A big thank you to everyone who came to Seattle for the 2013 National Conference over the 4th of July weekend! We had a great time and learned a ton, and we hoped you did too.
One big hit from the Conference was the tour of Bainbridge Island. The first generation of Japanese Americans came to the island in 1883 and settled down, opening businesses (including the Suyematsu farm, the oldest continually working farm on the island) and starting families. They remained on Bainbridge until the Japanese American forced removal and incarceration during World War II. In 1942, Bainbridge residents were among the first to be taken to the concentration camps. Today, the island is the home of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, which opened in 2011.
Read more about one Japanese American family’s history on Bainbridge Island in Wayne Nakata’s Discover Nikkei article, Honoring my Issei and Nisei Ancestors. Nakata shared his story at the tour’s Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School luncheon.
Here are some photos from the bus tour of five key Island landmarks—the Exclusion Memorial, Bainbridge Gardens, Suyematsu Farm, Woodward Middle School, and Sonoji Sakai Intermediate School. Find more photos on our Facebook page.
See if you can spot yourself or a friend!
Photos by: Tracy Kumono, Bob Moriguchi, June Aoki, Midori Uyeda & Richard Murakami
wafflesnfalafel / The bay was really bifuteaul today with the ferries cutting through the heavy chop whipped up by the wind, and later when the blue sky started to come out. I’ll bet the folks going over to Bremerton had a bumpy ride.