Kokoro Kara heart mountain wyoming foundation Summer 2017

•Arthur & Estelle Ishigo: In A Heart Mountain Love Story This •2017 Pilgrimage Program Details Issue •Inside Peek: Incarceration in Focus •Heart Mountain Babies!

www.HeartMountain.org What Does It Mean to be American?—Chair Shirley Ann Higuchi

he question of what it means to be will discuss the Heart Mountain ob- of wartime imprisonment by juxta- TAmerican has resurfaced in light of jects saved from the auction block while posing them with the current political the current national political climate. It Bacon will talk about his experienc- climate and events in recent years. is one that the Japanese American com- es with Estelle during and after camp. G, who gave a moving performance munity first faced when theIssei arrived Thanks to Bacon for his lifelong com- at our 2015 Pilgrimage, will join more than 100 years ago and again with mitment to keep these stories alive and David and Jeff to host a separate Pearl Harbor and the incarceration. his steadfast dedication to the Founda- Spoken Word/Video Workshop on the Today, that question differs for each tion (look at opposite page to see Bacon incarceration experience in concert of us depending on where we live, our being honored by the Foundation at the with the Pilgrimage. ethnic and religious backgrounds, and April 2017 Santa Anita Reunion). The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta commitment to the ideals that shaped The historical trauma caused by and retired Senator Alan K. Simpson our nation. the incarceration still lingers 75 years are pillars of support for the Founda- As we explore these issues during later, rippling from one generation to tion and have attended almost every our July 28–30 Pilgrimage, we will also the next. We hope the Friday afternoon Pilgrimage since the Grand Opening. demonstrate the Foundation’s progress Multigenerational Discussion will allow They are wonderful mentors and their over the last six years and highlight how visitors of all ages to share their expe- guidance helped me to not only under- our organization has achieved nation- riences and thoughts on this period of stand the needs of the Japanese Ameri- al significance (read the full story on American history. can community but those outside of it. pages 3–4). This year’s theme, “The Norm, in his capacity as an esteemed American Self: 75 Years After E.O. 9066,” Heart Mountain advisor and Chair of will be launched by two Educational Trustees for the Japanese American Sessions on Friday morning. “Memories National Museum (JANM), will intro- of Five Nisei: The Untold Stories of For- duce keynote speaker Ann Burroughs, mer Prisoners” will be chaired by board CEO/President of JANM. Ann, who member and Heart Mountain incar- was imprisoned as a young activist ceree Sam Mihara. I’ll always remem- because of her anti-apartheid stance in ber when Sam traveled to Washington, her native South Africa, will now speak D.C. immediately after the 2011 Grand at the very site of Norm’s confinement Opening expressing his desire to help 75 years ago. I first met Ann at JANM the Foundation. He recalled the pain during last fall’s Town Hall when she of being imprisoned and his memories was its interim director. Then as now, of Cody and Powell. Yet after attending I was captivated by her generous spirit, the opening of our Interpretive Center, understanding of the Japanese Amer- he felt embraced by the local commu- ican community, and support of the Shirley Ann Higuchi nity and his fellow pilgrims. Sam epit- All Camps Consortium initiative. I omizes what it means to be an Ameri- We are also excited to premiere am thrilled that she is leading JANM can by traveling around the country to “Facism,” the latest documentary from and joining us at Heart Mountain this talk about his incarceration experience. David Ono and Jeff MacIntyre, featur- summer. Many thanks to Sam for not letting this ing acclaimed artist Roger Shimomu- Our ability to be a successful and important history be forgotten. ra and National Poetry Slam cham- sustainable national organization is “Rescued Heritage: Heart Mountain pion G Yamazawa. Roger, a former due to our talented staff and dedicated Artifacts and Estelle Ishigo’s Works” Minidoka incarceree, will unveil his leadership. Our commitment to tell our will be led by Nancy Ukai and Bacon original artwork at our Interpre- story of the fragility of democracy Sakatani, an Advisory Council member tive Center on Saturday afternoon. is deeply rooted in the World War II and Heart Mountain incarceree. Nan- His work addresses sociopolitical Japanese American incarceration ex- cy and I met in 2015 when we helped issues of ethnicity by pairing seemingly perience. Please join me at this year’s lead a grassroots movement to halt the contradictory images through figures in Pilgrimage to share your stories and to public auction of 450 artifacts made be- Japanese woodcut prints and contem- be a part of the answer to: What does it hind barbed wire. Given our connection porary and pop art. He recognizes and mean to be American? and her enthusiasm for the artwork, she challenges the ironies and complexities

1 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 Former Heart Mountain Incarceree Receives Proclamation

or more than four decades, Bacon Sakatani has Fdevoted his time and energy to organizing periodic reunions for those individuals who were held at the Pomona Fairgrounds and the Santa Anita Racetrack assembly centers before being sent to the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp. He received a Proclamation issued by the Heart

Mountain Wyoming Foundation to recognize his work Photo courtesy of Darrell Kunitomi during the Santa Anita Racetrack reunion held on April HMWF Board Member Takashi Hoshizaki presents 15, 2017 at the Japanese American National Museum in the Proclamation to Bacon Sakatani. , .

www.HeartMountain.org 2 Special Exhibits his year’s Pilgrimage features an unprecedented three special exhibits which will Tbe adorning the Interpretive Center’s walls. Visual art is an excellent medium to explore the complicated idea of the “American Self” in layered, discernible, or some- times less obvious imagery, proving the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Duality is a characteristic that runs through our displays for this event: dual perspectives of incarceration through photography, dual representations of person- al interactions with definitions of American identity and race, and dual identities of Heart Mountain barracks. “Incarceration in Focus: A Comparative Look at the Photographs of Ansel Adams and Yoshio Okumoto,” was made possible with the generous support of the Wyoming Arts Council, and is on display in our temporary gallery. Read more about this special exhibit on pages 11–12. Roger Shimomura spent his earliest years behind barbed wire as an incarceree with his fami- ly at the Minidoka site in Idaho after being forcibly removed from Seattle. The Interpretive Center will have the pleasure of displaying several pieces of art in an array of Yellow No Same #4 by Roger Shimomura Friday, july 28 Shimomura’s styles, from American pop art to Japanese woodblock art. His artwork is also inspired by wartime propaganda, 9:30am–12:00pm which dehumanized the enemy but also played into the stereotypes, prejudices, and Educational Sessions generalizations that accompany racism, xenophobia, and fear of the different and • “unknown.” Another source of motivation and material came from Shimomura’s grandmother, who kept a diary throughout her life and gifted her thoughts to her 1:30–4:00pm grandson. Multigenerational Shimomura’s work represents the strength he gleans from adversity, taking all Discussion of the most hate-filled and misunderstood depictions of and • reproducing them in a sophisticated, almost comic book-style look which allows 6:30–10:00pm penetration into popular culture, speaking a language everyone can understand. Shimomura laments that “[f]ar too many American-born citizens of Asian descent Dinner Banquet, continue to be accepted as only ‘American knockoffs.’” His paintings remind us that featuring premiere of stereotypes and racism continue to exist, deep in the collective consciousness. Spoken Word Videos, Stan Honda, a New York-based photographer and photojournalist explores the followed by Dessert varied lives the Heart Mountain barracks have had since they were first constructed Reception in 1942 in his photography exhibit “Moving Walls: Heart Mountain Barracks in the Big Horn Basin.” Originally the living quarters of incarcerated

3 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 during World War II, the structures later found (and con- tinue to find) multiple uses by resourceful Wyomingites Saturday, july 29 across the state. The project brings into focus key figures 10:00am–4:30pm of 20th century Wyoming history through powerful im- Presenters: Ann Burroughs, Norman Y. Mineta, ages and narratives. Those figures include the incarcerated Alan K. Simpson, & G Yamazawa Japanese Americans; Wyoming farmers and ranchers; the Special Exhibits: Roger Shimomura, Stan Honda, changing landscape; and the barracks themselves. Yoshio Okumoto, & Ansel Adams Honda, a child of former incarcerees, says of his Documentary Film Premiere of “Facism” and experience on this project: “Learning about the home- Panel Discussion moderated by steaders and hearing their stories was fascinating. Doc- Jeff MacIntyre & David Ono umenting the people in their homes, of which many are former barracks buildings, was a truly memorable expe- rience…the artifact that was the common physical expe- rience of all the Japanese American incarcerees has taken on a new meaning for this community in northern Wyo- ming.” The photographer has been collaborating with Los Angeles-based writer/filmmaker Sharon Yamato for the project of documenting these barracks and their various inhabitants. Honda’s photographs will continue to be on display at the Interpretive Center throughout the autumn, accompanied by a premiere of Yamato’s new documenta- ry film in which the homesteaders and former incarcrees of the images are interviewed. More details will be adver- tised in late summer.

For more information about the Pilgrimage and to Photo courtesy of Stan Honda register, visit www.heartmountain.org/pilgrimage or call HMWF Board Member and Heart Mountain the Interpretive Center at 307-754-8000. incarceree Takashi Hoshizaki. Spotlight on Keynote This year’s keynote speaker will be Ann Burroughs, recently named CEO and President of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Burroughs has ample experience in social justice beginning in her youth when she worked as an anti-apartheid activist in her native South Africa. Previously she has worked with and advised a variety of non-profit and governmental organizations with a focus on - sup porting democracy and community diversity. Burroughs will be introduced by retired Secretary of Commerce and Transportation and Heart Mountain incarceree, Norman Y. Mineta. A speech by retired U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson and a performance by National Poetry Slam Champion G Yamazawa will follow the keynote.

www.HeartMountain.org 4 Calling All Heart Mountain Babies should have been born in Los Angeles, “I California,” says Dale Kunitomi. “The outbreak of World War II dictated otherwise.” Instead, Kunitomi was one of 548 babies born at the hospital inside the Heart Mountain con- centration camp. Many visitors to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center are shocked at such a large number of births. Surely, they think, the hardships of camp life—not to mention the lack of privacy—would prevent incarcerees from beginning or expanding families. And yet, life continued on, even in barracks behind barbed wire. Giving birth and raising an infant at Heart Mountain was no easy task. Mothers in labor often had to walk all the way from their barracks to the camp hospital. Once there, they could only hope that the doctors had the proper tools. Disagreements between the older Issei doctors and their Nisei counterparts about how to run the hospital tore a rift between the medical staff. Because of this infighting, head HMWF Okumoto Collection Okumoto HMWF obstetrician Dr. Motonori Kimura developed a habit of taking all the gynecological instru- ments home with him at the end of his shift. Once babies were home, mothers had to plan carefully how There are still hundreds of people around the world whose birth much formula they would need. certificate reads “Heart Mountain, Wyoming,” Bottles couldn’t be refrigerated a place that, thankfully, no longer exists. in the barracks, so ambulances Are you one of these Heart Mountain babies? would deliver them from the hos- pital every four hours. On top of If so, we invite you to join us at this year’s all this, parents of newborns also Heart Mountain Pilgrimage, July 28-30. had to deal with the cold, dust, and In addition to all of the other activities, we will be taking cramped quarters that were part of a group picture of all attendees born here, everyday life in the camp. and would like to see as many faces as possible! Visit heartmountain.org/pilgrimage to register and learn more.

5 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 Lessons from Our Past By Helen Yoshida B eventy-five years later, the imprison- [at Manzanar]. The War Department ly, Lardent’s parents met in a displaced a s Sment of Japanese Americans during refused to let Sharon’s aunt take them to person’s camp in Europe, where she was bie World War II continues to affect descen- live with her in Colorado, forcing them born. Her parents were the sole survivors dants of former incarcerees. With the to stay in the orphanage,” she said as con- of their respective families murdered at anniversary of E.O. 9066, the “Lessons ference attendees from law firms, legal Auschwitz. A 2009 brainstorming meet- From Our Past” panel demonstrated departments, and public interest organi- ing with Lardent on connecting the parallels between 1942 and today during zations wiped away tears. legal community with Heart Mountain the Pro Bono Institute’s Annual Confer- Takei discussed how his grandpar- launched the Foundation’s relationship ence (PBI) on Thursday, March 9th. ents’ wartime experience illustrated the with Walter Eggers, a partner at Holland The presentation was part of PBI’s irrationality of the incarceration. and Hart whose firm has provided legal effort to engage attorneys, law firms, “My grandmother was transferred out counsel to the Foundation for more than and corporations with public interest of Tule Lake because she was engaged to five years. issues and to be available for pro bono my grandfather, an Army sergeant sta- “The attorneys willing to take on [the services to groups like the confinement tioned at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. He cases of Hirabayashi, Yasui, Korematsu, sites. Heart Mountain Wyoming Foun- was in the 522nd battalion, which pro- and Endo] pro bono were a very import- dation (HMWF) Chair Shirley Ann vided artillery support for the 442nd and ant part of the story, defending the most Higuchi moderated the panel with Karen was among those that liberated Dachau. unpopular and vulnerable groups and the Narasaki and Carl Takei. Narasaki is the While he fought in Europe, my grand- Constitution,” said Narasaki. “We need former president and executive direc- mother returned to be incarcerated attorneys who love the Constitution and tor of Asian Americans Advancing with her family, who were transferred to have the courage to stand up and take Justice and a daughter of former incar- Amache in Colorado.” unpopular clients in challenging times. cerees. While working for a national When he visited the Dilley family As Min once explained, if we believe in law firm she provided pro bono counsel detention facility in 2015, he saw paral- America, if we believe in equal democ- for Gordon Hirabayashi v. United States lels between today and what happened racy, if we believe in law and justice, then and collaborated throughout her career 75 years ago. Located in , Dilley is each of us—when we see such errors with Hirabayashi, Min Yasui, and Fred part of a larger private prison network being made—have an obligation to make Korematsu. Takei is an American Civil designed to incarcerate immigrants every effort to correct those.” Liberties Union attorney focusing on living in the United States. prison privatization and immigra- “It tries very hard to look like a sum- tion detention with familial ties to Tule mer camp but the fact is that this is a Lake. Together, they shared how their prison that holds children. One of the personal histories connect to their civil most horrifying events I saw was the in- rights work. take area. You can see rows and rows of “Like many Japanese Americans in children’s shoes because there are, literal- my generation, my work in social jus- ly, toddlers being held with their mothers tice is born out of the fact that my par- in this detention facility,” said Takei. ents were incarcerated during World Higuchi, whose parents met as chil- War II,” said Narasaki. Her mother was dren at Heart Mountain, spoke of lessons 13 when her family was incarcerated in learned from the past. Minidoka. Her father was 16 when his “The silver lining is that relationships family was shipped to Topaz. Her aunt’s were formed out of this duress from ter- father, a popular restaurant owner in rible situations. And if they didn’t hap- California, lost everything because of the pen, I and others wouldn’t be here today,” incarceration. she said. “When he got depressed in camp, he Higuchi also dedicated the panel to killed her mother and shot himself, leav- Esther Lardent, her close friend and

ing my Auntie Sharon, at the age of four founder of the PBI who passed away last Photo courtesy of Carl Takei or five, with her younger sister as orphans April after battling a long illness. Similar- An April 1943 snapshot of Bette Takei (née Sato), Carl Takei’s grandmother, at Tule Lake camp in California.

www.HeartMountain.org 6 Arthur & Estelle Ishigo: A Heart Mountain Love Story

By Dakota Russell ow do you know when it’s love? It’s came to be known, was born in San Halways a tricky question, historically Francisco in 1902, the son of Issei par- speaking. We talk up the great romances ents. His father, Genzaburo, had come to of the past, but can you prove how those the United States as a farm laborer seek- people really felt? It’s rare to discover ing his fortune. Once he had established a couple whose love for each other is himself, he sent back to Japan for a wife, absolutely clear, even when viewed from Chiyo. The couple had only two children, decades away; whose love helps them Arthur and a younger brother, before to transcend tragedy, and makes each Chiyo died. Unable to care for both boys person better just for being with the alone, Genzaburo gave Arthur’s brother other. We’re fortunate, in the history of up to another family. Arthur, at about Heart Mountain, to have at least one such six years old, accompanied his father to Photo courtesy of the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming couple: Arthur & Estelle Ishigo. a railroad camp in Oroville, California, Arthur & Estelle Ishigo, ca. 1928. Estelle was born in 1899 in Oakland, where Genzaburo worked blasting and California, to Bradford and Bertha Peck. cutting into the mountains to build a was accepted into the school alongside Her parents were both over fifty when track to Nevada. a number of promising Asian Ameri- she arrived. Bradford was a piano tuner After two years of railroad work, Gen- can artists. At Otis, Estelle encountered and a landscape painter. Bertha was an zaburo took Arthur to San Francisco for the first time the Japanese American opera singer. Both worked occasionally and placed him in a Japanese boarding men of the Art Students League of Los as music teachers. Estelle always felt that school, while he sought a way to return Angeles: Hideo Date, Bob Kuwahara, her birth had been a mistake, and that them back to the country of his birth. and Benji Okubo. The young bohemi- her parents had never wanted a child, Genzaburo was suffering from lung dis- ans of the Art Students League exhibit- especially at such an advanced age. ease, the effect of years spent blasting ed at a gallery in Chinatown, and hung Estelle said she never knew her parents rock and breathing in the dust. He want- out in the Dragon’s Den restaurant in well, and was largely raised by a nurse. ed to get Arthur back with his family, in the gallery’s basement. Okubo and Tyrus Despite this distance, Estelle inherited case his illness should get worse. Genza- Wong—a Chinese American member her mother and father’s natural talents. buro earned and borrowed money until of the League—painted the restaurant’s She showed skill in drawing and painting he had enough to pay their passage to walls with fantastical Asian-inspired mu- early on and, by twelve, she had begun to Japan. rals. Wong, who lived next door to Es- master the violin. Arthur felt out of place in his new telle, is best known today for creating the In 1911, Estelle and her parents home. He barely knew Japanese, so he look of Walt Disney’s Bambi, a project on moved to Los Angeles, where she quick- couldn’t go to school with other children. which Kuwahara joined him. ly grew into a more challenging teenag- Instead, he was sent to study with a Bud- Estelle immersed herself in the er. Her parents, whom she believed had dhist priest, where he learned to read Japanese American culture of her class- grown tired of her, sent her to live with a and write. Genzaburo died when Arthur mates. She began taking Judo lessons and succession of relatives and family friends. was just fourteen. He left Arthur $200, to became a close friend and pupil of Nyogen One of these caretakers raped Estelle, return to the United States if he wished Senzaki, the monk credited with popu- and threatened to have her committed to to. Though his grandfather disapproved, larizing Zen Buddhism in the West. Most an institution if she told anyone. She ran Arthur was determined to leave. Back in importantly, though, Estelle’s friends away and lived on the streets for a time. California, Arthur worked on farms and introduced her to a Paramount Studios For six months in 1919, Estelle was brief- ranches until he became a man. In the janitor and struggling actor: Arthur ly employed at Bell Telephone. She quit early 1920s, with dreams of becoming an Ishigo. Despite being brought up by when she learned her mother had died, actor, he bought a motorcycle and drove old-fashioned parents in a time and place and returned home to care for her father. to Hollywood. where interracial romance was taboo, In 1921, he died as well, leaving Estelle After the deaths of her parents, Estelle described her initial meeting with alone in the world. Estelle adopted a new sort of family at Arthur as love at first sight. Shigeharu Ishigo, or Arthur, as he the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. She It’s difficult to say just how long the

7 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 courtship between Arthur and Estelle in December of 1941, after the bomb- end of a barracks building in block 14 of went on, but they quickly found them- ing of Pearl Harbor. Arthur, along with the camp. Arthur and Estelle, in the roles selves to be kindred souls. They both had all the Japanese Americans at Para- they had now grown accustomed to, set spent much of their lives in the city, but mount, was dismissed the day after the about trying to improve things in the shared a love of nature. Arthur was an attack. Shortly after, Estelle was fired camp. Arthur took the job of boiler man avid fisherman, and Estelle shared her from her job at the Hollywood Art for block 14. Every morning, he would father’s passion for drawing and painting Center because she had a Japanese last wake up early to pile coal into the boil- landscapes. Together, they spent their name. Stories began to circulate that er in the latrine building, which provid- weekends in the mountains and woods the government planned to remove all ed hot water for the entire block. Then, surrounding Los Angeles. Japanese Americans from the West he would begin the process of removing As they grew closer, Estelle and Coast. Those rumors became a reality in all the ash with a wheelbarrow. Because Arthur began to contemplate marriage, an the spring of 1942. of the heat in the boiler room, Arthur impossibility under California’s misce- The Japanese Americans in Arthur almost never wore a shirt while on the genation laws. Undeterred, Estelle and and Estelle’s Hollywood neighborhood job. His appearance caused a stir among Arthur slipped across the border in 1928 were to be sent to the Pomona Fair- the other incarcerees on his block, espe- and were wed in Mexico. Their marriage grounds, which the Army had convert- cially the teenage girls. only increased the discrimination they ed into a temporary holding area, until With his duties usually finished by felt in Los Angeles. They tried to stay permanent camps could be finished. mid-day, Arthur had plenty of time within the Japanese American commu- Estelle refused to leave Arthur’s side, for other pursuits. He would often get nity as much as possible. Their friends and wrote the Army to ask if she could permission to go down to the Shoshone in the arts community were welcoming accompany him to the camp. She was River in the afternoons, taking his young to them, as well. Estelle began teaching assured that she could, but warned that neighbor, Shig Yabu, with him. Togeth- art classes for children. Arthur contin- she would be subject to the same rules as er, they would fish and hunt for castoff ued working at Paramount. Apparently all other incarcerees. glass bottles to add to Arthur’s collection. giving up on his plans to become a On May 10, the date instructed, the Arthur made pets of the wild animals he leading man, he grew a long beard that Ishigos packed what they could carry and found around and outside of the camp, reached down to his chest. Life may not reported to a Hollywood church, joining including a magpie that rode atop his have been perfect, but Estelle and Arthur a crowd of some 450 people. From there, shoulders and a young rattlesnake that were content. they were bussed to Pomona, where they lived in a cage outside his front door. Everything came face-to-face with the realities of Arthur also took part in plays that changed for life in a concentration camp: crowding, were staged around camp. He asked his the worse substandard housing, and a perime- friends in Los Angeles to send him stage ter fenced in barbed wire. Because they makeup but, with wartime rationing and weren’t far from the city, though, their shortages of nearly everything, all they friends could still get passes to visit and could find to match his complexion was bring them items they needed. Estelle the leg makeup women wore to simu- busied herself by joining the movement late nylons. On nights when he wasn’t to start a camp newspaper, the Pomona performing, Arthur would play his shaku- Center News. Arthur worked with some hachi—a traditional bamboo flute—and of the other performers to begin put- tell stories about his childhood in Cali- ting on plays and talent shows to lift the fornia and Japan. Though he wore a brave spirits of the incarcerees. Sometimes, face, Estelle could tell that the indigni- Estelle would play her violin in these ties of incarceration were weighing on shows. Arthur. “He was different now than he By August, the front page of the Pomo- used to be,” she observed. na Center News read “Rumors Say We’re Estelle took advantage of her artistic Going to Wyoming.” Trains began loading talent and her race to get employment up 500 incarcerees at a time for the trip. from the War Relocation Authority, the Arthur and Estelle boarded the final train. agency that managed the camp. She was Four nights passed. On the fifth day, they given the position of Documentary Rep- spotted the Heart Mountain concentra- resentative for Heart Mountain, charged Photo courtesy of the American Heritage Center, tion camp. with keeping a record of the Japanese University of Wyoming The Ishigos were assigned a small American incarceration experience Estelle Ishigo at Heart Mountain. apartment, a 16 by 20 foot room at the through her art. Though it only paid

www.HeartMountain.org 8 the maximum incarceree wage of $19 a hardships of incarceration, Heart saved into a book, Lone Heart Mountain. month, the position provided Estelle with Mountain was perhaps the most wel- The book would expose what life had an opportunity to do something subver- coming community that an inter- been like for Japanese Americans in the sive. She secretly planned to expose the racial couple could hope to be part camp, and would point an accusing finger injustices of the very government that of in 1940s America. It gave both directly at the U.S. government. employed her. Arthur and Estelle a sense of purpose Then, the unthinkable happened. Estelle was also placed in charge of and meaning. Arthur died suddenly, at the age of 55. art-related community activities at the In the summer of 1945, the WRA “I’m alone,” Estelle wrote, “with a cat camp, most notably the reorganization of announced that the camp would be and some potted plants, books, paints, the Art Students League of Los Angeles closing, and encouraged incarcerees to easel…” Estelle sank into a deep depres- into a new Heart Mountain League. Her make plans to leave. Japanese Americans sion. She ceased all work on her man- old friends from the Otis Art Institute— had been allowed to return home to the uscript and became a recluse. It wasn’t Hideo Date, Bob Kuwahara, and Ben- Coast for several months now, but many until the California Historical Society ji Okubo—had also been sent to Heart stayed, as they had nothing to return discovered and exhibited some of her Mountain, and agreed to start teaching home to. Homes, farms, and business- work, in 1972, that she rallied enough art classes in the camp. The first exhibit es, had been sold and lost. Arthur and to finish and publish her book. Estelle by the new Art Students League, held in Estelle realized that if they returned to passed away in 1990. Her old friends a recreation hall in camp in December California, they’d have to start over from from camp carried her ashes up to the 1942, drew over 3,000 visitors. nothing. When their fellow incarcerees summit of Heart Mountain and scattered Estelle also found time to play violin in asked about their travel plans, the Ishigos them there, so that some small piece of several of the bands that formed at Heart declared their intention to remain, and to her would always remain. Mountain. She even began her own quar- die at Heart Mountain. Arthur and Estelle Ishigo led lives full tet. Her primary work, though, contin- The government, of course, would of adversity and tragedy. Nothing ever ued to be documenting daily life in the not allow that. Arthur and Estelle wait- came easy for them, but their love made camp. She collected every bit of scratch ed for the very last train out of camp, them strong—not just for each other, but paper she could find, endlessly making which left in November 1945. Estelle was for everyone around them. How do we drawings and taking notes. When asked ordered to turn her drawings and paint- know it was the real thing? We may never why she was always working, she would ings and writings over to the authorities. be able to measure it, but it seems obvi- reply, “Someone has to keep a record.” As a WRA employee, her art was the ous in every line of the short poem Estelle In this manner, Arthur and property of the government. She sur- wrote for her late husband: Estelle passed more than rendered some of her work, but the rest three years at Heart she and Arthur slipped between layers of To Arthur Mountain. In clothes in their suitcases and smuggled My beloved: spite of out of camp. t h e Having nowhere to go, the Ishigos Let’s go again to the pine forest wound up in one of the hastily assem- Where the snow clouds drift bled trailer camps that the WRA had set And watch mountains fade in up back in California. They had to Veils of grey mist. pay for rent and food here. With their only income coming from When the bluejay & chipmunk low-paying jobs at a fish cannery, Are still, let’s go in the Arthur and Estelle’s chances for Moonlit breeze near a brook moving out of the camp were slim. Where long shadows fall The government eventually evicted And fair wings whisper them, again. In the trees. In 1947, Arthur managed to find work at the Los Angeles Air- Estelle port. Estelle found an affordable apartment for them back in Hol- To learn more about Estelle and her art- lywood, and resumed teaching work at Heart Mountain, join Nancy Ukai art. Her most important work, and Bacon Sakatani for the Educational Photo courtesy of the American Heritage Center, though, still remained a secret. Session "Rescued Heritage: Heart Mountain University of Wyoming She was compiling the sketches Artifacts & Estelle Ishigo’s Works" on Friday, and poems and stories she had July 28, part of the 2017 Heart Mountain Arthur Ishigo at Heart Mountain. Pilgrimage.

9 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 Frank Emi Papers Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee Honored in University of Wyoming Mock Trial

his April, the Heart Mountain west College instructors and Heart admission to the Interpretive Center TWyoming Foundation partnered Mountain Interpretive Center staff on April 14. with the University of Wyoming Col- were on hand to answer questions An undertaking like Heart Moun- lege of Law to present a week of events and to help tell the Heart Mountain tain Week could not have taken place highlighting the history of the Heart story. Additionally, Museum Manag- without the hard work and support of Mountain camp. The main event was er Dakota Russell spoke at the Park the HMWF board and staff, as well the Spence Law Firm historical mock County Library in Cody on April 12, as many partners in the community. trial, held on April 10 in Laramie. and Aura Newlin led a discussion The HMWF is grateful to the Univer- Each year, UW law students research of Eric Muller’s book Free to Die for sity of Wyoming, Northwest College, and argue a case inspired by histori- Their Country at the Powell Branch and the Park County Library System cal events. This year’s case imagined Library on April 13. Heart Mountain for all of their efforts in making Heart draft resister Frank Emi bringing a Week wrapped up with a day of free Mountain week a success! libel lawsuit against the editor of the Heart Mountain Sentinel. HMWF board member Darrell Kunitomi played Emi in the mock trial, and former incarceree Grace Kubota Ybarra played her mother, Gloria Kubota. Board Secretary Aura Newlin served on the jury. Kunitomi, Ybarra, and Newlin also took part in two panel discussions on April 11, “Lessons From Heart Mountain” and “Parallels of the Past and Present: Ex- ploring Executive Orders.” HMWF board member Jack Ybarra also served as a panelist. The trial and both panels were broadcast live to Northwest College in Powell and the UW Regional Out- Photo courtesy of Dylan Crouse reach Center in Cody, where North- Grace Kubota Ybarra portrays her mother, Gloria Kubota, in the historical mock trial. (Above) Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee awaiting trial.

www.HeartMountain.org 10 Incarceration in Focus

his past April our newest exhibit, to Heart Mountain in the fall of Yoshio Okumoto (1903–1993) T“Incarceration in Focus” opened 1942. Though all cameras had been at the Interpretive Center. Side by side confiscated from Japanese Americans Yoshio Okumoto was born in photographic displays of “camp” life before they were removed from the Hawaii to Issei parents. He left the adorn our temporary gallery walls, West Coast, Okumoto was one of sev- islands in 1925, to earn a pre-medi- exploring incarceration from two eral Heart Mountain photographers cal degree at Stanford University in viewpoints. who acquired new photographic California. After graduating, Oku- equipment while in camp. moto stayed at Stanford and worked Two Photographers, Okumoto and Adams offer us two in the Anatomy Department as a Two Perspectives very different perspectives on the research assistant. incarceration of Japanese Ameri- After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, In 1943, Ansel Adams took his cam- cans during World War II. Adams, University President Ray Lyman Wil- era inside the barbed wire confines though sympathetic to the plight of bur was able to successfully delay the of the Manzanar concentration camp the incarcerees, was just a visitor to “evacuation” of Stanford’s Japanese in California. Adams had, by this the Manzanar camp. Okumoto saw American students and faculty until time, already cemented his legacy as Heart Mountain with an insider’s eye. May 1942. In that month, Okumoto the nation’s premier photographer, Adams came with years of training was forced to comply with the man- capturing stunning landscapes across and the best equipment money could datory exclusion requirement and the American West. He used his buy. Okumoto was just discovering leave the West Coast. reputation to gain access to Manzanar, his hidden talent, and limited to what A bachelor with no family on where the United States government equipment he could obtain in the the mainland, Okumoto entered was holding some ten thousand camp. the Heart Mountain concentration Japanese Americans it had forcibly Adams and Okumoto both pro- camp alone. He was assigned a small removed from the West Coast. duced striking images of the incar- barracks apartment, which he shared At the same time, in a similar ceration experience. Among their with two other men. He applied to camp at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, images there are obvious differences. work at the camp hospital, but was Yoshio Okumoto was just beginning There are also remarkable similarities. turned down. Stripped of his profes- to embrace the art of photography. Viewed together, these photographs sional identity and isolated from his When the Japanese Navy bombed remind us of an important truth: family, Okumoto reinvented himself Pearl Harbor, Okumoto was working History should always be captured as a photographer. as a research assistant at Stanford from multiple angles. James Yonemura, one of Okumo- University in California. He was sent to’s roommates, likely served as his

11 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 A Comparative Look at the Photographs of Ansel Adams and Yoshio Okumoto new mentor. Yonemura had been a he would still shoot portraits for his gained him access. He shot more than photographer in Los Angeles before friends and coworkers. He died in 200 photos at Manzanar, capturing his cameras were confiscated by the 1993. This exhibit marks the first time not just the majesty of the natural government in the weeks after Pearl his work has ever been shown publicly. landscape, but the efforts of Japanese Harbor. At Heart Mountain, these Americans to build some sense of restrictions were eventually lifted. Ansel Adams (1902–1984) community there. Photographic equipment soon be- In his photographs and the book gan to arrive in camp, either sent by Ansel Adams’s lifelong passion that accompanied them—Born friends or purchased by mail order. for photography began in 1916, Free and Equal—Adams portrays Yonemura and Okumoto were taking following a trip to Yosemite Nation- Manzanar as a sort of pioneer story. pictures as early as March 1943. al Park. The Sierra Nevada Moun- The incarcerees are brave and hearty Many of the photographs the pair tains around Yosemite soon became souls, forced to eke out an existence shot were commissioned portraits. the California native’s muse. By the in the vast desert. The harsh beauty Okumoto photographed numer- 1940s, his images of the mountains of the landscape was always on ous weddings and babies. The imag- had made him one of America’s most Adams’s mind, and frequently in his es he took for himself, though, were celebrated photographers. viewfinder. more candid and personal. Okumoto In 1942, the United States govern- Adams’s critics note that by captured his fellow incarcerees in ment opened the Manzanar camp focusing on the incarcerees’ struggle unguarded moments that Caucasian at the foothills of the Sierras. That with the natural world, he missed photographers never saw. fall, some ten thousand Japanese the real story: a government’s unjust Even working without profes- Americans were sent to the camp, imprisonment of its own citizens. It’s sional equipment, Okumoto’s talent to be confined there until the gov- unfair, though, to expect a single artist shines through. He noticed the small ernment decided they could return to capture the whole of this unprec- details that define everyday life, even home. Adams, hearing of this, was edented event. Adams’s Manzanar in a concentration camp. He may “moved by the human story unfold- imagery illustrates his unique not have had Ansel Adams’s eye for ing in the encirclement of desert and perspective, but we must also look composition, but his photos have an mountains…” to other photographers to see the intimacy that even the famed photog- The government was reluc- complete picture. rapher couldn’t replicate. tant to allow a photographer not Okumoto returned to the West on their payroll into the camp, but This exhibit will be on display through- Coast in January 1945, and resumed Adams’s fame and his friendship with out the summer, ending in August. his work at Stanford. Occasionally, Manzanar Director Ralph Merritt

www.HeartMountain.org 12 to the schools of the children of the New York attorneys. During my tour of New Referrals York, I gave a sold-out presentation to Japanese American related groups in New York, which was recorded by NHK By Sam Mihara, HMWF Board Member TV. The president of the local Japanese eferrals have an important role in the American Citizens League (JACL) chap- Rdevelopment of the Heart Mountain ter, who was in the audience, later wrote Wyoming Foundation (HMWF). In mid- to the head of the national JACL and 2016, I spoke about the incarceration to a recommended that I speak at their next gathering of senior attorneys and judges national convention. in Los Angeles. In the audience was an Last year, HMWF board member attorney with the Los Angeles office of Kathy Saito Yuille referred me to several the firm Proskauer LLP. I had never heard contacts in the Milwaukee area. I wound of Proskauer and thought they must be up being asked to give several speeches new or small. Following my talk, the Sam Mihara in that area. My cousin Kathy Nakamura attorney came up to me and said, “That of Chicago referred me to DePaul Uni- was an amazing story. I have heard about In late February, I visited Proskauer’s versity, the largest Catholic university in the World War II camps, but I had no New York City offices in Times Square. the United States. It was a very success- idea there was such injustice.” A week When I entered the spacious street ful event. HMWF Board member Jack later, I received a call from a member of entrance, I was directed to a bank of Ybarra made several inquiries in the San Proskauer’s New York City office. He said, eight elevators—one of them was exclu- Jose area and is continuing to pursue “My associate in Los Angeles referred me sively for Proskauer. I went up to their leads. HMWF Board member Damany to you. Can you come to New York and lobby, which occupied the entire floor Fisher asked me to come to Massachu- give the same talk?” and featured views of the New York sky- setts to speak at his school. Damany also I made plans to go to New York City line on all sides. I was met by my host, referred me to Harvard, where I was following a board meeting in Washing- who described their office, which occu- directed to the Harvard Law School. That ton, D.C. While back east, I made other pies 14 floors and includes 200 attorneys. speech resulted in Harvard’s outstand- contacts by calling Susan MacQueen of Their conference room featured a large ing referral letter that opened the doors Long Island, a friend of HMWF board television screen with live broadcast to many other venues. And I was asked member Takashi Hoshizaki. Susan had images of conference rooms in Chicago, to return to Harvard. HMWF board some contacts in the New York area and Boston, New Orleans, Boca Raton, Los member Marc Sugiyama referred me to referred me to a Long Island library and Angeles, and Paris. Following lunch, the a school in Oakland where he is a board Hofstra University. Susan also searched room and screen were filled with many member. HMWF Board Chair Shirley online for other prospects, including of the firm’s attorneys from throughout Ann Higuchi referred Takashi, Shig Yabu Columbia University. As a result, I had the country and France. After my presen- and myself to the Smithsonian Institute six venues in New York and several more tation, several attorneys approached me for participation in a fully-booked Day in Washington, Virginia and Princeton, and referred me to other organizations of Remembrance event on February 19. totaling 10 venues in a week with only in the New York area, including several And HMWF Advisory Council mem- one plane ride! And it all started with a schools and law firms. ber Toshi Ito referred to Judge Lance Ito single referral from Los Angeles. When I returned to my hotel room who will make a recommendation at an following my presentation, upcoming judicial conference in Monte- I saw an email from another large rey, California. Recently I gave a talk to law firm. This firm was based in the local Kiwanis chapter—they referred Memphis, Tennessee, and had me to the district which has 50 chapters. been referred by someone in the So the bottom line is that referrals New York audience. The Tennes- work very well in all aspects of the growth see prospect asked me to speak of our Foundation. Whether the refer- and gave me a choice of several ral comes from members of the Board, offices including . After Advisory Council, or relatives and friends checking my calendar, I called of members, anyone can make referrals back and said “I am good for and broadcast the good work that we Dallas!” Then even more calls all do. The results are very rewarding Photo courtesy of George Hirose came asking me if I could speak for everyone. Overflow audience at Japan America Society of New York.

13 Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 Membership Matters: Join Us or Renew Your Membership Today!

Member support is an ongoing commitment to the mission of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and to the daily operations of the Interpretive Center. We love our members—not only because you give annually to the HMWF, but also because you allow us to form stronger relationships over time. “It is heartening to see the growing community, both locally and nationally,” says Danielle Constein, Operations Manager. “The members who support us are the backbone of our organization and the foundation of the HMWF, continually helping us to reach our goals.” You may have received a membership card reminder in the mail. As we continue to grow our membership, we will continue following up. If you are already a member, we cannot thank you enough for your support. If not, we would love if you would accept this invitation to take a more active role in the Heart Mountain family. Your membership helps us educate the public and tell the stories of those families who were confined at Heart Mountain during WWII and of those who have been affected by the Japanese American incarceration experience. It also helps you become more connected to the Foundation. To become a member or renew online, go to www.shopheartmountain.org or use the form below and mail it in—feel free to enclose a note! Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation Membership Benefits General Membership Benefits Contributing ($250) (Valid for one year and renewable annually) Family/Dual Membership Benefits plus: • Free Admission to the Interpretive Center • 5 one-time-use-guest passes • Subscription to the newsletter • Free admission to exhibit receptions and previews Sustaining ($500) • 10% discount on store purchases, on site or online Family/Dual Membership Benefits plus: • 10 one-time-use guest passes Senior/Student ($30) • Discount on use of multi-purpose room (by appt.) • General Membership Benefits for 1 Heart Mountain Circle ($1,000 - $4,999) Individual ($35) Family/Dual Membership Benefits plus: • General Membership Benefits for 1 • 20 one-time-use guest passes • Recognition on the Annual Giving Wall Family/Dual Membership ($60) • Discount on use of multi-purpose room (by appt.) • General Membership Benefits for 2 adults at the same • Behind the scenes collections tours (by appt.) address and children or grandchildren under the age of 18 Kokoro Kara Circle ($5,000 and above) Friend ($100) (Kokoro Kara—from the heart) Family/Dual Membership Benefits plus: Heart Mountain Circle Membership Benefits plus: • 2 one-time-use guest passes • Any-time admission for 2 member-accompanied guests • Free use of multi-purpose room (by appt.)

❒ New Membership ❒ Membership Renewal Name: ❒ Mr. ❒ Mrs. ❒ Ms. Name: ❒ Mr. ❒ Mrs. ❒ Ms. Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: ❒ H ❒ W ❒ C Email: Giving ❒ Senior/Student ($30) ❒ Individual ($35) ❒ Family/Dual Membership ($60) Level: ❒ Friend ($100) ❒ Contributing ($250) ❒ Sustaining ($500) ❒ Heart Mountain Circle ($1,000-$4,999) ❒ Kokoro Kara Circle ($5,000+) Membership Contribution: $ I would like to make an additional tax deductible gift of: $ Total Contribution: $ ❒ I would like to receive information about planned giving opportunities. Method of Payment: ❒ Cash ❒ Check ❒ Mastercard ❒ Visa Name: (exactly as it appears on your credit card) CC#: Exp Date: Photo: HMWF Okumoto Collection Signature:

www.HeartMountain.org 14 NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation PAID 1539 Road 19 BILLINGS, MT Powell, Wyoming 82435 PERMIT NO. 1 www.HeartMountain.org

HEART MOUNTAIN WYOMING FOUNDATION

Honorary Advisors Norman Y. Mineta Former U.S. Secretary of Sponsorship Opportunities Commerce and Transportation Alan K. Simpson U.S. Senator (ret.) Generous donors to the 2017 Pilgrimage so far include the Higuchi Family, Board of Directors Toshi Ito, Sam Mihara, Takashi Hoshizaki, Doug Nelson, Shirley Ann Higuchi, Chair Bacon Sakatani, Kathleen Saito Yuille, Emily Higuchi Filling, Blair Hotels, Douglas W. Nelson, Vice-Chair the Cody Enterprise, the Powell Tribune, Keele Sanitation, Party Time Plus, Claudia Wade, Treasurer Wyoming Financial Insurance—Powell, and the UPS Store. Aura Newlin, Secretary Damany Fisher Peter K. Simpson Kris M. Horiuchi Marc Sugiyama Opportunities are available for Individual, Family, and Takashi Hoshizaki Hanako Wakatsuki Darrell Kunitomi Shigeru Yabu Corporate Sponsorships. If you, your family, or your Sam Mihara Jack Ybarra organization would like to become a sponsor, Allyson Nakamoto Kathleen Saito Yuille R. Dana Ono LaDonna Zall please notify Helen Yoshida ([email protected]) Staff by June 26, 2017 at the latest. Danielle Constein, Operations Manager Dakota Russell, Museum Manager ***All sponsors will be recognized online, in our printed booklet Kate Wilson, Communications Design Specialist handed out during the event, and on a sign at the Pilgrimage.*** Helen Yoshida, Executive Assistant to the Chair Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation | Summer 2017 Sharyl McDowell, Guest Services Anna Clifton, Guest Services