Discover Nikkei

https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1701/

Camp stories impact on her career

When I was growing up I never heard about it. Back in the 50s and 60s it was something to be ashamed of. And, but it’s interesting because in church all the other Nisei who had been in camp, they would do like skits and things where they would have ‘Topaz’ on the back and they really made it sound to to the children that it really was not a bad thing. And, we were just fine, and we were with our friends there, and it was okay and it wasn’t until really much later that my parents opened up and talked about what a horrible experience it was.

So, even though we didn’t hear about it when I was really little, as we got got older and especially as the Asian American awareness movement started, and then we started to hear about the experience and it was just amazing, to me, as a young woman to think about having my parents just told you’re leaving, you can carry a duffle bag with your things in it, and you’re gonna go to some godforsaken place in the desert. And it has sort of a affected the way that I look at life, the way I look at government, and the way that I look at the law and how it is as a judge, now, being a Japanese American judge, to me means this will never happen again to our people, and it should mean that it won’t happen to anybody else either. I gotta-- wipe that [tear] away…


emotions governments shame World War II World War II camps

Date: July 11, 2019

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Kayla Tanaka

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum; Japanese American Bar Association

Interviewee Bio

Judge Holly J. Fujie is a Sansei judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California since 2012. She grew up in West Oakland, California in a diverse neighborhood. Both of her parents were incarcerated as children during World War II, but did not share their experiences with her until she was an adult. This affected her view on laws and government and led her to pursue a career as an attorney and later as a judge.

As a lawyer, she became involved with various minority bar association, including the Japanese American Bar Association, and mentorship programs. She became the first Asian American President of the State Bar of California in 2008. (July 2019)

*This is one of the main projects completed by The Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) Program intern each summer, which the Japanese American Bar Association and the Japanese American National Museum have co-hosted.

Chiye Tomihiro
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Tomihiro,Chiye

Don’t Make Waves

Chaired the Chicago JACL's Redress Committee.

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Traveling to Manzanar

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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Norman Yoshio Mineta
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Mineta,Norman Yoshio

Findings of the commission report

(b. 1931) U.S. Former Secretary of Transportation

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Margaret Oda
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Oda,Margaret

Victory Corps Work during World War II

(1925 - 2018) Nisei educator from Hawai‘i

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Jobs in Manzanar

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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George Yoshida
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Yoshida,George

We’re Still Japanese

(b. 1922) Musician

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Norman Yoshio Mineta
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Mineta,Norman Yoshio

Speaker pro tem on the day the bill went to the House

(b. 1931) U.S. Former Secretary of Transportation

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Norman Yoshio Mineta
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Mineta,Norman Yoshio

Signing of the bill

(b. 1931) U.S. Former Secretary of Transportation

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Sugar beet and potato farming in Idaho

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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Norman Yoshio Mineta
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Mineta,Norman Yoshio

“No racial profiling”

(b. 1931) U.S. Former Secretary of Transportation

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William Marutani
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Marutani,William

Recalling Pinedale and Tule Lake concentration camps

Judge, only Japanese American to serve on CWRIC.

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Being called out of Reserves

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Fort Snelling

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Fukuhara,Jimmy Ko

Traveling from Manila to Tokyo

(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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Yumi Matsubara
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Matsubara,Yumi

Concentration camp from a Japanese mother’s point of view (Japanese)

Shin-Issei from Gifu. Recently received U.S. citizenship

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