Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Heart Mountain, Wyoming. "Tubbie" Kunimatsu and Laverne Kurahara, by Hikaru Iwasaki. Public Domain {{PD-US}}. National Archives.

What role did music making serve in the daily lives of incarcerated Japanese Americans?

​What are the long-term legacies of Japanese American incarceration during WWII?

How have artists commemorated the Japanese American incarceration experience?

Japanese American Incarceration and Music

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS

HISTORY & CULTURE

MUSIC LISTENING

30+ MIN

15+ MIN

30+ MIN

Topaz War Relocation Center, Topaz, Utah. Funeral for James Wakasa, killed by a military guard, on April 19, 1943.  Photo by Russell Bankson. Public Domain {{PD-US}}. National Archives.

"Asian Pacific American": What's in a Name?

Component 1

15–20 minutes

30 minutes+

From Incarceration to Reparation

Civilian Exclusion Order, by United States Army. National Museum of American History.

Omoiyari

Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi - (Official Teaser #1), directed by Kishi Bashi.

Introducing Kishi Bashi

Kishi Bashi discusses his parents in these clips from the Japanese American National Museum oral history series.  The interview took place on August 21, 2018 and the interviewer is Sharon Yamato.

Kishi Bashi (b. 1975) is the stage name of Kaoru Ishibashi.  He is the son of two Japanese immigrants who moved to the U.S. after World War II.  Because his family was not incarcerated and because he grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, which had a tiny population of Asian descent, he saw himself as an outsider to the Japanese American community.

The Beginning of Kishi Bashi's Career

In this interview, Kishi Bashi discusses his journey as a musician and his first solo album, 151a.

Kishi Bashi gained prominence on the indie rock scene as co-founder of Jupiter One, a Brooklyn-based band that created upbeat songs with futuristic synth sounds.  He also toured as a violinist with Regina Spektor and Of Montreal.  He began performing as a solo artist in 2011.

Why Kishi Bashi made Omoiyari

Kishi Bashi discusses why he studied and wrote music about the Japanese American incarceration after the 2016 election.  The interview took place on August 21, 2018 and the interviewer is Sharon Yamato.

Kishi Bashi has always viewed himself as "a proud American."  After the 2016 election, particularly with the signing of Executive Order 13769 (which critics dubbed the Muslim Ban), he felt threatened in the U.S. for the first time.  This was when he decided to study and write music about the history of the Japanese American incarceration during WWII.

The Significance of the Japanese American Incarceration

Aerial View of Granada Relocation Center, Amache, Colorado, December 12, 1942. Photo by Thomas W. Parker. Public Domain. National Archives.

The Japanese American incarceration during WWII is the only historical episode to get its own lesson.  It is also the subject of this pathway's cover art.

As you proceed, please reflect on:

• Why is the incarceration so important in Asian American history?
• How does the incarceration inform other Asian American experiences?

The Key Facts--Part 1

A store in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, 1942.  It was forced to close because the owners were preparing to be incarcerated because of E.O. 9066.  Photo by Russell Lee.  Public Domain. Library of Congress

• WWII broke out in during the exclusion era, when many in the U.S. supported the complete ban of immigration from Asia
• Suspicions of Japanese Americans exploded as a result of the Pearl Harbor attack in Dec. 1941.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order (E.O.) 9066, which led to the removal of 120,000 people of Japanese descent (2/3rds of whom were U.S. citizens) from the West Coast

The Key Facts--Part 2

Incarcerees at Tule Lake Relocation Center, California, cutting seed potatoes, May 24, 1943. Photo by Francis Stewart. Department of the Interior.

• Approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent were forcibly moved to ten inland relocation center (often called "camps") surrounded by barbed wire and watch towers.
• Barracks had no running water.  Medical care, sanitation and food were inadequate.
• A quarter-century campaign by survivors and descendants led to an official apology and reparations from the federal government in 1988.

The Key Questions

The remainder of this component explores:

• How did E.O. 9066 come about and how was it implemented?
• How did incarcerated Japanese Americans make the best of the relocation experience and how did they resist?
• How did they campaign for and ultimately receive redress and reparations from the federal government?

The Beginning of World War II

Many date the beginning of World War II to 1939, but it was preceded by earlier invasions:

• 1905: Japan annexes Korea (bottom pink)
• 1931: Japan invades an area of northeast China called Manchuria (top pink)
• 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia
• 1937-38: Japan conquers most coastal areas of China (yellow)
• 1938: Germany invades Austria
• Japan occupied areas in orange and purple after 1939

Japanese Empire, by Kokiri, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Pearl Harbor

The United States did not join World War II until Japan attacked Naval Station Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawai'i on December 7, 1941, killing 2,403 US Americans.

The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, unknown photographer. Public Domain {{PD-US}}. National Archives.

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor for Japanese Americans

Immediately after Pearl Harbor, many people in the U.S. became very suspicious of Japanese Americans.  The Department of the Treasury quickly froze the assets of all Japanese Americans, and the FBI arrested over 1,200 leaders in the Japanese American community within a few hours.

FBI Agents Arrest Japanese Civilians, unknown photographer. 

CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Densho Encyclopedia.

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor for Japanese Americans

Recognizing that Japanese Americans needed to buy basic supplies, the U.S. government allowed Japanese Americans to take out some money from banks a few days later.

The cover image of this learning pathway portrays Toku Shimomura's gratitude about this U.S. government decision. 

Diary: December 12, 1941, by Roger Shimomura. Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor for Japanese Americans

On the right, you can see Toku Shimomura's diary entry on December 12, 1942.  Here's a translation:

I spent the whole day in the house. I hear that permission has been given today to withdraw one hundred dollars from the bank. This in order to preserve the lives and safety of us enemy aliens. I felt more than ever the generosity with which America treats us.

What emotions were expressed here?  In this situation, is this how you would express yourself?

Entry for December 12, 1941, Toku Shimomura Diary. National Museum of American History.

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor for Japanese Americans

Why do you think the artist used Superman in this painting?

What does Superman mean to you?

Aftermath of Pearl Harbor for Japanese Americans

In an interview with Anne Collins Goodyear, artist Roger Shimomura said that he "immediately thought of Superman when [he] thought of America."  Sometimes, it stood for the American Dream, of "those rewards available for working hard and trying to attain success."  At other times, what Superman represents "certainly wasn’t a flattering depiction of America."

Executive Order 9066

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 (E.O. 9066), which gave military commanders the authority to remove any person from designated military areas.

Congress supported E.O. 9066 by authorizing a prison term and fine for those who violated the military order.

Executive Order 9066, dated February 19, 1942. 

Public Domain {{PD-US}}. National Archives.

Incarceration

The head of the Western Defense Command, John L. DeWitt, struggled with his decision, but ultimately issued orders to remove 120,000 people of Japanese descent from the West Coast, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens.

Clip from Asian Americans (PBS Series) - Ep. 2 "A Question of Loyalty".  Uploaded to Vimeo by AJSOCAL.

The Removal

Those who were forced into incarceration often had one week's notice.  Some were able to sell their houses, farms and stores at rock bottom prices.  Those who couldn't just had to leave.  Pets were not allowed in camps.  And they could only take what they could carry--often, just one suitcase was allowed.  

If you were forced to leave with just one suitcase, what would you pack?

Wicker Suitcase, unknown maker.

National Museum of American History.

One of the Lucky Ones

The family of Kabuki dancer Fujima Kansuma (1918-2023) was lucky. They found a neighbor who took care of their hotel and sent them money (see video).  Many other supposed caretakers stole, sold and burned land and other properties.

Fujima Kansuma in costume for "Kagami Jishi" (Mirror Lion Dance).  Incarcerees went wild for her performances at the Rohwer War Relocation Center, Arkansas.  Click to see a short documentary about Kansuma.

The Removal

In 2018, photographer Kayla Isomura created a multimedia exhibit that examines how the incarceration of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians during WWII continue to affect descendants.  The core of this project involved asking fourth- and fifth- generation Japanese Canadians and Americans what they would pack if they were uprooted with almost no notice.

Self-Portrait for The Suitcase Project, by Kayla Isomura. The Suitcase Project.

Relocation Centers

Japanese Americans on the West Coast were generally first brought to assembly centers (dots on the map), and then transported to a "relocation centers" (triangles on map).  On July 31, 1943, Tule Lake (in the far northeast of California) was designated a segregation center for "disloyal" incarcerees.  

Map of World War II Japanese American Internment Camps, National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons. Pubic Domain {{PD-US}}.

Why Are Relocation Centers Often Called "Camps?"

In the context of Japanese American incarceration, the word "camp" is short for "concentration camp," a place where a group of people are imprisoned not because of a crime, but because of who they are.  After WWII, the term "concentration camp" is almost exclusively associated with the Holocaust.  The relocation centers are clearly different from the Nazis' torture and death camps.  However, this term goes back to the turn of the 20th century, and U.S. government officials called relocation centers "concentration camps" on many occasions.

President Harry S. Truman, in an interview with Merle Miller in the early 1960s, said, "They were concentration camps. They called it relocation but they put them in concentration camps, and I was against it. We were in a period of emergency but it was still the wrong thing to do.”

Life in the Camps

The camps were surrounded by barbed wire and watch towers.  The barracks had no running water, and did not adequately shield residents from the harsh climate at most camps.  The food in the mess halls were terrible.  Medical care and sanitation were inadequate.  However, incarcerees did their best to create a routine and maintain normalcy:  children went to school, religious services were held, and many adults had jobs.

Mess Line, noon, Manzanar Relocation Center, California, by Ansel Adams. Library of Congress.

Kishi Bashi, "Summer of '42"

Kishi Bashi's "Summer of '42" commemorates one of beautiful "normal" things in life: a young person falling in love, perhaps for the first time..

The setting of this video is Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming.

Kishi Bashi, "Summer of '42" Questions

The song begins with the sound of wind and a solo violin.  The accompaniment comes in around 0:36 and grows lusher and lusher as images of the evacuation are shown.  For you, what is the effect here and what does this mean?

Kishi Bashi sings the choruses and outro in falsetto.  Why do you think he does this?  Is it effective?

The end of verse 2, which is about the loss of this love, leads into an orchestral interlude that builds in intensity and ultimately a gorgeous cello melody in the outro.  How do you interpret this?

Kishi Bashi said that love stories can help us develop empathy of people in the past.  Does this song help you empathize with Japanese American incarcerees?

Emphasizing American Identities

The mass incarceration of Japanese Americans was due largely to the long history of anti-Asian racism, and the resulting belief that Asians are "unassimilable."

To show how misguided this belief was, many incarcerees, particularly second-generation (Nisei) and third-generation (Sansei) Japanese Americans pursued the most iconic U.S. activities in camp.  One of them was baseball.

Baseball Game, Manzanar Relocation Center, Calif. by Ansel Adams. Library of Congress.

Emphasizing American Identities

All ten incarceration camps had big bands.  Joy Terakoa was incarcerated at Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming, and regularly sang with the George Igawa Band there.  In this short documentary, Julian Saporiti and Erin Aoyama interviewed Joy in Hawaiʻi and played a concert with her.

Another was jazz.  

For Joy, produced by Omoiyari Song Film. Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation.

Mary Kageyama (later Mary Kageyama Nomura)

Mary Kageyama Nomura (1925-2026) was the most famous jazz singer in the camps. Nicknamed "The Songbird of Manzanar," she was forcibly relocated at the age of 16. At Manzanar, she was mentored by the High School music and drama teacher Lou Frizzell, who arranged many performances for her.

In this excerpt of her 2009 Densho oral history, Nomura discusses her experience at Manzanar High School and her relationship with Frizzell.

Frizzell later came a successful actor on Broadway and in film and television. Nomura did not pursue a professional career, but sang at numerous community events.  You can hear her perform Johnny Mercer's "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" as a 79-year-old in Camp Dance (slide 67, 1:07:08-1:10:05). 

Discussing "U.S." Identities

In the 1940s, Japanese Americans demonstrated that they belonged in the U.S. by playing baseball and jazz.

Oakland, California, Mar. 1942. A large sign reading "I am an American" placed in the window of a store, by Dorothea Lange. National Archives.

What are the different ways someone can demonstrate a sense of belonging in the U.S. now?

How do these different ways reflect divergent notions of U.S. identity?

Revitalizing Japanese Traditions

Ironically, the incarceration camps also strengthened traditional Japanese arts and practices.  With so many Japanese Americans gathered together in one place, incarcerees were able to find teachers on Japanese musical instruments, dance, theater, flower arranging, and even tea ceremony.

Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts at the WWII Internment Camps, produced by Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto. Public Domain {{PD-US}}. Murasaki Productions LLC.

Long-Term Impacts: Property

Japanese Americans lost approximately 75% of their property during incarceration.  Exact totals are impossible to calculate, but the Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians estimated the community's loss to be between $2 billion and $5 billion in 2017 dollars.

Vandalism of Japanese American property, unknown photographer.

Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration.

Long-Term Impacts: Health and Community

Due to the experience of trauma, incarceration had a major impact on health.  A study by Gwendolyn Jensen showed that suicide rates for Japanese Americans were as much as four times higher after the war than before.  

The incarceration experience also led to severe tensions within the Japanese American community as well as intergenerational trauma.

First edition cover of John Okada's novel No-No Boy, 1957, unknown artist. CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Densho Encyclopedia.  In 1943, Japanese American incarcerees were forced to fill out a questionnaire.  The last two questions about unwavering loyalty to the U.S. caused both confusion and resentment.  "No-No Boy" is a label to those who answered "No" to these two questions.  After the war, they were shunned by many Japanese Americans, who felt that their "No-No" position jeopardizes the community's future safety.

Legality of Detention?

Ever since E.O. 9066 was implemented, Japanese American activists have challenged the legality of their detention, fought to restore their constitutional and civil rights, and sought official apologies and monetary compensation from the U.S. government.

Congress passed the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act in 1948, which ultimately paid Japanese Americans $38 million, a small fraction of the actual property the community endured.

Department of Justice Evacuation Claims Award Sheet, Jan. 30, 1953, sent to Ontario, Oregon, courtesy of Densho. The Yamada Family Collection.

Redress Movement

This led to the formation of Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) in 1980.

• This nine-member commission spent two years hearing testimonies from 750+ witnesses, researching archival sources and analyzing scholarship on the incarceration. It ultimately issued a 467-page report (right) in December 1982.

Inspired by the civil rights and antiwar movements--particularly the centuries-long call for reparations for African Americans--the Redress movement gained steam in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Personal Justice Denied, Commision on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Univesity of Washington Press

Civil Rights Act of 1988

• Acknowledging the injustice of the incarceration
• Issuing an official apology
• Paying each surviving incarceree $20,000
• Establishing an education fund to inform the public about the truth of the incarceration
• Discouraging similar future injustices

President Reagan's Remarks and Signing Ceremony for the Japanese-American Internment Compensation Bill. Reagan Library.

The CWRIC Report became the basis of the Civil Rights Act of 1988, which included:

Discussing Reparations

How can the Redress Movement  inform the ongoing debate about reparations for descendants of enslaved people or other victims of state-perpetrated injustices?

Reparations, photo by Tyler Merbler, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.

Why have Japanese Americans been able to achieve reparations sooner than African Americans?

Learning Checkpoint

• What led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast during WWII?

• Are there any parallels between the Japanese American incarceration during World War II and current events?

• What was life like in Japanese American incarceration camps during WWII? What kind of music did people make?

• What are some key long-term impacts of the Japanese American incarceration camps?

End of Component 1: Where will you go next?

Creating a Monument

Component 2

15+ minutes

Animals in War Memorial, London, photo by Iridescenti. CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Monuments are structures or artworks that commemorate a person, event, or social group.

What are monuments?

Sometimes, monuments support certain historical narratives and downplay others, and they often take up important spaces.  Many are significant tourist attractions as well as sites of contestation.

RVA Counter-Protests Against Neew-CSA, photo by Mobilus in Mobili. CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr.

Why are monuments created?  By whom and for whom?  

Who might benefit from or be harmed by monuments?  

The Purpose of Monuments

The Tejano Monument, a sculpture on the Texas Capitol Grounds, photo by Carol M. Highsmith. CCO 1.0. Library of Congress.

Monument Lab defines a monument as "a statement of power and presence in public."  Do you agree?

Building and Maintaining the Manzanar Shrine

Manzanar Shrine, photo by Daniel Meyer, CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The character means "soul consoling tower."

The Manzanar Shrine is a rare example of an enduring monument created by a group without power.  It was designed and built by incarcerees in 1943 to commemorate those who died at the camp.

After the war, the shrine was maintained by religious leaders who returned to the camp to perform memorial services.  The emrgence of the Redress Movement marked a new phase in the history of the Manzanar Shrine.

The Annual Manzanar Pilgraimmages

Top: Mary Kageyama Nomura sings the "The Manzanar Song" in 2008.  Bottom: Interviews with Ken Koshio and Sydney Shiroyama in 2024.

In 1969, activists organized the first of the official annual Manzanar pilgrimmages.  Most participants were young people who wanted to learn about the incarceration.  With these new visitors, the Shrine gained a new layer of meaning.  It is not just a memorial to those who died in Manzanar, but also a symbol of Japanese American resistance and resilience.  Pilgrimmages now include music and dance performances. What functions do you think music can play in these pilgraimmages?

Creative Activity

1. As a class, discuss monuments that are in your neighborhood or city.  If time permits, complete pp. 2-4 of Monument Lab's "Field Trip" Exercise.
2. Choose a person, event, social group or issue to which you you want to draw attention or commemorate.
3. Design a monument for your chosen subject.  What will it look like?  What words will be on it?  Where will it be?  How and why did you make these decisions?

Monument devant le Siège Social de la Commision Scolaire de Portneuf - Donnacona, photo by Sylvainbrousseau, CC-BY-SA-4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Learning Checkpoint

• When you create a monument, what are some key decisions that need to be made?  How would you make these decisions?

• What purposes do monuments serve?

• How might certain people or groups benefit from monuments, and how might other people or groups be harmed?

End of Component 2: Where will you go next?

Musical Commemorations

Component 3

30+ minutes

Kim Tran Sings a Vietnamese Folksong "Cò Lả" Accompanied by a Bronze Gong. Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network.

Purposes of Musical Commemoration

Music is used to commemorate major events and can serve many purposes, including:

• Individual and community healing
• Promoting certain narratives/actions
• Education
• Fundraising
• Building community
• Providing space for reflection

A Marine Corps Bugler, photo byTerry A. Cosgrave. National Archives. Public Domain {{PD-US}}.

Examples of Musical Commemoration

"America: A Tribute to Heroes" was a benefit concert organized in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Bruce Springsteen sang "My City in Ruins" as the opening song.  

The show honored those involved in rescue operations, raised funds for victims and their families, and worked to raise the country's spirits. 

Bruce Springsteen - America: A Tribute to Heroes, uploaded by Glen Campbell and Much Much More.

Examples of Musical Commemoration

The photo on the right shows Kim Tran singing the Vietnamese folksong “Cò Lả” accompanied by a bronze gong at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  The song describes a crane flying over green fields while missing and remembering home.

Examples of Musical Commemoration

On the 1st anniversary of his death, the George Floyd Foundation (GFF) organized this commemorative concert as a "reminder of the continued fight for #JusticeforGeorge and so many others who have lost their lives unjustly."

George Floyd Commemorative Concert. Fountains of Praise.

The video is cued to soul singer Leela James' performance of "See Me."  Why do you think she picked this song to commemorate George Floyd?

Discussion: Purposes of Musical Commemoration

Try to remember the last time you heard music at a commemorative event/ceremony (e.g., funerals, anniversaries of tragedies, celebrations of certain achievements). 

The Jazz Funeral for Democracy in New Orleans, 2005. Photo by Bart Everson, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.

What purposes did that music serve?  Did you think it was appropriate?  How and why?  If you were in charge, would you have changed it in any way?

Commemorating the Incarceration Experience

The Japanese American incarceration has been the subject of many musical works.  Some of the key reasons are:

• The activism of survivors
• The continuing impact of the incarceration on Asian Americans
• The continuing relevance of debates that led to the incarceration

The conclusion of In America. Los Angeles Master Chorale.  In this movement, incarcerees learn that the camps are closing and reflect on how this experience has changed them.

Commemorating the Incarceration Experience

Explore all or some of them depending on the time you have available to teach this component.

The next series of slides (59-71) explores three additional examples of musical works that commemorate the Japanese American incarceration experience. 

Anthony Brown, E.O. 9066

Composer, bandleader, percussionist and scholar Anthony Brown was a member of the cohort of musicians who developed what is often called "Asian American Jazz" in the 1980s.

MAARC Oral History: Anthony Brown, Part 3. Music of Asian America Research Center.

These musicians' styles varied, but all tried to combine African American and Asian American traditions in a way that was politically liberatory.

Anthony Brown, E.O. 9066

The son of a Japanese mother and a father of mixed Choctaw (Native American) and African American descent, incarceration camps were not a part of Brown's family history.  

Recognizing that he, his mother, his children and his grandchildren would be incarcerated if E.O. 9066 passed today, he hoped to educate everyone about this history.

Program of Works about the Japanese American Incarceration at the University of Arizona, 1999.  Courtesy of Anthony Brown and the Music of Asian America Research Center.

Anthony Brown, E.O. 9066

The incarceration of 2,200 Latin Americans of Japanese descent is a relatively unknown aspect of this history.  Ever the educator, Brown decided to raise this issue by making the last movement of E.O. 9066 a rumba.

What instruments and sounds do you expect to hear?

Boys softball team from Block 22 with Coach Kanenori Jack Takayama, by George Hirahara. George and Frank C. Hirahara Photograph Collection  of Heart Mountain, Wyoming, Washington State University Libraries' MASC.

Anthony Brown, E.O. 9066

 What other feelings do you feel? Why?

What Latin American, African American and/or Asian influences do you hear?

Does a sense of hope come across?

Anthony Brown, E.O. 9066

E.O. 9066 (1996) incorporated a Chinese melody entitled "The General's Order" (to depict the actions of General DeWitt), an 11th-century Japanese gagaku melody (to depict first-generation immigrants), taiko, and a variety of Asian and Middle Eastern wind instruments into a loose jazz framework.  

Left: San Jose Taiko at Yerba Buena Center, by Bob Hsiang. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

Soji Kashiwagi, Camp Dance (2003)

This group started in 2001 as a theater troupe that entertained and served first- and second-generation Japanese Americans at Keiro Retirement Home in Los Angeles.  ​

Grateful Crane Ensemble.

Soji Kashiwagi is a founding member of the Grateful Crane Ensemble.

Soji Kashiwagi, Camp Dance (2003)

Historical context plays a huge role in artistic production.

During the early part of the Redress Movement, Japanese American activists had to show the country how unjust the incarceration was.  To get attention, they (including Soji's father, Hiroshi Kashiwagi) produced art that expressed anger.

Poems by Hiroshi Kashiwagi. Grateful Crane Ensemble.

Soji Kashiwagi, Camp Dance (2003)

In an interview with Eric Hung, Kashiwagi said, "After a while, you get tired of getting pounded over the head with anger and injustice. You can only take so much of that."  

In the 1990s, the focus shifted from anger to education.  This anger was dialed down a bit, but—as Anthony Brown's E.O. 9066 shows—it is still there.  As of 2003, things had changed even more.

Soji Kashiwagi. Photo by Gann Matsuda/Manzanar Committee.

Soji Kashiwagi, Camp Dance (2003)

By creating a musical about one of the happiest activities in camp, he hoped to build a safe space where the older generations can share their experiences, and where younger ones could ask questions they had never dared to ask.

Kashiwagi felt that what he needed to help survivors heal and to repair intergenera-tional tensions within the community that was caused largely by PTSD.

A photo of a camp dance at Manzanar Camp, California, April 2, 1942.  Photo by Clem Albers, U.S. War Relocation Authority. Library of Congress.

Soji Kashiwagi, Camp Dance (2003)

What methods did Kashiwagi use to heighten audiences' sense of belonging?  How did he convey diversity within the camps?

The Camp Dance: The Music and the Memories, uploaded by Emily Kuroda.

For those who want to learn more about Camp Dance, Diana Wu's "You Gotta Accentuate the Positive" (American Music 40/3, 2022) provides background information and a thorough analysis.

Fort Minor, "Kenji" (2005)

Mike Shinoda (b. 1977) is co-founder of Linkin Park, and founder/leader of the hip hop group Fort Minor.  His father's family was incarcerated during WWII.

The song "Kenji" is based on an interview with his father and an older aunt.  His father went to camp when he was a toddler, but his aunt was in her 20s.  This podcast excerpt provides more background about the song.  

Fort Minor - The Rising Tied (Audio Commentary). iHeartRadio.

Fort Minor, "Kenji" (2005)

Shinoda's listeners—rock and hip hop fans—are very different from Kashiwagi's.  By and large, they might have learned something about the incarceration in school, but they probably didn't know anyone who lived through that experience.  "Kenji" personalized the camp for these fans.

The audiences that artists want to reach also play significant roles in artistic production.

Fort Minor - Kenji Music Video, uploaded by FortMinorSongs.

Fort Minor, "Kenji" (2005): Interview Version

To make the incarceration experience even more authentic for his fans, Shinoda released a version in which he does not rap.  The only words you hear are clips from the interview he did with his father and aunt.

Fort Minor - Kenjo (Interview Version), uploaded by al112v5.

How is the intent of the song different in the two versions?  For you, which is more effective or moving?

Reflection (Optional)

Of the four songs you listened to in this component: 

• Anthony Brown's "Rhymes (for Children)" from E.O. 9066 
• Soji Kashiwagi's Camp Dance
• Fort Minor's "Kenji"
• Fort Minor's "Kenji (Interview Version)"

How did the intended audience change how the artists conveyed the Japanese American incarceration experience?

Which is most meaningful to you?  Why?

Which one do you like the most?  Why?

Optional: More Attentive Listening

Listen to and compare two additional tracks from the Smithsonian Folkways catalog that commemorate the Japanese American incarceration experience:

"The Best God Damn Band in Wyoming" by Julian Saporiti (Album: 1975).

"120,000 Stories" by Nobuko Miyamoto (Album: 120,000 Stories).

Learning Checkpoint

• What purposes can musical commemoration serve?
• How did the composers/songwriters featured in this component use music elements and expressive qualities to convey their intent (e.g., to educate, to heal, to entertain) and to reach their intended audiences?

End of Component 3 and Lesson 3: Where will you go next?

Lesson 3 Media Credits

Audio courtesy of​
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Video courtesy of
Advancing Justice - LA
Fort Minor?
Grateful Crane Ensemble
Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation
Murasaki Productions LLC
Music of Asian America Research Center
Omoiyari/Kishi Bashi

Images courtesy of
Densho Encyclopedia
Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network
Grateful Crane Ensemble
Library of Congress
National Archives
National Museum of American History
National Park Service
Music of Asian America Research Center
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Suitcase Project
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
Heart Mountain Interpretative Center

© 2022 Smithsonian Institution. Personal, educational, and non-commercial uses allowed; commercial rights reserved. See Smithsonian terms of use for more information.

This project received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.

For full bibliography and media credits, see Lesson 3 landing page.