Sansei Legacy Project: Meet Authors John Hamamura and Shizue Seigel

Date: May 20, 2006

Time: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

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Sansei Legacy Project is happy and proud to recognize the publication of two new books by Sansei authors

John Hamamura - Color of the Sea
Shizue Seigel - In Good Conscience: Supporting Japanese Americans During the Internment

Meet the authors: Presentations; Q&A Discussion; Book sales and signing; Light refreshments

Saturday, May 20, 1-4 pm

Buena Vista United Methodist Church
2311 Buena Vista Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501

Have a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. We welcome all Nikkei, their families, friends and allies.

RSVP: 510-236-5297

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Color of the Sea a novel by John Hamamura

Coming of age in the 1930s and 40s, Sam, a Kibei, feels the pull of his native homeland, the lure of the ancient martial arts training that has shaped his character, and the mother and siblings he left back home in Japan. But his adolescence in Hawaii and young adulthood in California have also given him a taste for American life, most notably in the personification of Keiko, a Nisei girl whose honesty and innocent love astound him.

Sam and Keiko’s relationship is torn apart when she and her family are sent to Rohwer and he is drafted into the US. Army. Sam struggles to maintain his sense of identity. Can he be a samurai warrior and an American patriot at the same time? Does he have the courage to fight a war and return with a heart still open to love?

John Hamamura was born in Minnesota in the final year of World War II. His mother’s family was interned at Rohwer. His father was an MIS Japanese language instructor at Camp Savage and Fort Snelling. Hamamura’s paternal grandmother and aunt survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Hamamura grew up spending summer vacations at his grandmother's house, not realizing until decades later that it was just two-and-a-half miles from Ground Zero. Hamamura’s debut novel, Color of the Sea, grew out of an exploration of his family history. Hamamura is a founding member of the Sansei Legacy Project.

For more information, visit the author’s website: www.JohnHamamura.com.

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In Good Conscience: Supporting Japanese Americans During the Internment
by Shizue Seigel

Who stood up for Japanese Americans during World War II? What motivated them? What price did they pay? How is their experience relevant today?

The first thorough exploration of the few who reached out to Japanese Americans during World War II, In Good Conscience pays tribute to the teachers, ministers, activists and just plain folks who safeguarded their neighbors’ property; followed their congregations into exile; or quit good jobs to teach in the camps.

Twenty in-depth profiles and over 100 short entries draw upon interviews, memoirs, and historic documents and photographs to
illuminate the character, background and value systems that transformed ordinary people into extraordinary advocates for justice and compassion.

Shizue Seigel was born just weeks after the last internment camp closed. Both of her grandfathers were arrested by the FBI and
incarcerated in Department of Justice camps. Their families were interned at Poston and Rohwer. She earned her first dollar on her knees, picking strawberries. Having spent her formative years shuttling between Jiichan’s farm, Baachan’s Skid Row hotel,
Occupied Japan and segregated Baltimore, she learned early to seek out the common humanity that underlies divisions of class and custom.

In Good Conscience, published by AACP, Inc., was made possible through the vision and perseverance of Harry Fukuhara and Sukeo Oji of the Kansha Project. It was funded by California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and by the generosity of members and friends of the Military Intelligence Service of Northern California.

For more information, please contact: InGoodConscienceBook@yahoo.com.

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