Emiko Tsuchida

Emiko Tsuchida is freelance writer and digital marketer living in San Francisco. She has written on the representations of mixed race Asian American women and conducted interviews with some of the top Asian American women chefs. Her work has appeared in the Village Voice, the Center for Asian American Media, and the forthcoming Beiging of America series. She is the creator of Tessaku, a project that collects stories from Japanese Americans who experienced the concentration camps.

Updated December 2016

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Tessaku

Setsuko Moriya — Part 1

  • Por Emiko Tsuchida
  • 5 Feb 2023
“When you think about now, politically, we listen to the news of what’s happening in Washington. In those days, my father was not political. He was just here to make money and to survive.” — SETSUKO MORIYA Growing up in downtown Sacramento before the war, Setsuko (Shimono) Moriya recalls the tight-knit community of the old Japantown. In the heart of what was once a thriving downtown scene, Setsuko’s parents operated a busy restaurant serving American food. Her father, Masuichi Shimono, was a determined, resourceful man who migrated to the United States w…

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Tessaku

Doug Matsuda - Part 2

  • Por Emiko Tsuchida
  • 5 Dic 2021
Read Part 1 >> When did your dad start sharing what happened in camp? I would ask him every once in a while and he would tell me little things. He’d say, “You know the first week we were there we had to make our own meals. Nothing was set up yet so we had to eat outside. So one day we were all ready to eat, everything was all set and the food was cooked and everything, and this big dust storm came and just covered everything. We had to start all over again.” I [also] asked him about people going into the service, enlisting. He said, “Well, they wouldn’t…

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Tessaku

Doug Matsuda - Part 1

  • Por Emiko Tsuchida
  • 28 Nov 2021
“If I was my dad, I would’ve done the same thing. You’ve taken everything away from us, now you want us to fight for this stinkin’ country? No way.” —Doug Matsuda In the middle of a cold, January night in 1943 in the Arizona desert, eight young men ventured out between rows of barracks to convene in front of Block 215, room D. Carrying heavy wood clubs and donning handkerchiefs to mask their faces, they went over once more the details for the plan they were about to carry out. After jamming the neighbor’s barrack doors with pegs to keep them fro…

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Tessaku

Leland Inaba - Part 4

  • Por Emiko Tsuchida
  • 21 Nov 2021
Read part 3 >> Now, jumping ahead to when the redress happened and the Civil Liberties Act was passed. What do you remember about receiving the apology or what was your reaction to getting the letter and then the redress? I don't think I even read the letter. You didn't read the letter? I don't remember. I don't even remember receiving the money. I guess my parents probably put it in the bank for themselves. That was $20,000 per person that was interned.  Were your parents still alive? Oh yeah. So your parents got the apology. [Mark]: Well your dad was not around in '91. Yo…

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Tessaku

Leland Inaba - Part 3

  • Por Emiko Tsuchida
  • 14 Nov 2021
Read Part 2 >> And I meant to ask you before, was your mother working before you left for camp in Riverside?  She was my dad's receptionist at his office because, you know, he couldn't really afford he was just building up his practice. And so she answered the phone, made appointments and stuff like that. So she went to work every day and we had a housekeeper or a maid look after us. [Holly] If you're looking for vivid details, remember when we went to Manzanar you talked about the rations? They would give you so much butter that you would put it in the garden. [Leland] Oh ye…

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