In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, mandating the removal of Japanese Americans from their homes. Nearly 120,000 Japanese immigrants and native born Japanese Americans were imprisoned in concentration camps for the duration of World War II. Now, 80 years later at a time of racial reckoning, we need to bear witness to the atrocities committed by the United States government and the pain our leadership caused innocent men, women, and children of Japanese heritage—most of whom were loyal citizens.
The Day of Remembrance, observed annually on February 19, is an opportunity to not only acknowledge this national atrocity but also to honor the lives and listen to stories of individuals and families who were profoundly affected. These 10 books, some written by survivors of the camps and others by their descendants, will give you a deeper understanding of the history of mass incarceration during World War II and its impact on Japanese American communities. We've included memoirs, histories, novels, and even a play. Here are the stories of children who survived the Japanese internment camps, of Japanese American lawyers fighting for justice, and of fictional characters struggling to adjust to life after being imprisoned. Told from various perspectives and in many styles, each of these audiobooks offers a different way to understand and reflect on this shameful piece of American history, so that we may never repeat it.
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In Infamy, historian Richard Reeves provides a sweeping yet detailed history of Japanese American internment during World War II. Horror by horror, he lays out the events that led to such a despicable and shameful chapter in American history. While comprehensive, this history is accessible and deeply affecting. Along with archival research, Reeves draws on interviews with survivors and numerous primary sources, such as letters and journals, to tell a story that, though grim, is essential for all Americans to hear. In addition to recounting the atrocities committed by the US government, Reeves calls attention to citizens who spoke out against what was happening, defending the rights of Japanese Americans. Most poignantly, Infamy contains dozens of personal accounts from Japanese Americans who survived the camps. Japanese American actor James Yaegashi's even yet emotional narration only adds to the power of this important book.
Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Kimi Cunningham Grant listened to the stories of her Japanese grandparents, but mostly avoided any deeper connections to her Japanese heritage, wanting to fit in with her white American peers. But she'd always wondered about a story left untold: the story of her gentle Obaachan's life as a prisoner in the internment camps. In this beautifully written and moving memoir, Grant recounts her grandmother's story as she slowly shares it over a period of years. It's the story of a young woman forcibly removed from her home who survived five years in the camps, where her mother died and where she met her future husband. Grant uses her Obaachan's life—and her own—as a lens through which to tell a bigger story about Japanese American experiences during World War II and the lingering effects. Award-winning narrator Emily Woo Zeller lends her considerable talents to this powerful family story.
Manzanar, located in the California desert, was one of the 10 camps in which Japanese people were incarcerated during World War II. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston was only seven years old when her family was forcibly removed from their home and fishing business in Long Beach and relocated to Manzanar. In this now-classic memoir, first published in 1978 when the author was 37, Wakatsuki recounts what it was like to be a child in the camps. She writes about her confusion and fear, and about the horror of displacement as she experienced it as a girl. She also shares stories of the people she knew in the camps, reflecting their resilience and dignity in the face of such horrifying and dehumanizing circumstances. Jennifer Ikeda captures all of the raw emotion Wakatsuki pours into her story, making it an immersive, if often harrowing, listen.
First published in 1956 to little recognition, No-No Boy is now widely considered a classic of postwar and Japanese American literature. It's the story of Ichiro Yamada, a young man who refuses to serve in the armed forces and swear loyalty to the United States, unwilling to offer his life for a country that sent him and his family to internment camps. The novel opens with Yamada returning to Seattle after serving two years in prison for his refusal. As he struggles to readjust to life, he finds that the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans continues to haunt his family and community. David Shih's quiet yet tortured narration captures the essence of this grim novel, which explores the aftermath of war and trauma with complexity and nuance.
David Guterson's best-selling novel explores the legacies of racism and xenophobia that simmer in the small community of San Piedro, a tiny island in Puget Sound. Set in 1954, the novel opens with the trial of a Japanese American fisherman, Kabuo Miyamoto, who has been changed with the murder of a local fisherman. As his trial progresses, tensions among the island's residents begin to grow. The story of an old love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who Kabuo eventually married resurfaces. Most hauntingly, Kabuo's trial brings to light the ways in which San Piedro is still defined by what happened to its Japanese citizens during World War II. George Guidall's masterful narration brings this moving, suspenseful classic to new life for listeners.
L.A. Theatre Works's audio production of this powerful play is nothing short of spectacular. For Us All tells the true story of the fight to overturn the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American man who resisted mass incarceration during World War II. In 1944, the Supreme Court unjustly sentenced Korematsu for resisting incarceration. In the 1980s, a group of young, energetic, and mostly Japanese American attorneys used a little known legal writ to make a case to overturn the decision. A full cast of talented voice actors captures the outrage and excitement of this inspiring battle for justice. Along with sound effects and music to create atmosphere and drama, this engaging production features a conversation with playwright Jeanne Sakata and four of the attorneys from the case.
Julie Otsuka's heartbreaking debut is just three and a half hours long, but her sparse prose only adds to this historical novel's haunting power. Split into five distinct sections, the story follows a Japanese American family through their time as prisoners in an internment camp. Each section is told from a different POV: the mother learning of the removal order, the daughter on the train that takes them to the camp, the son in the camp itself, the family's collective return to their home, and the father's eventual release. Stark yet deeply human, When the Emperor Was Divine illuminates the horrors so many Japanese Americans experienced. Narrator Elaina Erika Davis does a wonderful job altering her voice for each character, while matching her tone to Otsuka's evocative storytelling throughout.
Traci Chee's young adult novel follows a group of Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans, whose lives are changed forever by Executive Order 9066 and the mass incarcerations during World War II. It's a collective story, told from the POVs of 14 teenagers, all of whom grew up in Japantown, San Francisco. Though very different, the teens are close, forming their own kind of family. When they're ordered to leave their homes, each teen deals with the horror in their own way. The chapters are self-contained stories; taken together, they form a powerful narrative about not only the mass incarceration but also the strength of friendship and found family. The brilliant full cast audio production is one you won't want to miss, with talented voice actors bringing each teen and their particular quirks, fears, desires, and hopes to vivid life.
When Lily Nakai was 10, she thought she was going on "camping trip" with her family in Southern California but instead found herself in an internment camp. In this unconventional memoir, Nakai recounts the time she spent in the camps in a series of short vignettes, which include vivid snapshots of people she met, short scenes, and memories of particular events. Together, these beautifully written vignettes tell the story of a girl coming of age amidst turmoil and injustice. Nakai's keen eye for detail and engaging storytelling add up to a memoir that is by turns harrowing, observant, angry, and even occasionally funny. Kay Webster's quiet, emotional performance brings home just how strange, disorienting, and painful it was to be a child imprisoned because of her heritage and race.
Set in Los Angeles in the 1990s, Southland follows Jackie Ishida, a Japanese American law student who discovers a strange request in her grandfather's will. While she's trying to decipher the mystery, she learns that four African American boys were killed at her grandfather's store during the Watts Riots of 1965. This revelation leads her to delve deeper into her family's past, where she finds buried stories that take her back to the internment camps of World War II. Karen Chilton offers a moving performance of Nina Revoyr's richly layered novel about race, history, and family secrets.
