The UC Berkeley Bancroft Library Oral History Center has unveiled its work on “Japanese American Intergenerational Narratives.”

A graphic portrayal of a multi-generational Japanese American family with terms (in English and Japanese) for each of five generations: Issei, Nisei, Sansei, Yonsei, Gosei. Bottom pane: A Hokusai-like giant wave rises behind a guard tower and barbed wire, with the message: "Your generation is just one part of the wave, and you do your best to build what you can for the next generation in your family."
“Wave.” Ehlen, Emily, digital art, 2023, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

The collection includes:

  • Oral history interviews (conducted in 2022) with more than 16 descendants of Manzanar and Topaz concentration camp families;
  • Interpretive graphic narrative illustrations by artist Emily Ehlen;
  • And a four-part Berkeley Remix podcast, “From Generation to Generation: The Legacy of Japanese American Incarceration” featuring clips from the interviews.

  • Episode 1: “It’s Happening Now: Japanese American Activism”
    Podcast
    Transcript
  • Episode 2: “A Place Like This: The Memory of Incarceration”
    Podcast
    Transcript
  • Episode 3: “Between Worlds: Japanese American Identity and Belonging”
    Podcast
    Transcript
  • Episode 4: “Origami as Metaphor: Creative Expression, Memorializing, and Healing”
    Podcast
    Transcript

For an overview of the project and links to all interviews, click here.