エスター・ニューマンは、カリフォルニア育ち。大学卒業後、オハイオ州クリーブランドメトロパークス動物園でマーケティングとメディア製作のキャリアを経て、復学し20世紀アメリカ史の研究を始める。大学院在学中に自身の家族史に関心を持つようになり、日系人の強制収容や移住、同化を含む日系ディアスポラに影響を及ぼしたテーマを研究するに至った。すでに退職しているが、こうした題材で執筆し、関連団体を支援することに関心を持ち続けている。
（2021年11月 更新）
この執筆者によるストーリー
ヘンリー＆ヘレン・ヤスダ夫妻： 家族の大切さ、日系の価値観 - その2
2011年4月27日 • エスター・ニューマン
その１＞＞ヘンリーとヘレンの結婚式から数日後、ヘンリーは韓国へ渡りました。8か月の赴任の後、ヘンリーは東京の本部へ移動することになり、そこでヘレンは合流しました。「何よりもまず最初にしたかったのは、山口の両親が生きているうちに彼女を連れて行き、家族に紹介することでした」とヘンリーは語ります。「日本のお母さんって、息子の嫁を評価したがるでしょう？」とおどけた様子でヘレンが応えると、「母は彼女を連れて村中に紹介して回ったんですよ」とヘンリー。「そうするより他になかったからでしょ…
ヘンリー＆ヘレン・ヤスダ夫妻： 家族の大切さ、日系の価値観 - その１
2011年4月20日 • エスター・ニューマン
ヘンリー＆ヘレン・ヤスダ夫妻の家には、「大和魂」と書かれた掛け軸が飾られています。この言葉は、2人を長年支えてきた日本人の価値観、すなわち、最善を尽くすこと、家族を一番に考えること、教育を重視すること、感謝の気持ちを表すこと、を思い出させてくれているのです。ヤスダ夫妻は、全米日系人博物館で活躍する最も長いボランティアメンバーの一人であり、1992年に博物館がオープンして以来、2人は自らの知識を来館者と共有してきました。夫妻は、博物館やNikkei Parents&rsquo…
Burt Takeuchi Lauds Heroes With “Valor With Honor”
2011年1月13日 • エスター・ニューマン
Their families were in concentration camps. They were designated enemy aliens. Their rights as American citizens were denied. “The government did us a big wrong and we had to prove how wrong they were,” said Frank Shimada. “The only way to prove it was by going to war and laying our life on the line.” Shimada, who had been interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming is one of more than a dozen members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team who appear …
Carol Misumi: Piecing Together Sustained Support for JANM
2010年10月28日 • エスター・ニューマン
When Carol Misumi laughs, she sounds more like 19 than 91, but this California native was indeed born in 1919. The retired home economics teacher uses her talents in design and sewing to continue her long-time support of the Japanese American National Museum (JANM). Working from her home in Santa Barbara, Carol crafts unique items, such as wall hangings and purses, from vintage Japanese textiles that are sold in the Museum’s store. As Carol talked about her life, laughing easily …
Virgil Westdale: Farm Boy, Pilot, Soldier, Inventor, Author, and Gentleman
2010年9月9日 • エスター・ニューマン
Virgil Westdale’s exceptional life story might never have been published had he not attended a Halloween dance. Unsure of what to wear, the World War II veteran donned his Army uniform of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, nearly sixty years after issue and still a perfect fit. On the dance floor, he met Stephanie Gerdes, who remarked, “it’s not really a costume, is it?” After many more questions spanning two years, the two collaborated on Westdale’s autobiography, Blue Skies and …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 7
2010年8月18日 • エスター・ニューマン
Part 6 >>Amano and the others stepped off the train at Pennsylvania Station on June 16. Guards escorted the group across the street to the Pennsylvania Hotel, onto a freight elevator and up to the fourth floor. They joined “about thirty other people quartered in rooms close to us. Most of them looked like they had been living in New York. Among them were four or five Japanese ladies and, considering the circumstances, it was a very pleasant surprise to …
Interview with John Christgau, author of Enemies: World War II Alien Internment
2010年8月17日 • エスター・ニューマン
John Christgau had just finished his first book, a novel called Spoon, when he began to search for a good story idea for his next project. The resulting work of non-fiction, Enemies: World War II Alien Internment, was more than a good story, and the issues Christgau raised therein still resonate decades later. Originally published in 1985, Enemies has just been reprinted with a new afterword by the author. The character-driven narrative features individuals of German, Jewish and Japanese descent. Especially …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 6
2010年8月11日 • エスター・ニューマン
Part 5 >>Few prisoners spoke directly to the enemy in protest but some were willing to speak up when ordered to do so. According to Amano, the military conducted a court martial of the soldier accused of shooting Kanesaburo Oshima, calling ten Japanese as witnesses. One courageous witness, Shindo Tamezo, testified that the soldier said, “I don’t care, he’s just a Jap” after firing at Oshima. After the accused soldier denied hearing requests to hold fire, Tamezo angrily called him …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 5
2010年8月4日 • エスター・ニューマン
Part 4 >>Spirits spiked and plummeted throughout the next several months that included the anxiety-ridden voyage aboard the Florida from Panama to New Orleans followed by long hours on a train through desolate territory to an unknown destination. A high point for the prisoners occurred on the train. An American soldier, fooling around by balancing his weapon on his palm, dropped the gun and watched it fall through a gap under a door. The prisoners expected to see harsh punishment …
Yoshitaro Amano, Canal Zone Resident and Prisoner #203 - Part 4
2010年7月28日 • エスター・ニューマン
Part 3 >>On the evening of December 7, 1941, Amano recalled ordering his two Panamanian maids to bring whiskey and three glasses. He poured for the three of them and offered a toast to Japan’s victory and a toast to his love of Panama. On impulse, he grabbed the Japanese board game, go, before taking a last look at the home that held happy memories of his family and driving to the police station. Amano revealed his conflicted emotions: At …
