Tessaku
Tessaku was the name of a short-lived magazine published at the Tule Lake concentration camp during World War II. It also means “barbed wire.” This series brings to light stories of the Japanese American internment, illuminating those that haven’t been told with intimate and honest conversation. Tessaku brings the consequences of racial hysteria to the foreground, as we enter into a cultural and political era where lessons of the past must be remembered.
Stories from this series
Jack and Grace Fujimoto - Part 1
Dec. 25, 2018 • Emiko Tsuchida
“My mom just about died in camp that first year because it was so damn hot. And I remember I used to have to go to the canteen every day. And they kept saying, ‘Hey get your ass out of here. We’re ain’t going to give you anymore ice.’ But everybody suffered if they weren’t used to the heat. So mom just about perished, died.” — Jack Fujimoto When you listen to Jack and Grace Fujimoto talk, you can’t help …
The Songbird of Manzanar: Mary Nomura - Part 2
Nov. 23, 2018 • Emiko Tsuchida
Read Part 1 >> Going back into Manzanar again, was there one person that gave you that nickname “the songbird”? I don’t know who gave me that nickname, but I kind of think it could have been the music director of the camp, Louie Frizzell. He took me under his wing and he used to go out into the camp on the days when he didn’t have to teach and bring brand new sheet music for me to learn; new songs …
The Songbird of Manzanar: Mary Nomura - Part 1
Nov. 22, 2018 • Emiko Tsuchida
“I always thought when I was a little girl, ‘I’m going to be a singer on the radio.’ I thought I would not get in the movies because who’s going to see a Japanese girl perform in the movies? So if they hear me singing on a record, they won’t know it’s my Japanese face singing.” — Mary Nomura Mary Kageyama Nomura was a teenager when the war broke out between the U.S. and Japan. She and her siblings were …
Ann Sato - Part 2
Oct. 2, 2018 • Emiko Tsuchida
Read Part 1 >> And then you as an American, did you experience any backlash? I remember there was an American soldier that was downed, an airplane was downed and naturally I ran with the whole mob of children that went to see them. And he was in a prison. I remember, and these bars were wooden, it was a local jail. And I felt so sorry for him. I remember running home ahead of the group with tears in …
Ann Sato - Part 1
Oct. 1, 2018 • Emiko Tsuchida
"I remember being strafed because I was in the factory. And so I guess they knew which ones to bomb. I remember every time this siren would ring, we reluctantly put our helmets on and run into the forest. And at that time I really prayed to God.” — Ann Sato After taking the last ship back from sunny Southern California to Japan with her parents and sister in 1940, Ann Sato’s life was completely upended with the escalating tensions …
Lily Yuri Tsurumaki - Part 5
July 9, 2018 • Emiko Tsuchida
Read Part 4 >> And then you had another marriage. How did that happen? Oh, with Ted. He was born and raised in Japan but my office Japan Airlines was in downtown L.A., on Sixth street. I needed brochures to put into the rack for the people to pick up to entice them on tours. So I went to Japan Travel Bureau one day, I said I’ll pick it up during my lunch hour. So I went to the office. …
