USPS to Issue “Go For Broke” Stamp in 2021

On November 17, 2020, the U.S. Postal Service announced it will issue a commemorative “Go For Broke” postage stamp in 2021.  “Every year, April 5 is celebrated as National “Go For Broke” Day, derived from a saying that’s known to mean “wager everything.” “Go For Broke” also happens to be

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Kevin Mahe Family

Exclusion Memorial NPS Ranger Bids Farewell

The first time Kevin Mahé sat down at a monthly BIJAC meeting he seemed prepared. Not just “prepared,” but maybe “knowledgeable”–a budding historical scholar of the Japanese American Exclusion. Clearly, he had done his homework.  He introduced himself as the new National Park Service Ranger who would seasonally man the

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Memorial Wall

Construction of the Exclusion Departure Deck Begins

October 5, 2020 Built at the site of the historic Eagledale Ferry Dock, the Exclusion Departure Deck at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial (BIJAEM) will be an evocative and poignant addition to this memorial of the first forced removal and exclusion of 120,000Japanese Americans during WWII. The 45-foot

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BIJAC Adds Newest Member

The BIJAC community has recently expanded! Jordan Dre Takashi, grandson of members Stan Miyao and Eileen Shimose Miyao, was born on November 20th. Grandpa is thrilled to have his first grandson. As manager of merchandise sales for Mochi Tsuki, Stan could not resist–that’s Jordan stylin’ in his new baby mochi

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In Memory: Yukiko Katayama Omoto

On November 6, 2020, Bainbridge Island lost its oldest remaining survivor, Yukiko Katayama Omoto, age 102. The younger daughter of Isosaburo and Tome Katayama, Yukiko was raised on the Katayama farm located at the corner of Cave Avenue and Winslow Way in downtown Winslow. The Katayamas were also greenhouse operators

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Prisoner in My Homeland featured in CUNY TV’s Asian American Life

6:38 Mission US is the subject of a news segment in the November 2020 episode of CUNY TV’s series Asian American Life. Senior producer Michelle Chen discusses the development of Prisoner in My Homeland, the new educational game focused on the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, and her

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In Memory: Junji Yukawa

Sadly, BIJAC received news that Junji Yukawa passed away on November 2, 2020 at the age of 93. Junji was one of our honored survivors. He grew up on Bainbridge Island and was 13 years old on March 30, 1942, the day the Bainbridge Island Japanese were evacuated. While at

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Minidoka Guard Tower

Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) Introduces the Japanese American Confinement Education Act

Wednesday, October 20, 2020 “The forced internment of our fellow citizens through Executive Order 9066 is one of the darkest chapters in American history. The fact that it occurred during my lifetime highlights just how fresh of a wound this is for Japanese Americans across our country. In 1988, I

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‘Mother spirit’ of Exclusion Memorial dies at 100

‘Mother spirit’ of Exclusion Memorial dies at 100 ‘Mother spirit’ of Exclusion Memorial dies at 100 Thursday, September 3, 2020 2:38pm At age 22, Kazuko (Kay) Sakai Nakao was one of the Japanese Americans on Bainbridge Island who was sent to an internment camp during World War II. In her

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Kay Sakai Nakao, Bainbridge survivor of WWII internment camp, dies at 100

KING5 News reports Kay Sakai Nakao, who was active in Bainbridge Island’s Japanese American community and was interned during World War II, has died. https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/kay-sakai-nakao-obituary/281-8a45ea27-43ec-42c7-82ea-9a7a49e81032

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