Author: Helen Yoshida

Swing Dance and Music in Camp

Helen Yoshida Leave a comment
Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps. Photo by Paloma Dooley.

What was it like to grow up behind barbed wire? JANM’s exhibition, Don’t Fence Me In: Coming of Age in America’s Concentration Camps, explores the experiences of Japanese American youth confronting the injustice of being imprisoned in World War II concentration camps while embarking on the universal journey of adolescence. Preteens, teenagers, and young adults danced with one another, listened to jazz and big band music, and formed musical groups of their own that performed regularly in camp. 

Swing dance, which developed alongside jazz music, was started by African American dancers  at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, New York. Musicians such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, and Chick Webb all performed at the ballroom. The ballroom’s anti-discrimination policy created a unique environment for diversity and creativity. The Savoy Ballroom and swing dancing was also featured at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. From there, swing dance and music spread across the country throughout the 1930s, including in Los Angeles.

Swing dancing was so popular among youth that a group of young dancers interrupted Los Angeles City Hall council members to invite them to a swing dance contest at the Gilmore Stadium on September 11, 1938. The following year, the Palomar Ballroom hosted the Jitterbug Championships and the finalists (from twenty states and six countries) danced for cash prizes to live music from the Artie Shaw and Ken Baker Orchestras in front of thousands of people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as part of the International Jitterbug Championships on June 18, 1939.

  • The final dance at the Jerome concentration camp before it closed in 1944. Photo taken by Francis Leroy Stewart on June 14, 1944, National Archives and Records Administration.
  • One of the farewell dances at the Jerome concentration camp before it closed in 1944. Photo taken by Francis Leroy Stewart on June 14, 1944, National Archives and Records Administration.
  • Henry Ushijima, a sound engineer in Hollywood, plays dance records at a dance given by the Girl’s Recreation Committee in the Manzanar concentration camp. Photo taken by Francis Leroy Stewart on May 29, 1942, National Archives and Records Administration.

During World War II, young Nisei like George Yoshida who enjoyed big band music continued to do so when they were forcibly removed from their homes. According to his book, Reminiscing in Swingtime, incarcerees created big bands such as the Densoneers or D-Elevens, Down Beats, Jive Bombers, Jivesters, Music Makers, Pomonans, Poston Camp #2 Band, Rhythm Kings, Rhythmaires, Savoy Four, Stardusters, and Starlight Serenaders in the temporary detention centers and concentration camps.

Nisei like sisters Yuri Long and Sumiko Hughes were a part of social clubs that would also participate in swing dancing. Long and Hughes, who are both featured in the Don’t Fence Me In audio tour on Bloomberg Connects, talked about how much they enjoyed swing dancing as part of their social club, Just Us Girls (the JUGs), in the Manzanar concentration camp. The JUGs were made up of the youngest girls, followed by the Forget-Me-Nots and the Moderneers.

“They call us wild because at the dances, the JUGs were always very popular,  and the guys would come and ask them to dance. And they jitterbug. They were on the dance floor all the time. And some of the other club girls were sort of off on the side. They didn’t get asked as much. And they didn’t jitterbug. And they used to jitterbug wild. They would throw them under their legs,” recalled Hughes.

  • Yuri Long
  • Sumi Hughes
  • Bob Wada
  • JANM’s digital guide on Bloomberg Connects

Bob Wada, who was also featured in the Don’t Fence Me In audio tour, recalled knowing where all of the dances were at the Poston incarceration camp because the blocks within camp kept a running log.

“A lot of the blocks had their own dances. So we had our own. They weren’t, like, out of control dances, they were good. People didn’t crash dances. Our block had a dance and they invited a few friends that would come. That’s about the only thing we did socially,” he said.

Some incarcerees even had their own musical equipment made in camp. Two Nisei, one of which may have been Sadaichi Tanioka, made a turntable for Henry Nomura so that he could play music for his own enjoyment and for others in the firebreaks and at block dances at the Manzanar concentration camp. 

  • Henry Nomura’s turntable. Photo by Paloma Dooley.
  • Dance bids from Karen Nagao that were collected by her mother-in-law, Ruth (née Higa) Nagao. Photo by Paloma Dooley.

Handmade dance bids—paper booklets featuring an illustration of the event on the cover—were popular, complete with blank lines for dance partners to sign their name. Many of the dance bids in Don’t Fence Me In were donated by Karen Nagao. Her mother-in-law, Ruth (née Higa) Nagao, was incarcerated in the Pomona temporary detention center and the Heart Mountain concentration camp. While working as a crop picker and nurse’s aide at Heart Mountain, Nagao participated in many events including plays and dances. Her collection of dance bids commemorated block dances and special events like, a New Year’s Eve Dance, a Valentine’s Dance, and a Coronation Ball. 

To celebrate big band music, JANM created a Don’t Fence Me In playlist of popular songs from the 1940s and hosted a two-part public program, From Barbed Wire to Boogie Woogie, on June 17, 2023.

From Barbed Wire to Boogie Woogie kicked off with a conversation between dance preservationist Rusty Frank and Rohwer concentration camp survivors, artists, and performers, June Aochi Berk and Takayo Tsubouchi Fischer. Berk and Fischer met at the Rohwer when they were ten years old and have been friends ever since. While incarcerated at Rohwer, they were too young to attend the dances but they were attuned to the fashion of the times and taught themselves how to dance.

Rusty Frank, June Berk, and Takayo Fischer talk about dancing in camp. Courtesy of the Japanese American National Museum.

“I used to love looking at the Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs,” said Fischer.

“I made my mother buy me white majorette boots, a skirt, and a top. And my brother had to have pachuco pants so he could be in style in camp,” recalled Berk. “We would stand around and watch the big kids dance and we’d go home and copy them. That’s how we learned to dance. My brother always wore his pachuco hat all the time and I would look to see who was dancing with him.”

From Barbed Wire to Boogie Woogie then transitioned to the All Camps Swing Dance with live music from the Fabulous Esquires Big Band and custom dance bids for guests. After Frank led a  beginner swing dance lesson for all ages, the Fabulous Esquires played popular tunes from the 1940s like “Don’t Fence Me In,” “Moonlight Serenade,” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (which Berk sang in Japanese). Together, the conversation and dance offered all generations the opportunity to connect through music, movement, and immersive history.

Don’t Fence Me In is now on view through October 1, 2023. Swing by JANM to see it for yourself this summer and shop the exhibition’s collection at the JANM Store!

JANM Closed on August 10, 2023

Helen Yoshida Leave a comment

JANM will be closed on August 10, 2023 in observance of the anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. JANM honors this anniversary to acknowledge incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in US concentration camps without due process or evidence of wrongdoing.

On August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan issued a formal Presidential apology and symbolic payment of financial reparations to surviving Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II. The act was the first and only time that the US government publicly apologized for a mistake acknowledging that the forced removal and unconstitutional incarceration was caused by a failure of political leadership, wartime hysteria, and racism.

Click on the following online resources to learn more about the Civil Liberties Act of 1988:

JANM’s Educational Resources

Five Views of Redress: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary

Excerpts from the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians

However, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 did not extend to Japanese Latin Americans, Germans, and Italians who were interned and incarcerated in the Department of Justice (DOJ) camps. Japanese Latin Americans continue to fight for redress today and educate the public through annual pilgrimages, like the Crystal City Pilgrimage.

Check out these Discover Nikkei stories to learn more about those who were incarcerated in the DOJ camps.

Pilgrimage to Former Internment Camp Reveals Untold Story of Japanese Latin American Incarceration (From 2020)
Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik covers the 2019 Crystal City Pilgrimage.

The Japanese Peruvian Community of Chicago (From 2016)
Ryan Masaaki Yokota writes about the Japanese Peruvians who built their lives in Chicago after World War II.

Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 (From 2010)
In this two-part story, Esther Newman explores the circumstances of her grandfather’s capture, internment, and repatriation.

Photo credits:

Hannah Tomiko Holmes and Doris Sato, Fabric-Framed Photograph Commemorating the Efforts of the National Council for Japanese American Redress, 1987, fabric and paper, Japanese American National Museum, 88.4.1B.

Hannah Tomiko Holmes, Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, Michi Weglyn, William Hohri, Aiko Herzig, and Harry Y. Ueno Dolls, ca. early 1990s, fabric, 16” in height, Japanese American National Museum, gift of Hannah Tomiko Holmes, 88.4.1C.

Got a Work Truck Story? We Want to Hear It!

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The humble work truck or van may not seem as glamorous as a sports coupe or luxury sedan but as utility vehicles, they have served Japanese Americans in Los Angeles for over 100 years. Established by Fred J. Fujioka in the mid-1910s, the Japanese Auto Club of Southern California had over 850 members of Japanese descent listed in their member guide. Many members had registered their trucks, presumably used for delivering goods throughout the Southland.

Farmers, gardeners, shop owners, and other working class Nikkei couldn’t ply their trades without access to work vehicles. As prosaic as they looked, the ways in which owners adapted them to their needs made them as unique as any custom car. This was especially true for gardeners, once the economic lifeblood of the Southern California’s Japanese American community, for whom the pickup truck became an iconic sight for several generations.

As part of our forthcoming exhibition on Nikkei car culture in Southern California, we are looking for images of local Japanese Americans with their work trucks, vans, and cars. Many people may have posed in front of their family cars but we know there are also photos of people with their utility vehicles too. We want to make sure these—and the people behind them—are properly represented in our exhibition.

Right now, we prefer to look at digital scans (if possible). Please send them to cars@janm.org by July 31, 2023.

Photo: Buntaro Tabuchi from Amache with his gardening tools and truck, loading up for the day’s work in Los Angeles, June 25, 1945, Online Archive of California. Photo by Charles E. Mace.

Got a Story on Japanese American-Owned or Run Gas Stations and Service Centers? We Want to Hear It!

Helen Yoshida 22 Comments

These days, stopping by a gas station or taking your car to a service center may be seen as a necessary inconvenience but once upon a time, gas and service stations could be like informal neighborhood hubs: a place to stop and chat, even if only for the few minutes it took to top off your gas, check your oil, etc.

This was especially true in Southern California where countless Japanese Americans ran stations through the region. If you grew up here, chances are, you remember a few of your favorite stations. Some of you may even remember the names of the people who used to run them.

As part of our forthcoming exhibition on Japanese American car culture in Southern California, we are asking for your help to identify all the different Japanese American owned or run gas stations and service centers in the region.

If all you remember is the intersection where the station is or was, that’s useful to us. If you remember the name of the station and/or the name(s) of the Japanese American owner(s), even better.

We’re also interested in seeing any photos that people may have of those stations and the people who worked there.

Please fill out this form to submit your response. We’ll use this information to create a database and interactive map of all the gas/service stations in the region, based on all your replies. Thank you!

Frank Kikuchi at Manzanar

The Passing of JANM Volunteer, Frank Kikuchi

Helen Yoshida 1 Comment

On December 21, 2022, longtime JANM Volunteer Frank Kikuchi passed away in his sleep.

Born in Seattle on October 21, 1924, he was incarcerated at the Manzanar concentration camp. After the war, Frank relocated to the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights and started a family with his wife Tama. They had five children together and were married for 56 years until Tama died in 2004.

Frank started his own market called F and H Market and volunteered at JANM as a docent. When he was not busy giving tours and educating others about the history of Japanese Americans, he loved spending time with his children and going fishing.

Rafu Shimpo obituary on Francis “Frank” Isamu Kikuchi

“The Power of a Story: Intern Learns Importance of Personal Histories” by Elizabeth Ishida

“Nikkei Album: Frank Kikuchi” by Elizabeth Ishida

“My E.O. 9066 Stories: Frank Kikuchi, Manzanar DJ” by Amy Uyematsu

JANM Commemorates the Civil Liberties Act of 1988

Helen Yoshida 1 Comment

In observance of the anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, JANM will be closed on Wednesday, August 10, 2022.

On August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan issued a formal presidential apology and symbolic payment of financial reparations to surviving Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II. Although many of the first generation Issei had already passed away and did not receive the apology, which occurred more than 40 years later, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was the first and only time that the US government publicly apologized for a mistake acknowledging that the exclusion, forced removal, and mass incarceration was due to a failure of political leadership, war hysteria, and racism.

JANM honors this anniversary to acknowledge the unconstitutional, mass incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in remote US concentration camps without due process or evidence of wrongdoing 80 years ago. While recognizing the apology, JANM is also well aware that other past mistakes by the US government against Blacks and indigenous communities deserve recognition and reparations. 

To learn more about the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, explore these online educational resources from JANM:

Photo: President Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 on August 10, 1988. From left to right, he is flanked by Senator Matsunaga of Hawaii, Representative Mineta of California, Representative Saiki of Hawaii, Senator Wilson of California, Representative Young of Alaska, Representative Matsui of California, Representative Lowery of California, and Harry Kajihara, president of the Japanese American Citizens League. Photo courtesy of The Ronald Reagan Library and National Archives and Records Administration.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Visits JANM During Her Little Tokyo Tour

Helen Yoshida 7 Comments

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, the Japanese pop singer and kawaii model, toured Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles to support small businesses that were deeply affected by the pandemic. 

Her tour included brief stops at JANM, Anime Jungle, Bunkado, Café Dulce, Fugetsu-do, Honda Plaza, Koyasan Buddhist Temple, the Metro station platform, and Okayama Kobo. Her visit was part of her Local Power Japan project, an initiative that included 30 stops to towns and cities throughout Japan to boost local tourism and make her performances more accessible to fans. 

Upon her arrival at JANM on April 19, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu received a warm welcome from Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of JANM, and a tour of Common Ground: The Heart of Community and The Interactive StoryFile of Lawson Iichiro Sakai with Masako Miki, the Japanese-language external relations officer at JANM.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Masako Miki discuss the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans in Common Ground: The Heart of Community.
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu in front of The Interactive StoryFile of Lawson Iichiro Sakai. Photo by Helen Yoshida.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu also received a set of gifts or omiyage from the JANM Store that were selected and presented by Alexa Nishimoto, the marketing associate for JANM and self-proclaimed super fan of the musician. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu enjoyed the exhibitions and encouraged visitors to learn how the history of Japanese Americans continues to affect future generations.

“The work JANM does is so important for future generations to see,” said Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. “It is important for people to learn about this history.”

Alexa Nishimoto presents Kyary Pamyu Pamyu with gifts from the JANM Store. Photo by Helen Yoshida.

Bunkado, Café Dulce, Fugetsu-do, and Okayama Kobo will offer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu-themed food throughout May 2022 at the discretion of store management. Café Dulce and Fugetsu-do are offering Kyary Pamyu Pamyu-themed donuts and mochi. Bunkado is selling Kyary Pamyu Pamyu-themed shirts through the end of this month. 

Alexa Nishimoto with the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu-themed pastry at Okayama Kobo. Photo courtesy Alexa Nishimoto.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s April visit to Little Tokyo and merchandise dovetails with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month during May 2022. And what better way to celebrate Heritage Month than with a visit to JANM? 

Visit JANM to explore our exhibitions to learn about the Japanese American experience!

National Center for the Preservation of Democracy at JANM

Meet the 2022 NCPD@JANM Fellowship Artists Audrey Chan and Jason Chu

Helen Yoshida 1 Comment
Audrey Chan
jason chu
Audrey Chan, Los Angeles-based artist, illustrator, and educator. Photo by Jason Pierre.
Rapper jason chu in Los Angeles Chinatown. Photo by George Shaw.

In September 2021, the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy at the Japanese American National Museum (NCPD@JANM) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) invited artists to apply for the Artists At Work (AAW) initiative. 

Born out of the coronavirus pandemic and inspired by the Works Progress Administration, the AAW initiative employs artists in U.S. cities and regions to create original public-facing art and connect them to cultural institutions. The initiative also ties the artists and cultural institutions to social justice, economic, health, housing, and immigration issues in their local communities.

In December 2021, NCPD@JANM and Advancing Justice-LA selected Audrey Chan and Jason Chu as the 2022 recipients of this initiative. Chan is an illustrator and educator. Chu is a rapper and spoken word poet. Together they will create new artwork focusing on anti-Asian hate and racism.

Chan’s work blends visual and public art with film and research to challenge dominant historical narratives. Growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, she identified as an artist from a young age. 

“My art is about picturing the possibilities of what the world could look and feel like if the lived experiences, desires, and struggles of historically marginalized communities were centered in the stories of America’s past, present, and future,” said Chan.

A Delaware native, Chu’s music and poetry stem from exposure to hip hop at an early age. 

“I grew up with hip hop. It’s what made me Asian American. The community, the culture, the racial consciousness. I was surrounded by people who were using this art to hold a heritage. It’s a venue for having conversations that I wanted to have and to hear,” Chu said. 

“My art is about picturing the possibilities of what the world could look and feel like if the lived experiences, desires, and struggles of historically marginalized communities were centered in the stories of America’s past, present, and future.”

Audrey Chan

Chu earned his bachelor’s in Philosophy at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He earned his master’s from Fuller’s Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry in Pasadena, California. His music and poetry are influenced by the work of Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, Lupe Fiasco, and Kanye West. His three biggest influences are Kendrick Lamar, Bono, and Ai Wei Wei. 

“All of them are speaking of hope and healing in a broken world. They show what art can be for people,” he said.

Chan’s art is inspired by the work of Maya Lin, Adrian Piper, and Kerry James Marshall and her own family history. Chan earned her bachelor’s in Studio Art and Political Science at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. She earned her master’s from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia, California. As she developed her craft, her work also became inspired by political and social issues of the early 2000s. 

“In the year prior [to graduate school], I had worked on a grassroots campaign to persuade voters in swing districts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to vote for John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. The invasion of Iraq was underway and I wanted to understand if and how art could be a political medium to mobilize for social justice and to give voice to frustration with the status quo.”

At CalArts, she connected with artists who were a part of the Feminist Art Movement through a campus-wide class project on the legacy of the university’s Feminist Art Program.

“I appreciated that Southern California was a place where artists could be unabashedly political, conceptual, and experimental,” she said.

When Chu moved to Los Angeles ten years ago, he sought a very specific movement.

“I moved here to Los Angeles to identify as an Asian American rapper and poet. I was seeking out a pan-ethnic community, and that’s a strength of the West Coast. The strength of the East Coast is that there is a strong understanding of racialization. Not only in urban areas, but in small-town America too. I like to say that Asian America means all Asian Americans,” he said.

Chu was inspired to apply to this initiative after a friend tagged him on JANM’s Instagram post. 

“I grew up with hip hop. It’s what made me Asian American. The community, the culture, the racial consciousness. I was surrounded by people who were using this art to hold a heritage.”

Jason Chu

“My friend, a Cuban American choreographer, tagged me and said ‘Jason this sounds like you.’ This fellowship embodies everything I strive to do because it builds a communal consciousness.”

For Chan, there were many different aspects of the initiative that spoke to her.

“The AAW initiative was an opportunity to partner with NCPD@JANM and Advancing Justice-LA, two inspiring organizations that have been on the frontlines of defending democracy and centering the needs and cultural specificities of AAPI communities. By working together, we’re finding ways to merge art and advocacy to move the needle forward in representing the diversity of AAPI communities and building the solidarities that are essential to survive and thrive in the face of racist hatred and hostility. I also deeply appreciate that the fellowship recognizes art as a form of essential cultural labor and gives new life to the legacy of the Works Progress Administration,” she said.

Chan and Chu plan to create a new artwork that engages multiple generations, represents Southern California Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, and stands alongside other communities fighting against injustice, hate, and violence. 

“We’re working on building a collective visual and textual vocabulary for this moment that can be translated into multiple languages and that can be activated through installations, events, and public participation. By making the project bilingual, we hope to provide another resource for intergenerational communication, but also to serve as a reminder that there is so much to learn about and from each other,” said Chan.