Ireichō: History Preserved
I never much thought about whether the US government had a list of all the Japanese Americans they forced to leave their homes, workplaces, schools, etc. during WWII. They certainly must have compiled a master list of all those forcibly removed from the West Coast. But it wasn’t until Dr. Duncan Ryuken Williams, chair of the USC School of Religion, asked the question in 2020 that he found out there is no master list. He convened a team that researched, compiled, and designed what is now the Irei:National Monument for the WWII Japanese American Incarceration and the Ireicho, the first comprehensive list of over 125,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, incarcerated in a total of 75 different US Army, Dept of Justice, Wartime Civil Control Administration, and War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps. More than two-thirds of them were/are born American citizens.
The Ireicho is a beautiful bound book of all these names. It was designed with the goal of recognizing each name with a blue “hanko” Japanese style stamp in honor of their sacrifice and perseverance amidst the racism of WWII against Japanese Americans. Even entering the small exhibit room feels sacred as the names of each of the 75 sites is posted with a small jar of the soil from that location. My family was at Poston AZ, but my grandfather was arrested unjustly by the FBI and spent time at three other sites: Tuna Canyon Detention Center, Santa Fe, and Lordsburg, NM Dept. of Justice sites.
Seeing the size of a book with over 125,000 names made me gasp. Another reminder of the scale of the forced evacuation and the 125,000 lives changed forever. Ten of my family members are listed in the Ireicho - both my father’s and mother’s side grandparents, parents, aunts and uncle. One by one, the volunteer docent turned pages to find each of them by year of birth and the name they registered when they were taken to “camp.” 1882, 1889, 1899, 1904, 1922, 1923, 1935…finding the year and their name, placing the hanko stamp neatly under their name, and remembering each one by name. Page after page. Name after name. Interestingly, my dad thought to include his nickname in addition to his legal name. My twin aunts were listed next to one another.
The hope is that every name would be remembered by family, friends, or others who want to recognize this national monument made of paper, yet symbolizing so much more! The soils from all the 75 sites were mixed together and made into a single ceramic tile which graces the cover of the book - a unifying symbol of the struggle and perseverance of these Issei and Nisei citizens and US residents in their fight for freedom in the land of the free.
The exhibit will be in Los Angeles at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) until September 24th, 2023. Check out the website for more information - reservations to view and stamp the Ireicho are required.
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