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Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 10 of 39, “Take fresh air ? (Fresh air break on the trip from Fresno to Jerome)”)
Collected by: eishida
To get to the camp in Jerome, Arkansas, Sugimoto and his family had to travel a very long distance in a very old train. They were given periodic "breaks" to ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 31 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Picking Grapes"”)
Collected by: eishida
Picking grapes was one activity that the Issei took part in the United States before being sent to the camps. This painting is part of Sugimoto's tribute to the Issei ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 35 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled"”)
Collected by: eishida
This painting depicts a Japanese-language schoolteacher in California teaching his students katakana. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States FBI sought out any Japanese American that they ...

3　移民を授業する － 日系アメリカ人の記憶から学ぶ: トモエ・ニシ(西ともえ) さん (Item 1 of 7, “大好きだった日本語学校”)
Collected by: team-nikkei-usa
父は日本からマウイ島に渡りました。そこからパプアノアに移り住み,そこで母と結婚しました。その後,ヒロの町に出てきました。父は大工をしていました。母は商売がしたくて,豆腐屋を始めました。その頃,私が生まれたんです。豆腐屋は朝が早くて大変でした。当時,一丁 5 銭で,日本人相手に売っていたんです。 しあらくして,父が桟橋をかける仕事についたのでヒロを離れました。私たち家族もいっしょに行きましたよ。母は工事現場で働く独身者の洗濯を代わりにしてあげる仕事をしていました。一世の両親に育てられた私は,日本人に近いんですよ。小学校に入るまで,家の中では日本人として生活しているでしょう。アメリカのことは小学校に入ってから勉強しました。子どものころは学校が大好きでした。それぞれの村には日本語学校が一つずつあったんです。私は 2 時まで公立の学校で生活し,その後は隣にある日本語学校で 1 時間,読み方,書き方,修身を勉強しました。10 年で卒業する日本語学校に 2年残って,合わせて 12 年間通いました。勉強ができる友だちがライバルで,負けないように勉強しましたよ。

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 39 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled"”)
Collected by: eishida
This is the Sugimoto's Naturalization ceremony, which took place in 1953. Sugimoto stands in the blue suit in the front row, facing the viewer. This is a deserving conclusion to ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 32 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Railroad Work"”)
Collected by: eishida
Working on the railroads was another activity of the Issei before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The location in this painting is near Hanford, where Sugimoto and his parents lived ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 37 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled (Stop Picture Bride)"”)
Collected by: eishida
Japanese men immigrated to the United States first, mostly to work and earn a sufficient amount of money, with the hopes of returning home. However, once in the U.S., many ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 29 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Phillip? (Phillip-PVT. U.S. Army)"”)
Collected by: eishida
Phillip, the young man in this painting, was Sugimoto's son, who served in the United States Army.

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 30 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled (Coal Miners)"”)
Collected by: eishida
Many years after the war, Sugimoto went back and created works to honor the Issei. This painting, and those that follow, show the activities and the experiences of the Issei ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 36 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled ('No Japs Wanted')"”)
Collected by: eishida
This painting shows the discrimination and prejudice endured by the Japanese Americans. With the detail in the face of the family members, Sugimoto captures the emotions of this ostracized Japanese ...

4 移民を授業する － 日系アメリカ人の記憶から学ぶ:　サトウ　シノブ（佐藤　しのぶ）さん (Item 2 of 5, “日本語は一切禁止”)
Collected by: team-nikkei-usa
戦争が始まると日本語学校も閉鎖され、日本語放送も禁止されました。私は米軍で洋裁の仕事をしていましたが、当時は日本人を雇うことはなかったと思います。夜は真っ暗にして明かりを消すか窓をきっちり閉めてちょっとでももれるとやかましく言われます。そしてバスに乗ると「Not for Japanese」といって要するに日本語を使うなということでみんな黙って乗っていました。日本語は禁止されて、領事館や日本語の教師などをしていた人たちは監禁されたりしました。幸い私の主人は日本語新聞の記者をしていたのですが引っ張られなかったのです。でも監禁された人は最初はホノルル、その後は米国の本土へ送られたのです。戦争が終わってハワイへみんな帰ってきて自分たちの子どもたちは2世でしょ。アメリカの軍隊に召集されてアメリカ人として忠実に戦ったから、戦後には日系人一人あたり2万ドルをもらったのです。

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 34 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Washing Dishes"”)
Collected by: eishida
This painting was done many years after the war was over, and depicts the lives and activities of the Issei before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 38 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Untitled"”)
Collected by: eishida
This is a portrait of four prominent Issei pioneers, Yaemon Minami, Keisaburo Koda, George Shima and Kyutaro Abiko. This was part of Sugimoto's later paintings in honor of the Issei.

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 3 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Yosemite River"”)
Collected by: eishida
Sugimoto enjoyed painting pictures of his environment, and was inspired by nature. His trip to Yosemite yielded many great pieces. This is just one of Sugimoto's many Yosemite paintings.

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 2 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Notre Dame Cathedral"”)
Collected by: eishida
After attending art school in the United States, Sugimoto traveled to France, where he hoped to learn more about art, and be inspired to create masterpieces. He did indeed mature ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 1 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Self-Portrait"”)
Collected by: eishida
This self-portrait was created during Sugimoto's time in France, before World War II, during his formative years as an artist. The blank canvas in front of him may very well ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 4 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Going to America"”)
Collected by: eishida
This piece was created long after World War II ended. It depicts the journey that the Issei took in immigrating from Japan to the United States. It was very likely ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 18 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Documentary-Nisei Soldiers Returning the Flag of 442nd to the President"”)
Collected by: eishida
This painting shows the 442nd Regiment returning their flag to President Harry S. Truman. With the nation's capitol visible in the background, it is clear that Sugimoto intended to show ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 23 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Planting Vegetables"”)
Collected by: eishida
Sugimoto depicts here a family tending to their garden, which was a common pastime in the concentration camps. As is clearly shown, the entire family tended to their humble garden ...

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 17 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Died in Battlefield"”)
Collected by: eishida
Unfortunately, because many young men went off to war, some of them failed to return, leaving their families with little more than memories of their sons, fathers, brothers and husbands. ...

２　移民を授業する　－　日系アメリカ人の記憶から学ぶ: 　２ エド・イチヤマさん (Item 3 of 6, “家族の物語”)
Collected by: team-nikkei-usa
　戦争中も戦後も私はしばらく兄が許せませんでした。アメリカ市民なのに、なぜ日本軍に従軍できるのか分かりませんでした。兄は南洋でオランダ人に捕まり、ジャワ島で１年間捕虜になっていました。戦争が終わっても、日本軍として戦争に参加したことを兄がどのように語るのかとても気になっていました。戦後、時間がたって兄と会う時、とても辛い気分でした。パンチ・ボウルで苦しかった胸のうちを語り合って涙した時、ようやく本当の兄弟に戻れました。 　戦争で勝つ人は誰もいません。誰もです。皆が何かを失います。戦争で何千もの若い兵士がこの世を去りました。何千もの母親たちや残された家族は凍りついたような感情を長く持ち続けなければなりません。

Part of these collections:

Henry Sugimoto Collection (Item 27 of 39, “Henry Sugimoto, "Susie Ironing Camp Room"”)
Collected by: eishida
This painting shows the activities of a typical woman at the camps, and also shows Sugimoto's increased ability to make people the focal point of his paintings. This is representative ...