Childhood Incarcerated 3e

Japanese American National Museum, Gift of Masako Iwawaki Koga (96.14.9)

Transcript

Tule Lake
Nov. 17, 1945

Dear Masako,
You certainly have been a sweet neighbor of ours. May you continue to be sweet wherever you may go, and make your precious personality grow.

4 years of your young life have been spent in a relocation center. May the hardships you’ve encountered here help polish your character.

With best wishes for a bright future.
Sincerely,
Minoru Mochizuki

This object is part of the story , which is about Community & Culture.

Childhood Incarcerated, Community & Culture

Read this note once again. Masako was born in 1934 and received this letter in 1945 as she was leaving Tule Lake. If Masako spent four years incarcerated, as is indicated in this note, she would have been incarcerated in America’s concentration camps from approximately age 7 to 11. Now Imagine yourself at that age.

  • How would you spend your time behind barbed wire?
  • How would you build community?
  • How would you preserve your culture?

Masako attended school, did crafts, and made many friends, as evidenced by the autographs in her book. It is clear that she was a young person who made the best of her situation.