Not a

The only Japanese family in Ocean Park Impact of Pearl Harbor on her family Initial impact on life at camp Mixed blood people at camp from a child's point of view Embarrassed to talk about camp The birth of a novel through a conversation with her nephew Documenting family history for future generations Getting the book published Her father as a typical Issei East First Street the hub of Japanese American community California housing shortage after the war Farewell to Manzanar not a bestseller, but is steady Being involved in every aspect of the film Controversy over the film Trick in developing the film Unexpected positive reviews and an Emmy nomination Not a "camp story" but a human story Racism doesn't end

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Oh you don’t say “the camp story” because it’s (Farewell to Manzanar) not the camp story. This is a human story. I mean do people say, “Oh the Civil War story’s been done”? Or “The Holocaust has been done”? You know, I mean because there are so many different aspects of that. And of course the internment is the landmark experience, I guess, for the…what is it? The watershed experience for Japanese Americans. But you know there are so many shades of it, of how it has affected people. And the stories themselves.

Date: December 27, 2005
Location: California, US
Interviewer: John Esaki
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

camps farewell to manzanar incarceration internment World War II