SAN FRANCISCO — “The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii,” presented by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (JCCH), will be screened in San Jose and San Francisco Japantowns this weekend. The schedule is as follows:
• Saturday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 566 N. 5th St., San Jose. Ticket required ($5 donation). For information, contact the Japanese American Museum of San Jose at PublicPrograms@JAMsj.org. For tickets, call CATS (Contemporary Asian Theater Scene) at (408) 867-4525 or visit the JAMsj gift shop, 535 N. 5th St. (Thursday to Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m.), or Nikkei Traditions, 219 Jackson St. (for hours see http://shop.nikkeitraditions-sj.com/).
• Sunday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, 1840 Sutter St., San Francisco. Free admission. RSVP by calling (415) 567-5505 or emailing programsevents@jcccnc.org.
While the story of the 1942 mass round-up, eviction and imprisonment of Japanese Americans in California, Oregon and Washington is well documented, very little is known about the Hawaii internees and their unique experience during World War II. Produced by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, this is the first full-length documentary to chronicle this untold story in the state’s history.
Shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii authorities arrested several hundred local Japanese on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii (the Big Island) and Kauai. Within 48 hours, those arrested included Buddhist priests, Japanese language school officials, newspaper editors, business and community leaders. In total, over 2,000 men and women of Japanese ancestry were arrested, detained and interned at 13 different confinement sites in Hawaii.
There was no evidence of espionage or sabotage and no charges were ever filed against them. This film chronicles their story through oral histories, documents, interviews, and re-enactments.
“The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii is extremely pleased to work with the JCCCNC to present ‘The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawaii,’” said Carole Hayashino, president and executive director of the JCCH. “While people are familiar with places like Manzanar, Topaz and Tule Lake, few people are familiar with names of Honouliuli, Kalaheo Stockade or Kilauea Military Camp, where Japanese Americans in Hawaii were imprisoned during World War II.”
Hayashino and Jane Kurahara, JCCH staff associate, will be attending the film showings in California to discuss the continuing efforts to preserve Hawaii’s confinement sites.
The film was made possible through a lead grant from the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program, National Park Service, and matching funds provided by the JCCH, Island Insurance Foundation, The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, and the Japanese American Citizens League-Honolulu Chapter. (Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.)
JCCH, a non-profit organization based in Honolulu, strives to strengthen Hawaii’s diverse community by educating present and future generations in the evolving Japanese American experience in Hawaii. On the Web: www.jcch.com