The Topaz Stories team and Friends of Topaz Museum are excited to announce that a new exhibit of Topaz Stories will be held at J-Sei from September 22-December 13, 2024!
While a few of the stories in this exhibit were displayed in the Utah State Capitol in 2022, all are being exhibited in California for the first time. The stories provide intensely personal accounts of the forced removal; daily camp life; the dispersal of the Japanese American community through the resettlement program; the heroism of Nisei solders with families incarcerated behind barbed wire; the challenges of returning to California after the War; and the impact of the camp experience on survivors and subsequent generations, decades later.
Join us at J-Sei for the following programs associated with the exhibit!
(All events are hybrid and free and open to the public. J-Sei, 1285 66th St., Emeryville, CA. Website: j-sei.org)Sunday, Sept. 22: “Children of Topaz: Stories and Art” with Dana Shew and special guests (10:30-11:45 am). Register here.
Thursday, Oct. 3: “Dispersed: The WWII Scattering of the Japanese American Community.” Stories by Jun Dairiki, Jean Hibino, Mitsi Nakamizo Fuchigami, and Joseph Nishimura (2-3:30 pm). Register here.
Sunday, Oct. 13: “The Lost Sketches of Topaz: Ella Honderich’s Topaz Years” by Cynthia Wright, Ella’s granddaughter (2-3:30 pm). Register here.
Thursday, Nov. 7: “Soldiers’ Stories” by Eugene Takei, Tracy Takayanagi Hui, and Ruth Sasaki (2-3:30 pm). Register here.
Saturday, Nov. 23: “Wartime Friends and Allies of Japanese Americans,” stories by Frank Kami, Jonathan Hirabayashi, Doris Yagi, and Jon Yatabe and Ruth Sasaki (2-3:30 pm). Register here.
Thursday, Dec. 5: “Return to California: Stories of Postwar Resettlement” by Kaz Iwahashi, Michi Mukai, Harue Minamoto, and Meri Mitsuyoshi (2-3:30 pm). Register here.
