Stuff contributed by jonathan

Artist and Documentarian: The Life of Kango Takamura

Jonathan van HarmelenGreg Robinson

What images come to mind when we think of the wartime experience of Japanese Americans? For many, the photographs produced by Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams or Toyo Miyatake come to mind, with their unique portrayals of the human condition. Yet equally powerful and moving are the representations of the incarceration …

A Northern Lesson: Carey McWilliams and the Incarceration of Japanese Canadians

Jonathan van Harmelen

The incarceration of Nikkei communities across the Pacific world in 1942 represents one of the most notable examples acts of transnational racial exclusion. Indeed, despite the relatively small sizes of the communities affected—120,000 in the United States, 22,000 in Canada—as compared to the total population of those countries, the forced …

Toshio Aoki: The Wandering Meiji Artist and Father of Tsuru Aoki

Jonathan van Harmelen

A month ago, I visited the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento during a weekend trip to the city. In California, the Crocker houses some of the most impressive collections in the state. Many of the collections in the museum focus on the history of “Old California,” in the period between …

Exploring Global Nikkei History in Victoria: A Conversation with the Past Wrongs, Future Choices Scholars and Artists - Part 2

Jonathan van Harmelen

Read Part 1 >>

Exploring Global Nikkei History in Victoria: A Conversation with the Past Wrongs, Future Choices Scholars and Artists - Part 1

Jonathan van Harmelen

In the world of academia, rarely does one encounter international research centers dedicated to researching a historical event. Yet that is the case with the University of Victoria’s Past Wrongs, Future Choices Initiative.

Fresno Stories

Object Lesson of a Lost Temple: A Postcard of the Fresno Buddhist Church, 1912

Jonathan van Harmelen

One of my favorite hobbies is collecting postcards. I began collecting in 2013, after I inherited a large collection of stamps and envelopes from my Dutch grandparents, a pair of avid collectors who amassed thousands of stamps ranging from the 1850s to the 1980s.

Paul Higaki – The One Who Made It Big

Jonathan van Harmelen


The legacy of Toyo Takata, Who Captured the Voice of Japanese Canadians

Jonathan van Harmelen

The book Nikkei Legacy served as an important reminder to Canadians of the suffering that Japanese Canadians endured during the war.

Making History: Remembering Nikkei Legacy

Jonathan van Harmelen


Fresno Stories

Dutch Leonard - The Ballplayer who challenged Fresno's racism

Jonathan van Harmelen


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