Forwarded for Facebook/Masashi Mizobuchi
Consul General Masahi Mizobuch at Consulate General of Japan in Chicago
https://www.facebook.com/mizobuchi.masashi
Nov. 26 (2025) — After meeting Governor Kelly Armstrong in Bismarck (,North Dakota), I visited Fort Lincoln—now the United Tribes Technical College campus—and felt history beneath my feet. Built in 1903 as a Colonial Revival military post, these red-brick buildings later housed the Civilian Conservation Corps and, during WWII, became an internment camp where Japanese and German Americans were torn from their families. In the Japanese American community, it’s known as “Snow Country Prison,” named after a haiku by Itaru Ina written here.
This history is deeply personal. Two members of my mother’s Ishisaki family—my great uncle Kumezo and his son George—were incarcerated here before joining the rest of the family in Fresno, then Jerome, and Tule Lake. I was fortunate to hear their stories firsthand—from my great aunt Kimie in 1985 at Stanford, and later from my aunt Emiko in San Francisco (2002–2005) while serving as Consul in Los Angeles. Their voices make the past vivid, intimate, and unforgettable.
At the memorial wall, etched with 1,921 names, I found my great uncle and his son. Words failed me. I had come to honor them, but in that moment, I felt how every step of my life—being born in Hiroshima, becoming a diplomat, and returning to the United States six times—had led me here.
Walking the grounds where my relatives endured hardship, I felt sorrow, gratitude for their survival, and awe—a deep responsibility to carry their stories forward. The Snow Country Prison Memorial, dedicated in September 2025, stands as a bridge between past and present, honoring all who suffered and the courage of my family. I leave with hope and resolve, committed to preserving their legacy as my journey continues to Fresno, Jerome, and Tule Lake.