Portrait: Lawson Sakai

In January, 2010 I had the honor of photographing Lawson Sakai. When I originally began this project, I had planned to only photograph people who had been held in the internment camps. But at that point, I had never even heard of how some Japanese-Americans had served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. I also didn't realize that the all Japanese-American infantry was the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.

(Photo by Andy Frazer)

Lawson's family was not interned during World War II because they were living in Delta, Colorado, which was not inside the designated "Exclusion Zone". Lawson tried to enlist the day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, but he was refused because the government classified him as an "Enemy Combatant". But when the rules changed in late 1943, Lawson enlisted immediately. As part of the 442nd, he saw action in Italy, and later in the Battle of Bruyere, France; as well as the Rescue of the Lost Battalion in the Vosges Mountains in 1944, where he was seriously injured.

This photo session with Lawson was the first time that I was able to record some good quality audio interviews directly with my DSLR camera.You can listen to those interviews by clicking on the links below:

• Lawson talks about the 442nd RCT in the Battle of Bruyeres, France: LISTEN (2:32)
• Lawson talks about the 442nd RCT in the Rescue of the Lost Battalion in Biffontain, France: LISTEN (2:56)
• Lawson talks about his family's journey to Delta, CO. after Executive Order 9066: LISTEN (2:23)
• Lawson explains how some families protected their property through a legal trust after Executive Order 9066: LISTEN (2:20)

You can also read the TRANSCRIPT of the above interviews. 

Lawson is currently the president of the Friends and Family of Nisei Veterans organiztion, which supports and promotes former members of 442nd infantry. There is also a fascinating article about Lawson's military career in the Gilroy Dispatch newspaper.

Portrait: Joe Yasutaki

Joe Yasutaki was the third person who sat for a portrait for my Kioku project. I had met Joe one year earlier at one of the events sponsored by the Japanese-American Museum in San Jose. As vice-president of the museum, Joe saw me at many other events until I got to the point where I actually started taking formal portraits for this project.

(Photo by Andy Frazer)

Joe Yasutake was nine years old when Executive Order 9066 forced his family to leave their home in Seattle, WA. While they and hundreds of other Japanese-Americans were boarding the train for the assembly center in Puyallup, WA, a news photographer took a photograph of the crowds waiting to be moved out. Joe and his sister instinctively smiled for the photographer. Their photograph appeared in the Seattle newspaper with a caption pointing out how happy they appeared to be because they were being treated so well.

Joe was eventually interned in the Minidoka War Relocation Camp in Idaho, and the Crystal City camp in Texas. He is currently vice-president of the Japanese-American Museum in San Jose.

Portrait: Aturo Shibiyama

I recently photographed Arturo Shibayama. Art's story is unique because he didn't spend time in an internment camp; he didn't serve in the 442nd, and he wasn't in the Military Intelligence Service (all of the original criteria that I had originally set for the Kioku project). Art's story was a surprise to me when I was given the opportunity to photograph him. It's a story that most people in the United States didn't know existed.

Art was born in Peru to parents of Japanese descent. When he was 11 years old, he and his family were forcibly taken from their home in the city of Lima, loaded onto a U.S. Army transport ship and brought under armed guard to the U.S. for the purpose of hostage exchange. Art's family was held in the D.o.J. prison camp in Crystal City, TX. for over two years.

It turns out that the United States government had a secret agreement with the Peruvian government. The U.S. was supporting Peru's war against Ecuador in order to prevent the Nazis from threatening the Panama Canal from Ecuador's airfields. In exchange, Peru allowed the U.S. to kidnap their citizens of Japanese descent in order to use them for prisoner exchange with Japan. It sounds like something out of conspiracy theory. But it really happened. And it resulted in the forcible relocation of 2200 Latin Americans of Japanese descent.

(Photo by Andy Frazer)
  

And the story gets even more shocking. Even after being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Art was unable to get American citizenship because he had not entered the U.S. legally.

Today, Art works with the Campaign for Justice to lobby the American government for proper acknowledgement and apology for illegally kidnapping and detaining 2200 Latin American nationals of Japanese descent in U.S. prison camps during WWII. 

You can read more about the plight of the Japanese-Latin Americans and the Campaign for Justice on the Tracked in America website.

Portrait: Roy Matsuzaki

Roy Matsuzaki was the first person who agreed to sit for a formal portrait for this project. I met Roy in 2008 at a breakfast event that brought together some Japanese-American internees and European Holocaust survivors. When I talked to Roy before the event he told me that his family had been forced to leave California, and were sent to each of the two internment camps in Arkansas: the Rohwer and Jerome War Relocation Centers. This was the first that I had ever heard of any internment camps east of Colorado.

During the later 1950's and the early 1960's, Roy was the manager of the San Jose Zebras baseball team.

(Photo by Andy Frazer)

Although I had been practicing my white-seamless-open-shade photography setup for over twelve months prior to our meeting, I was a bit nervous when I arrived to photograph Roy at the Issei Memorial Building in San Jose. But Roy was his usual friendly self and he was very patient while I set up my backdrop and prepared to shoot.

Today, Roy works with the Japanese-American Museum of San Jose where he shares his internment experiences with school children.

(Photo by Andy Frazer)

News: Interview with CaliberSF

CaliberSF is a photography blog published by seven very good street photographers. A few weeks ago, one of their members, Julie Michelle, interviewed me about the portrait project that I'm doing with the Japanese-American internees. They just published the interview this morning:




Hopefully, this might bring more attention to the Kioku website, and a more attention to the legacy of internment.

Portrait: Jimi Yamaichi

Jimi Yamaichi was the fourth person I photographed for this project. Jimi's family was originally incarcerated at the Pomona Assembly Center, and then at the Heart Mountain (Wyoming) internment camp. When the family was moved to the Tule Lake internment camp in Northern California, Jimi took a job supervising construction of the barracks at Tule Lake. At one point he had 250 men working under his supervision.

(Photo by Andy Frazer)

Jimi still has a razor-sharp memory of the time during and after internment. He is also considered to be an authority on the design and construction of the facilities at Tule Lake, and he lead the construction of the new home of the Japanese-American Museum of San Jose. He is currently the Curator of the JAMsj.

Jimi was the first person who worked with me on an extensive audio interview:

• Discussing the importance of the Japanese-American Museum in San Jose: Listen
• The difficulties of resettlement : Listen
• Discussing how Isseis never complained: Listen
• Amusing story about Isseis helping each other out: Listen
• Isseis would not talk about how hard it was: Listen
• Eiichi Sakauye and farming at Heart Mountain Internment Camp: Listen
• Eiichi Sakauye and the Japanese-American legacy: Listen
• Discussing how we are all Americans: Listen 
• Parallels between Japanese-American interment and the current challenges for American-Muslims: Listen 

You can also read the Transcript of the above interviews. 

(Photo by Andy Frazer)

For more information about Jimi Yamaichi, please also read A Salute to a JAMsj Visionary: The Unrelenting Passion of Jimi Yamaichi

Discussion: Photographic Style Part Two

One issues that often comes up when discussing portrait photography is whether or not the photographer should ask the subjects to smile. There are big snapshot-style smiles, big professional model-style smiles, small ("Mona Lisa") smiles, and no smiles.

Photo by Richard Avedon (left), Lynn Blodgett (right)

If a portrait photographer aspires to create an artistic interpretation of the subject, you will rarely see big smiles. Some photographers, such as Lynn Blodgett, prefer to work with small ("Mona Lisa") smiles. Other portrait photographers, such as Richard Avedon, prefered no smile at all. Some people argue that a no smile is more artistic and more true to the character than even a small smile. I guess that's a personal opinion. I would not question the artistic merit of Avedon's portraits, but I don't feel that it is the correct choice for the Koiku Project. When I photograph the people of Japanese descent, I'm not trying to capture the "rough and ready" or "down-and-out" character Avedon wanted in his "In the American West" series.

I believe that my photograph of Roy Matsuzaki is the perfect example of the balance between smiling and "artistic seriousness" that I was striving for in this project.