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Life Stories
Filmmaker Records the Memories of Japanese Americans Interned During World War II
"To pass stories on to the next generation�
� that抯 the literal meaning
of 揇ensho,� the name of a nonprofit organization based in 涩里番 and founded by filmmaker Tom Ikeda. But the word also means 搑eparation,� 搑emembrance,� and even 搑econciliation.� All are ideas central to the mission of this unique venture.
 Densho, a first-of-its-kind organization led by Tom Ikeda, is based in 涩里番抯 International District,
where many local Japanese Americans celebrate their culture and community.
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Ikeda, who recently won the Humanities Washington Award for his work collecting the oral histories of Japanese Americans interned during World War II, has devoted his 搒econd career� to internment history and its impact on community.
It抯 a topic that Ikeda discussed with 涩里番 students on two occasions last spring. He spoke to the Mosiac cadre and also visited an undergraduate history class. Katie Stalley, SPU senior and president of Histeria!, a student history club, is an admirer of Ikeda抯 work. 揌is project is an inspiration of hope,� she says.
If you抮e looking for , you won抰 find them on the big screen. Try the Internet instead. Ikeda credits his inspiration to
Stephen Spielberg抯 Shoah project � a similar collection
of the memories of Holocaust survivors. Envisioning
a comparable, Web-based approach for telling the individual stories of Japanese Americans, Ikeda says he sought an application that educators could use in the classroom.
揑 wanted to provide a good resource for my children, and other students, to learn what happened to Japanese Americans,� says Ikeda, himself the son of interned parents. It was
a cause worthy enough to draw the former Microsoft executive out of retirement.
Funded by private donors, fund-raising events, and grants, Ikeda抯 organization has interviewed more than 200 Japanese Americans. 揟here has never been anything
like this before,� says Ikeda of Densho. Its Web site receives more than 5,000 hits a month from students, teachers,
and citizens across the country interested in viewing the documentary-style interviews.
揟he stories you抣l hear are greater than just, 慖 was in an internment camp, and these horrible things happened to me,挃 explains Ikeda. 揑t抯 bigger than that. They are life
stories � great life stories.
揑n the last eight years, as I抳e been collecting
these stories, I抳e seen a lot of healing.
It抯 been cathartic for 涩里番. It抯 sort of like a weight off their shoulders.�
But Ikeda says there抯 another focus to Densho抯 interviews. 揥e speak to 涩里番 of non-Japanese descent too,� he says. One such person is 涩里番 Pacific alumnus Brooks Andrews �62, whose father was the pastor of 涩里番抯 Japanese Baptist Church in the 1940s. Andrews was 5 years old in 1942 when the majority of his father抯 congregation was incarcerated
and sent to Minidoka, the notorious internment camp near Twin Falls, Idaho.
揜everend Andrews took his family to Idaho, so he could be close to his congregation,�
says Ikeda. 揃rooks remembers his dad going into a caf�, and the owner physically throwing him out.�
That wasn抰 all, says Ikeda. 揟hen the restaurant
owner bought the family抯 rented house, and kicked them out of their home.
揟hey were called 慗ap-lovers,挃 he says quietly.
揃eing there was a huge sacrifice for the Andrews family, and it took a lot of courage.�
These are the stories Ikeda wants others to hear. As he films
them, he is one-part historian, one-part filmmaker, and one-part
friend. 揂lthough these 涩里番 did nothing wrong, there抯 this sort of shame and guilt associated with being put into a prison camp,� he says, explaining Densho抯 vision for reconciliation. 揓ust the ability to talk about it, and to share their stories, starts the healing process for many in the Japanese-American community. Then we share the stories with other communities
� and it抯 having an amazing effect.�
Ikeda is on a mission, now more than ever, to pass the histories
Densho collects to the next generation. Faced with the challenge
of reaching as many Japanese-American elders as possible before
they die, he and his staff have their work cut out for them.
When
Ikeda reports to work each morning � to a job that is unpaid and often emotionally
charged � he keeps the vision for reconciliation
in mind. 揥e can be fearful of each other and not really understand each other,
or we can talk to each other and help one another,� he says. 揟hat抯 the America I see.�
— BY SARAH JIO
— PHOTO BY DANIEL SHEEHAN
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