2024 JEROME/ROHWER PILGRIMAGE

June 5-8

PROGRAM

PHOTOS

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

From Jerome/Rohwer to Tulsa: Why Japanese Americans Are Supporting Black Reparations

Japanese Americans are supporting Black Reparations. In 1981, the powerful testimonies from the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings helped to educate, unify and mobilize our community around the role of the government and our right to reparations. Today many Japanese Americans are working with organizations in the Black community in support of Black Reparations. This workshop will talk about the history of solidarity between our communities from the Issei generation to the Civil Rights and redress movements. Workshop speakers will highlight personal stories and examples of shared experiences of oppression, resistance and collaboration and describe how our communities fought together against injustices to win Japanese American redress and reparations in 1988. Attendees will hear about the current work to win Black reparations by organizations across the country. We will spotlight the current fight for reparative justice for the burning down of Black Wall Street in Tulsa 100 years ago. There will be discussion on a Japanese American Pilgrimage to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2025 to demonstrate solidarity and support. In this interactive workshop, participants are encouraged to join in with questions, perspectives, experiences so we can all learn together and find ways to build support and work in solidarity for Black reparations.

Keynote Speakers Akemi Kochiyama & Kai Naima Williams

Thursday, June 6, 2024

WWII Japanese American Internment Museum 11th Anniversary Program

Program:

Central Arkansas Taiko

Welcome by Mayor Jeff Owyoung & Mike Smith

Invocation - Jason Martin

National Anthem - Erin Aoyama

Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage Committee - Kimiko Marr

Keynote speaker - Ross Harano

Central Arkansas Taiko

Bon Odori

The planners of the pilgrimage thought it would be fitting to have on this special day of remembrance a mini Obon festival.  Typically celebrated in July or August, Obon (お盆) is a centuries-old festival tradition rooted in a fusion of traditional Japanese beliefs and Japanese Buddhist practices of honoring ancestral spirits.  Bon Odori (盆踊り) is the dancing practice that has become closely associated with the Obon festival, acting as a central feature of the celebration.  Chochin (提灯), paper lanterns, are hung to guide the spirits while the Bon Odori are performed. 

Obon and Bon Odori have been important parts of the Japanese American experience since the early 1930s when the first Obon festivals were held in San Francisco and Los Angeles, providing Japanese Americans with a time to remember and celebrate the spirits of ancestors.  Songs such as Tanko Bushi (炭坑節) and Tokyo Ondo (東京音頭), both danced today, are among a large canon of songs typically heard at Obon festivals throughout the country.  Tanko Bushi is sometimes known as the coal miner’s dance, and Tokyo Ondo is often the final song danced. 

Bon Odori is a tradition that welcomes everyone to join in and dance regardless of dancing experience.  Bon Odori has become closely associated with live taiko drumming in the USA.  We invite you to join in our mini Obon today to honor the spirits of our ancestors incarcerated at Jerome and Rohwer.

We’d like to thank dancer and Rohwer descendant Marsha Endo Johnson, Jerome descendant Mary Ishimoto Morris, and Julie Abo who together organized today’s Bon Odori.

Taiko is the ancient art of Japanese drumming. Solo taiko playing is an ancient art form believed to be over 2000 years old. Over the centuries solo taiko have been used in religious, military, festival, Kabuki (theater,) and court roles. In 1951 Daihachi Oguchi developed group taiko, known as Kumi-daiko, and started the first taiko group, Osuwa Daiko.

American Kumi-daiko began in California, with Seiichi Tanaka's San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1967 and in Los Angeles with Kinnara Taiko in 1969. Both groups are still going strong, and have inspired thousands of other Americans to join taiko groups all across the US. The LA based group Taikoproject won the Tokyo International Taiko Contest in 2005, the first non-Japanese group to ever win that title. In 2013 Japanese Taiko Maker Asano founded Asano Taiko US and the Los Angeles Taiko Institute, thereby opening the first retail Taiko store in the United States by a major taiko manufacturer.

We’d like to welcome Central Arkansas Taiko of Little Rock, AR, to our Bon Odori today.  Special thanks to guest drummer and Rohwer descendant Aeko Yoshikawa for organizing the live taiko drumming.

Central Arkansas Taiko members: Emilee Baker, Tim Bartlett, Emily Housden, Helen McMillin, Ricky Rivera, Lane Tupa, Shannon Webb, and Mindy Xie.

Formed in 2022 by Helen McMillin and Shannon Webb, Central Arkansas Taiko is the only taiko group in the state. We seek to bring the joy of taiko to everyone who wishes to hear or play. We try to practice gratitude, and find connection through taiko. We meet weekly at First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock, our website is www.taikoark.com.

We will be playing Matsuri Daiko, or festival drumming. Matsuri is a very traditional piece consisting of five phrases and intended to accompany festival dancing. As such there is a lot of improvisation involved. This piece involves playing primarily naname, or slant drum.

We will also be playing Dokokara by Yuta Kato. Written in 2007, Dokokara was commissioned, performed, and generously shared by Zenshin Daiko. Played on the upright, or beta style, drum, Dokokara involves passing the melody around the ensemble, and features the ka sound, or the sound made when the bachi (drumstick) hits the rim of the drum.

Shitamachi no Furu, or Downtown Swing, written by CAT founder Helen McMillin, is a piece paying tribute to the history and spirit of the church that generously gives us our rehearsal space. When other churches and businesses were leaving downtown, First UMC stayed in their community, to serve and nurture their neighbors.

Friday, June 7, 2024

“It’s Rice Land”

Written and Performed by Connie Shirakawa

Directed and adapted for the stage by Sharon Evans

Post-performance discussion with moderator Ross Harano

America took everything from them. Their freedom, their property and their peace of mind. Connie Shirakawa reflects on her family's wartime history in America. Her parents’ romance while interned, their survival, and how the entire Shirakawa clan coped with the aftermath.

With the support of the Meyer and Norma Ragir Foundation

The Historical Record and Evolving Legacy of Jerome / Rohwer Photography

A presentation and panel discussion of the photographic record of Jerome and Rohwer during World War II to the present day. Through a showcase of images taken by incarcerees of life in the camps to photographs captured today of survivors and descendants, the panelists will explore the history and evolving legacy of the imagery of the camp experience. Jeffrey Yamaguchi will present the photography of his Grandfather, Fred Yamaguchi, who ran the Rohwer Photo Studio. Aeko Yoshikawa will share stories and photos of her parents Richard & Helen Yoshikawa, to convey who they were and what they valued. Gail Erwin, archivist at the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, will speak about the museum’s Yoshikawa Collection and showcase photos from the Rohwer albums.

Preserving the Stockton Assembly Center - Memory & Structure

This talk will discuss the history of the Stockton/San Joaquin Japanese community prior to incarceration, documenting the critical role of the Stocktonian Japanese community in the history of Stockton, California agriculture, and Japanese-American history. From there, the talk will introduce the Stockton Assembly Center, its story as a center for incarceration, and efforts past and present to preserve the site for future generations. We will end with a call for action to join in current efforts to renovate and revitalize the Stockton Assembly Center hospital building.

A Tribute to Miss Rosalie

In the lore of Jerome and Rohwer, no non-Japanese name is more storied and notable than Rosalie Santine Gould. Miss Rosalie’s contributions to our community are immeasurable except in their infinite resonance encompassing all of our elders, past and present, and all of their descendants into the future.

The Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage is honored to host a Tribute to Rosalie Santine Gould, long-time friend and champion of the survivors and descendants of the Jerome and Rohwer incarceration camps.

Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit

Join photographer Paul Kitagaki, Jr. for an inspiring presentation on "Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit." Kitagaki explores the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans through contemporary photographs and personal stories, highlighting the resilience of the Issei and Nisei generations. Through His book, Behind Barbed Wire, Searching for Japanese Americans Incarcerated During WWII, and the exhibition “Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit,” Kitagaki ensures these vital stories are remembered and honored.

Camp Survivor Panel

Join us for a compelling and poignant panel discussion featuring survivors of the Japanese American incarceration camps, as they share their experiences, reflections, and insights into one of the darkest chapters of American history.

The panel discussion will not only serve as a platform for preserving and sharing these important stories but also as a reminder of the importance of vigilance against prejudice, discrimination, and the infringement of civil rights. Audience members will have the opportunity to engage with the panelists, ask questions, and gain a deeper understanding of this often-overlooked chapter of American history.

Saturday, June 8, 2024

The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration: Resistance at Jerome

Writer and historian Frank Abe will reveal stories of resistance to registration at Jerome, as depicted in the graphic novel, We Hereby Refuse, and writing from Rohwer that is presented in his new anthology of The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration from Penguin Classics. He will be joined in conversation with Jerome Rohwer Pilgrimage planning committee member Jeffrey Yamaguchi.

CONTRIBUTORS

Central Arkansas Taiko

Formed in 2022 by Helen McMillin and Shannon Webb, Central Arkansas Taiko is the only taiko group in the state. We seek to bring the joy of taiko to everyone who wishes to hear or play. We try to practice gratitude, and find connection through taiko. We meet weekly at First United Methodist Church in downtown Little Rock, our website is www.taikoark.com.

We will be playing Matsuri Daiko, or festival drumming. Matsuri is a very traditional piece consisting of five phrases and intended to accompany festival dancing. Ås such there is a lot of improvisation involved. This piece involves playing primarily naname, or slant drum.

We will also be playing Dokokara by Yuta Kato. Written in 2007, Dokokara was commissioned, performed, and generously shared by Zenshin Daiko. Played on the upright, or beta style, drum, Dokokara involves passing the melody around the ensemble, and features the ka sound, or the sound made when the bachi (drumstick) hits the rim of the drum.

Shitamachi no Furu, or Downtown Swing, written by CAT founder Helen McMillin, is a piece paying tribute to the history and spirit of the church that generously gives us our rehearsal space. When other churches and businesses were leaving downtown, First UMC stayed in their community, to serve and nurture their neighbors.

Central Arkansas Taiko members: Emilee Baker, Tim Bartlett, Emily Housden, Helen McMillin, Ricky Rivera, Lane Tupa, Shannon Webb, and Mindy Xie.

Taiko is the ancient art of Japanese drumming. Solo taiko playing is an ancient art form believed to be over 2000 years old. Over the centuries solo taiko have been used in religious, military, festival, Kabuki (theater,) and court roles. In 1951 Daihachi Oguchi developed group taiko, known as Kumi-daiko, and started the first taiko group, Osuwa Daiko.

American Kumi-daiko began in California, with Seiichi Tanaka's San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1967 and in Los Angeles with Kinnara Taiko in 1969. Both groups are still going strong, and have inspired thousands of other Americans to join taiko groups all across the US. The LA based group Taikoproject won the Tokyo International Taiko Contest in 2005, the first non-Japanese group to ever win that title. In 2013 Japanese Taiko Maker Asano founded Asano Taiko US and the Los Angeles Taiko Institute, thereby opening the first retail Taiko store in the United States by a major taiko manufacturer.

Thank you to everyone who donated to make the 2024 Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage possible!

Julie Abo

Stan Adachi

Erin Aoyama

Brittany Arita

Mitchell Baker

Boeing

Scott Bollinger

Carolyn Boomer

Leann Breza

Lynette Butsuda

Hanna Castaneda

Wah-Ming Chang

Elaine Chiu

Jill Cornell

Kumiko Cross

Lesley Desmond

Rinko Enosaki

Caroline Farley

Leslie Gomez

Tina Hagio

Allen Harano

Valerie Hashimoto

Denise Hayashi

Kelly Higashi

Alan Hirasuna

Diane Honda

Cheryl Inouye

Rita Inoway

Vickie Ishimaru

Elden Ito

Marsha Endo Johnson

Pollyanne Etsuko Johnston

Gail Kaminishi

Julie Kanazawa

Sydney Kanazawa

Sylvie Kim

Matthew Kolak

Thomas Kuwata

Kathy Lee

Janet Love

Eileen Magruder

Richard Magruder

Nancy Mah

Robert Malae

Joanne Matsui

Cal Matsumoto

Judy Matsuoka

Idie Nakano McGinty

Diane Metz

Mary Morris

Mike Morris

Patricia Nakai

Barbara Nakano

Tadashi Donald Nakase

Nadine Nakata

Karen Nishi

Denyse Nishio

Garrett Nishio

Sandora Nishio

Keith Omura

William Torres

David Toshiyuki

Regina Tricamo

Marielle Tsukamoto

Karen M Wing

Gerald Yamada

Jeffrey Yamaguchi

Scott Yamaguchi

Thomas Yamaguchi

Mitsuo Yamamoto

Hachiro Yasumura

Krista Yee

Aeko Yoshikawa

Joy Yuki

George Zaima

Miya Osaki

Evelyn Otsuka-Davis

LJ Ponder

Jerry Powell

Bryan Sanbongi

Barney Sasaki

Mark Ken Sasaki

Joy Sekimura

Y. Ron Shintani

Susan Nishi Stevens

Kelly Takasu

Paul Takemoto

Linda Taniguchi

Wilfred Tanijo

Dean Terasaki