Japanese Vignette Essay

Word Count: 555


Standing in front of the American Japanese Internment Memorial, I felt myself taking a sharp breath. The memorial was much larger and detailed then I thought it would be. Pictures, not words, took over the majority of the memorial. Vignettes showing the capturing and transportation of Japanese Americans and the life they lived in the internment camps, all still echoed that sad past. I was surprised at how emotional I felt. My education thus far had only briefed through this subject, and so images on the memorial were still teaching me things I didn’t know. As I gazed at the memorial, three vignettes in particular compelled me.

The first vignette shows a man being led away from his crops by the FBI. Behind him, other farmers are still working hard at the crops, keeping their head bowed, as if trying to avoid the scene. Though the farmer seems poor, he still looks as though he would rather be working at the fields, then be taken away by the men. I was drawn to this scene because it reminded me of my parents’ past during the Vietnam War. They too were innocent people going about their lives, only to have it taken away without any logical reasoning provided. While one of FBI men look almost gleeful to be showing his police badge, the other looks on stone-faced. I don’t know whether, like the farmer, he is confused about what is happening, or if he’s just numb to the whole scenario. I think this scene is a representation of the Executive Order 9066 passed by then President Roosevelt, which allowed military commanders to designate “exclusion zones.” These zones subsequently led to excluding thousands of Japanese Americans from areas such as California, Washington and Oregon.

In the second vignette, a family is seen burning their belongings. A little girl is seen clinging to a man’s back, trying to stop him from burning her toy. Heirlooms such as swords and masks are regrettably being laid upon the fire. Next to them is a sign that reads “Evacuation Sale,” as if the loss they had witnessed was not enough. Now they must sell whatever is left of their belongings as quickly as they can before they enter the internment camps. The scene shows how Japanese families had burned their personal belongings in order to look as if they had no personal alliances with Japan. To the military, anything to do with Japan was considered incriminating evidence.

Finally, the third vignette struck me with scenes of children playing sports and boy scouts raising the American flag. Playing soccer and baseball seemed to save the children from having to always focus on what was happening around them. Despite the deprived settings, the Japanese American tried to create what normality they could. Schools were set up for children and churches were set up for families. A looming watch guard stands on the water tower, making sure nobody escapes the camp.

With this great tragedy in the past, it would be easy for people to believe it will never happen again. However, many people do not even understand the extent of how much suffering occurred. The memorial stands not only to honor the deceased, but also to continue the conversation on how misguided our government was and how we can never risk that again.