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UID:events.uid.957@www.discovernikkei.org
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DESCRIPTION:<strong>WWII RESISTERS TO PARTICIPATE IN STAGED READING SET FOR
  JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM MARCH 11</strong>\n\nLOS ANGELES.—The
  special staged reading entitled\, "A Divided Community"\, will include se
 veral actual World War II resisters in a presentation set for Saturday\, M
 arch 11\, beginning at 2 p.m.\, at the Japanese American National Museum i
 n Little Tokyo.\n\nUnder the direction of Momo Yashima\, the presentation 
 will include individuals who refused to serve in the U.S. armed forces dur
 ing World War II while they and their families were unconstitutionally for
 ced to live in domestic concentration camps. Among those set to participat
 e are Frank Emi\, Mits Koshiyama and Yosh Kuromiya. Other participants are
  a veteran and community activist Paul Tsuneishi\, who supports the positi
 on taken by the resisters\, and actor Mike Hagiwara.\n\nThe story highligh
 ts the conflict with the government over their refusal to report while the
 ir families were incarcerated\, but also points out the internal conflict 
 within the Japanese American community over their stand during the war. Th
 at conflict persists today. The staged reading reveals the positions of th
 ese individual resisters when confronted by their situation during the war
 .\n\nEmi grew up in the San Fernando Valley before his family moved to Lon
 g Beach. In the 1930s\, he was attending Long Beach Junior College when hi
 s father was in an automobile accident\, forcing Emi to quit school to run
  the family's produce market. The market had expanded to the size of a cur
 rent day supermarket at the cost of $25\,000\, but when the war began\, th
 e family was forced to sell it for only $1\,500. Held in the Heart Mountai
 n\, Wyoming camp\, Emi was married with three children. He became one of t
 he leaders of the Fair Play Committee that demanded their rights before th
 ey would join the Army.\n\nKoshiyama was born in Mountain View\, Californi
 a. When the war began\, his family was first sent to the Santa Anita Race 
 Track before being incarcerated in Heart Mountain. Koshiyama joined with E
 mi as part of the Fair Play Committee. Kuromiya grew up in Sierra Madre an
 d was attending Pasadena Junior College when the war broke out. His family
  also was held in Heart Mountain\, where he joined with Emi and Koshiyama 
 as a resister.\n\nTsuneishi was also attending Pasadena Junior College whe
 n World War II erupted. While his family also was imprisoned in Heart Moun
 tain\, he and his brothers chose to serve in the Military Intelligence Ser
 vice during the war. After the war\, Tsuneishi became active in the civil 
 rights movement and\, like Emi\, became a member of the National Coalition
  for Redress and Reparations (NCRR) which sought an official apology from 
 the government for the mass incarceration.\n\nHagiwara was in the original
  cast of "A Jivebomber's Christmas" and has appeared in the Grateful Crane
  Ensemble's "The Camp Dance"\, both set in World War II camps. Mostly rece
 ntly\, he directed and performed in "Manzanar: Story of An American Family
 ".\n\nYashima is an accomplished actress who has worked for 30 years in th
 e movies\, television and on stage. She appeared in the made-for-televisio
 n movie\, "Farewell to Manzanar"\, and in numerous productions at East Wes
 t Players Theater\, including Frank Chin’s "Year of the Dragon". Her par
 ents\, Mitsu and Taro Yashima\, were artists who produced a number of awar
 d-winning children's books. Her brother\, Mako\, is well known as an actor
  and director.\n\nThe script for the staged reading was created by Yashima
  and Chin. Chin\, besides his work as a playwright\, is known for his nove
 ls\, including <i>Donald Duk</i> and <i>The Gunga Din Highway</i>\, as wel
 l as his short stories and essays. Along with Jeffery Paul Chan\, Lawson I
 nada and Shawn Wong\, he edited the landmark Asian American anthology\, <i
 >Aiiieeeee!</i> in 1974. A long-time supporter of the resisters\, Chin has
  sought to publicize their stories for three decades.\n\nThis program is p
 art of the National Museum’s series Art\, Culture and Identity. It is fr
 ee to National Museum members or with admission. For reservations or for m
 ore information\, call the Japanese American National Museum at (213) 625-
 0414. For information on the National Museum\, go to <a href="http://www.j
 anm.org/">www.janm.org</a>.\n
DTSTAMP:20240419T211124Z
SUMMARY:WWII Resisters to Particpate in Staged Reading March 11
URL:/en/events/2006/03/11/wwii-resisters-to-particpate-in-staged-reading-ma
 r/
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