2014 / Documentary film about existence of traditional Japanese performance arts in War time camps, Nov. 6 at Riverside Community College
Lily Uematsu and students at Rohwer camp (Photo courtesy of June Aochi Berk)
Documentary film “Hidden Legacy” will be screened on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6:00 pm and 7:45 pm at Riverside Community College, Center for Social Justice and Civil Liberties, 3855 Market Street, Riverside, CA 92506.
Screening is free, but there are only 18 seats available per screening. To reserve a seat, call (951) 222-8846 or email socialjustice@rccd.edu
The screening is a part of “Art Walk Film Series.” Film’s creative director Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto will be in person to answer questions and maybe play some koto.
http://socialjustice.rccd.edu/Pages/about.aspx
Very little is known of the existence of traditional Japanese performance arts in the Japanese American concentration camps during World War II. The artists Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto has interviewed are all Americans, all born here, but practiced Japanese arts before the war, during, and after the war, because they loved the art.
Artists from the Southern California area include Bando Mitsusa, Yukino Okubo Harada, Kayoko Wakita, June Aochi Berk, and Yutaka Ohigashi.
“Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the World War II Internment Camps” is the full title of this documentary, using historical footage and interviews from artists who were interned to tell the story of how traditional Japanese cultural arts were maintained at a time when the War Relocation Authority (WRA) emphasized the importance of assimilation and Americanization. www.jcalegacy.com
