Two scholars are trying to shed light on the novels, essays and poems written by Japanese internees at wartime relocation centers in the United States, so their experiences and feelings will not be lost to history forever.
In June, Sataye Shinoda, an associate professor at Tokyo Kasei University, and Iwao Yamamoto, a professor at Ritsumeikan University, will jointly republish eight literary magazines compiled in the Japanese language. "Those writers could express themselves only with the Japanese language," Shinoda said. "It is important to know how they felt and what they thought as people, not only interpreting the confinement in a political context."
About 30 first- and second-generation immigrants published novels and poems for the magazines, produced at camps such as Tule Lake Segregation Center in California and Granada Relocation Center in Colorado. And other detainees helped compile and print works that were created by hand or with primitive equipment.