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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I WASN’T THERE

Inspired by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, Knight Alyxandr crafted a poem. The poem became a video. The video became a powerful message. Thank you, Knight, for sharing your work.

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In Memory: Iku “Dorothy” Amatatsu Watanabe

Sadly, BIJAC received news that Iku Amatatsu Watanabe passed away on June 28, 2020 from natural causes. She was 96 years old and the youngest and last of the Amatatsu sisters of Bainbridge Island, who all lived long, full lives. Iku was 18 years old on March 30, 1942, the day

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In Memory: Kazuo “Kayo” Terayama

KAZUO “KAYO” TERAYAMA Mar 28, 1926 – Jul 13, 2020 Kayo Kayo and Toshi Kayo Kayo and Karen Obituary Kayo passed away on July 13, 2020 at the age of 94.  He was born March 28, 1926 in Port Blakely on Bainbridge Island, WA.  He was one of six children

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