Posted on: Monday, June 14, 2004

Hawai'i internee to detail camp life

Advertiser Staff

A Hawai'i woman interned on the Mainland as a child during World War II will share her experiences in a free presentation at 10 a..m. June 19 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i Historical Gallery Theater.

The presentation is part of a summer series related to the exhibit, "Dark Clouds Over Paradise: The Hawai'i Internees Story," in the JCCH Community Gallery.

Patricia Kirita Nomura was 9 when federal authorities pulled her from school in Kohala and shipped her with her family to a camp in Jerome, Ark., later relocating them to Gila River, Ariz. During her presentation, "My Interned Youth at Arkansas and Arizona," Nomura also will share a slide show depicting her and other internees' experiences.

Other events at the center:

• "Internment Camp Songs and Stories," 10 a.m. June 26, featuring The Taisho Boys — Harry Urata, Shozo Takahashi and Chojiro Kageura.
• "Challenges to Civil Rights in Threatening Times," 9 a.m. July 3, featuring a panel discussion on the Hawai'i and Mainland internment experience.
• "Ganbare!" 12:30 p.m. July 17, featuring Patsy Sumie Saiki presenting the little-known stories of other Japanese American internees and Japanese prisoners of war. Saiki will sell and sign copies of her newly reprinted book on internment, "Ganbare! An Example of Japanese Spirit."
• " From Sand Island to Santa Fe," 6 p.m. July 22, featuring a presentation by English professor Gail Y. Okawa from Youngstown State University in Ohio, concerning the experiences of her grandfather and others from Hawai'i who were imprisoned on the Mainland.

Information: 945-7633.