Bainbridge Island’s Japanese American Community held the 83rd “Day of Remembrance” ceremony March 30, commemorating when 227 of their friends and relatives were forcibly removed from their homes under a World War II-era executive order.
Each year, members of the BIJAC, survivors of incarceration and other community members honor the families who were affected by Executive Order 9066 with speeches, tours of the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial and themed programming. This year the topic was, “A Place to Come Home To,” exploring how BI stayed connected to its neighbors during the war and ways the community continues to be a welcoming place for Asian Americans.
Over 300 visitors enjoyed a sushi lunch and heard 10 cultural leaders speak at the memorial, including Elilai Abraham of the Suquamish Tribe, 37th legislative district Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Ellen Sato Faust, director of the BI Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association. A city cultural grant funded the event.
Over 2,000 brightly colored garlands of paper cranes flown in from Chicago, Colorado and local institutions decorated the memorial’s path, and the cherry blossom trees were in full bloom.
Hisa Matsudaira and Lilly Kodama were young children when they left their homes on BI. Neither fully understood what was going on; it was a rare treat to ride a train, they said, and Kodama was excited to see that her cousins were next to her family at the camp. However, things became complicated during incarceration and upon return to BI.
Matsudaira’s father had been separated from her family as a suspected informant, which created a rift between her and her parents. She knew he was in prison, and “prison to me was for criminals, or people who did something bad,” she explained on a podcast. So when her family was reunited, she hid from him for a few hours.
Kodama agreed that reconnecting was challenging. “I heard a Caucasian person say, ‘I thought you were spies,’ and that our fathers did something wrong, because she saw the FBI come and take away the Japanese farmer next door, so she assumed he was guilty.
“Well, here she was an adult, who assumed the same exact thing that Hisa as a small child assumed,” Kodama said. “It was a time of war, and people were afraid.”
Over half of incarcerated Japanese Americans returned to their farms and residences on BI after the war, more than most places along the West Coast. Their land had been stewarded by white, Filipino and Indipino American neighbors in the years between, which allowed the Japanese Americans to return to financial stability.
In the years since, BI has begun to absorb the impacts of incarceration and motto of the memorial: “Nidoto Nai Yoni,” or “Let it Not Happen Again.” Cultural appreciation has become baked into BI’s fabric: Arts and Humanities BI celebrates Asian American culture with a weeklong festival; and students at BISD learn about Japanese incarceration as part of their history curriculum and are granted awards in honor of prominent Japanese American islanders.
