All Posts

View Other Categories

Interview with James Hirabayashi

I just finished my interview with James Hirabayashi, Professor Emeritus at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Professor Hirabayashi was Dean of the nation’s first school of Ethnic Studies, which started…

Arrival in Denver

We arrived in Denver today for another series of interviews, this time at the Japanese American National Museum’s “Whose America? Who’s American? Diversity, Civil Liberties, and Social Justice” conference. We’re…

NHK visits Densho office

The last couple of days have been spent thinking about and answering questions about my Japanese American identity. A film crew from NHK, the Japanese public television station, is visiting…

Minidoka Symposium and Pilgrimage

I returned this week to Seattle from the annual Minidoka Symposium and Minidoka Pilgrimage. This was the sixth year for the pilgrimage and the 3rd year for the symposium. Although…

Grace Oshita

I just finished my third and final Salt Lake City interview with Grace Oshita. Grace has been telling her life story in schools all around the city for the past…

Guided car tour of Salt Lake City

Last night, Rick Okabe who is our contact person with the Topaz Museum treated us to a fabulous dinner. Joining us at dinner was Steve Koga, another member of the…

First day of interviews

We just finished our first day of interviews here in Salt Lake City. I interviewed Alice Hirai and Ted Nagata, while Tom interviewed Nelson Akagi. Alice was the first interview…

The Trials of a Videographer

One of the challenges facing us when we interview on the road is setting up studios in hotel rooms. Although we often shoot interviews against a black background, whenever possible…

Arrival in Salt Lake City

After a thankfully short and uneventful plane trip, we arrived in Salt Lake City today. The weather is wonderful, mostly sunny and 75 degrees. After checking in to our hotel,…

Salt Lake City narrator Ted Nagata

I just finished my pre-interview with Ted Nagata. He is a founding member of the Topaz Museum and is active in all sorts of projects around the city. Born in…

Back in Seattle

After 3 days of chilly, wet weather in Denver, we returned to sunshine and 70 degrees in Seattle! Our trip to Denver was a big success. We returned with 13…

Dinner at Domo

Wednesday evening we had a fun dinner with Daryl Maeda, Kara Miyagishima, Gil Asakawa and Erin Yoshimura at a great place called Domo Restaurant. They specialize in country-style Japanese food,…

Day 3 in Denver

I just finished my interview with Mary Hamano. Mary doesn’t drive, so Dana and I picked her up this morning. She lives in Tamai Towers, which is located in the…

Sakura Center, Al Miyagishima, Bob Fuchigami

Yesterday was a full day with lots of delightful surprises. In the morning, Gladys Konishi showed me Denver’s Sakura Center while her husband was being interviewed. This is the central…

My first interview

I just finished my first Denver interview – with Bessie Konishi. It lasted a little over an hour and we talked about her family’s farm, the Japanese American community in…

Morning before the interviews

This morning I woke up with a dull headache that reminded me of when I hike at altitude. It’ll probably take me a day or so to acclimate to the…

Travel, Setup, and Ironing

After a fairly non-eventful but long travel day, we finally arrived in Denver. We did encounter some awful turbulence on the flight in. Megan and I weren’t feeling so hot,…

Mary Hamano

Mary was born in San Gabriel, California, and spent the majority of her childhood in Los Angeles. On December 7, 1941, Mary was spending the day in Japantown with her…

Nancy Miyagishima

Nancy Miyagishima is my second interview in Denver. Tom will be interviewing her husband, Alfred, during the same time. Nancy has a fascinating background and family history. Born and raised…

Densho’s equipment packed

Densho’s video equipment is packed and ready to go! We’re taking it all on the plane with us, a combination of carry-on and checked baggage. We now have to deal…

Bessie Konishi

Bessie will be my first interview in Denver. She lives in Alamosa, a rural community located near the Colorado/New Mexico border. Bessie also grew up in Alamosa and is one…

Pre-interview with Alfred Miyagishima

I conducted a preliminary phone interview with Alfred Miyagishima yesterday afternoon. I heard he was hard-of-hearing so I called him from our sound-insulated studio so that I could talk loudly…

Densho Staff Blog

The purpose of this blog is for Densho staff to share what they do on a day-to-day basis. This summer we will be traveling a lot and this blog gives…