community Builders: Japanese American Activism, 1960-1980 (Part 1), JANM brought together a diverse group of voices representing the past, the present and the future of both pilgrimages to discuss the origins, the history and what is on the horizon for both of the annual events.

Starting off the event was California Assemblymember Warren Furutani, who represents the 55th Assembly District, which includes the cities of Carson, Harbor City and Harbor Gateway, Lakewood, parts of Long Beach and Wilmington.

Furutani was one of the founders of the Manzanar Pilgrimage back in 1969. Read more of this post

Origins, History Of Manzanar, Tule Lake Pilgrimages To Be Discussed At JANM Event

Manzanar Committee Co-Chair Bruce Embrey, shown here at the 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 23, 2010.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — Manzanar Committee Co-Chair Bruce Embrey, and California Assembly member Warren Furutani, one of the founders of the Manzanar Pilgrimage, will be panelists for Community Builders: Japanese American Activism 1960-1980 (Part 1), at 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 8, 2011, at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo.

The program is the first in a three-part series that will deal with the origins, the history, and the future of the Manzanar and Tule Lake Pilgrimages from the perspectives of those who were part of them.

The panel will also include Barbara Takei and Stan Shikuma, both active in the Tule Lake Committee. Read more of this post

42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: The Passage of Time

Editor’s Note: UCLA Nikkei Student Union and UCLA Kyodo Taiko member Yoshimi Kawashima participated in her second Manzanar Pilgrimage this past April, at the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage. She shares her thoughts about her experiences with us below.


Yoshimi Kawashima
Photo: Gann Matsuda

by Yoshimi Kawashima

The dust stirred gently in the opaque light of the rising sun, drifting along the near empty road. Eyes still drowsy from the four-hour trip, mind still struggling to awake from rising with the dawn light, we finally reached the parking lot which would lead to the Manzanar National Historic Site—my second time at the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage since my freshman year at UCLA.

When I went to my first Manzanar Pilgrimage in April 2009, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I was only newly exposed to the history of Japanese American Internment, and now, physically stepping into the forlorn desert they had once been forced to call home brought forth mixed emotions.

What does it mean to be a (Japanese) American of this generation? Read more of this post

42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: Everyone Has A Story To Tell, But Not Everyone Has A Chance To Tell Their Story

Editor’s Note: After the 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, UCLA undergraduate Jaymie Takeshita reflected on her experiences at her first Manzanar Pilgrimage and Manzanar At Dusk program in a piece that has received rave reviews from readers, 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: A Letter To Obaa-chan. Takeshita’s involvement last year inspired her to become more deeply involved in this year’s events, and, once again, she shared her thoughts about her experiences with us.


by Jaymie Takeshita

Jaymie Takeshita
Photo: Gann Matsuda

I still cannot explain why I was so nervous as I waited for my great-aunt to pick up the phone about five days before the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 30, 2011. Maybe it was because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to ask. Maybe it was because I wasn’t sure if she’d be willing to talk. Or maybe it was because I wasn’t sure if she would like my surprise. Her cheerful voice answered the phone with a friendly, “hello?”

“Auntie Pat, this is Jaymie,” I said, trying to cover my nerves with an equally friendly voice.

“Jaymie!” she said, excitedly, “It’s so wonderful to hear your voice.” Read more of this post

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