Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial is an outdoor exhibit commemorating the internment
of Japanese American
s on Bainbridge Island in the state of Washington. It is located on the south shore of Eagle Harbor, opposite the town of Winslow
.
s and strawberry harvesting, and by the 1940s had become an integral part of the island's community. Because of the island's proximity to naval bases, local Japanese Americans were the first in the whole country to be interned. 227 Japanese Americans were ordered to leave the island with six days' notice. They departed by ferry on March 30, 1942. The island had a total of 276 Japanese American residents at the time; those who were away from the island at the time due to study, military service, or other business were not permitted to return. Most internees were sent to Manzanar
, California, though some were later transferred to Minidoka, Idaho. Local newspapers such as the The Bainbridge Review
(made famous by the novel and film Snow Falling on Cedars
) spoke out against the internment and continued to publish correspondence from internees. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer
photograph of Bainbridge Island resident Fumiko Hayashida and her 13-month old daughter preparing to board the ferry that day became famous as a symbol of the internment. 150 returned to the island after the end of World War II. By 2011, about 90 survivors remained, of whom 20 still lived on the island.
Act. Congress voted to declare the memorial a national monument in May 2008. By March 2009, memorial organizers had raised $2.7 million of funding.
The first part of the memorial to be constructed was an outdoor cedar "story wall" with the names of all 276 Japanese Americans resident on the island at the time. The groundbreaking
ceremony for the wall was held on March 30, 2009, the 67th anniversary of the internment. Fumiko Hayashida (then 98), the oldest surviving internee, spoke at the ceremony. The wall was designed by local architect Johnpaul Jones, an American Indian and the principal of Jones and Jones Architects. Jones also worked on landscape architecture
in the vicinity of the memorial; he aimed for natural landscaping
, planting native species including sword fern
, mahonia
, salal, and shore pine
. Local artist Steve Gardner created frieze
s to be placed on the wall, depicting some of the scenes of residents being herded onto the ferries; he stated that the project "sucked me in in a way I hadn't thought about. This really is a story about American citizens." The memorial was opened to the public on July 30, 2011.
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
of Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
s on Bainbridge Island in the state of Washington. It is located on the south shore of Eagle Harbor, opposite the town of Winslow
Winslow, Washington
Winslow is the name of the downtown area of the city of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and is the original name of the city. It encompasses the area around the main street, Winslow Way, and is made up of approximately overlooking Eagle Harbor....
.
Background
Japanese immigrants first came to Bainbridge Island in the 1880s, working in sawmillSawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s and strawberry harvesting, and by the 1940s had become an integral part of the island's community. Because of the island's proximity to naval bases, local Japanese Americans were the first in the whole country to be interned. 227 Japanese Americans were ordered to leave the island with six days' notice. They departed by ferry on March 30, 1942. The island had a total of 276 Japanese American residents at the time; those who were away from the island at the time due to study, military service, or other business were not permitted to return. Most internees were sent to Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
, California, though some were later transferred to Minidoka, Idaho. Local newspapers such as the The Bainbridge Review
The Review (Bainbridge Island)
The Bainbridge Island Review is a weekly newspaper in Bainbridge Island, Washington. The Review is primarily focused on the town of Winslow and greater Bainbridge Island, which has a fast-growing population of 22,000...
(made famous by the novel and film Snow Falling on Cedars
Snow Falling on Cedars
Snow Falling on Cedars is a 1994 novel written by American writer David Guterson. Guterson, who was a teacher at the time, wrote the book in the early morning hours over a ten-year period...
) spoke out against the internment and continued to publish correspondence from internees. A Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
photograph of Bainbridge Island resident Fumiko Hayashida and her 13-month old daughter preparing to board the ferry that day became famous as a symbol of the internment. 150 returned to the island after the end of World War II. By 2011, about 90 survivors remained, of whom 20 still lived on the island.
The facility
The organizing group behind the facility, the Bainbridge Japanese American Community, planned to build a $9 million dollar facility with a pier and 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) interpretive center, next to Pritchard Park and the former Bainbridge Island ferry terminal. It was approved as part of the 2007 Wild Sky WildernessWild Sky Wilderness
The Wild Sky Wilderness is a wilderness area in the western Cascade Range of Washington state. The wilderness is within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of the U.S. Highway 2 towns of Index and Skykomish. The wilderness flanks, but does not include, the North Fork Skykomish River...
Act. Congress voted to declare the memorial a national monument in May 2008. By March 2009, memorial organizers had raised $2.7 million of funding.
The first part of the memorial to be constructed was an outdoor cedar "story wall" with the names of all 276 Japanese Americans resident on the island at the time. The groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
ceremony for the wall was held on March 30, 2009, the 67th anniversary of the internment. Fumiko Hayashida (then 98), the oldest surviving internee, spoke at the ceremony. The wall was designed by local architect Johnpaul Jones, an American Indian and the principal of Jones and Jones Architects. Jones also worked on landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
in the vicinity of the memorial; he aimed for natural landscaping
Natural landscaping
.Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are indigenous to the geographic area of the garden.-Maintenance:...
, planting native species including sword fern
Polystichum munitum
Polystichum munitum is an evergreen fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns occurring along the Pacific coast from southeast Alaska south to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with...
, mahonia
Mahonia
Mahonia is a genus of about 70 species of evergreen shrubs in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalaya, North America and Central America. They are closely related to the genus Berberis. Botanists disagree on the acceptability of the genus name Mahonia...
, salal, and shore pine
Lodgepole Pine
Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta, also known as Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.-Subspecies:...
. Local artist Steve Gardner created frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s to be placed on the wall, depicting some of the scenes of residents being herded onto the ferries; he stated that the project "sucked me in in a way I hadn't thought about. This really is a story about American citizens." The memorial was opened to the public on July 30, 2011.
External links
- Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community (BIJAC) official website
- Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Introduction, from BIJAC's website