Wooden sign at the entrance to the Manzanar War Relocation Center with a car at the gatehouse in the background in the early 1940’s. [Ansel Adams / Library of Congress]
Pasadena Heritage and Kansha Pasadena are collaborating on a Manzanar Living History Project to take members of the greater Pasadena community on a day-long bus tour to Manzanar, where more than 110,000 men, women, and children – Japanese American citizens and Japanese immigrants ineligible for citizenship – were incarcerated in 1942 after being forced to leave their homes.
Located in Independence, a distance of over 200 road miles from Pasadena, the Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of 10 remote, military-style camps where the U.S. government detained people of Japanese descent as an over-reaction to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
These detention camps – including Manzanar – were closed in 1945 and 1946 after the U.S. Supreme Court declared the government had no right to subject these Japanese Americans to such inhuman treatment.
With this free bus tour to Manzanar, Pasadena Heritage and Kansha Pasadena wants to remind participants about the injustices suffered by Japanese Americans before, during, and after World War II. The program will have Japanese Americans tell their stories of the incarceration, discrimination and hardships they endured from March 1942 to November 1945.
Upon arrival at Manzanar at about 11 a.m., the National Park Service will lead the group on a narrative tour of the concentration camp followed by lunch in the Manzanar Mess Hall.
Space is limited, so seats will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. If all seats are filled when you confirm, you will be placed on a waiting list and notified if space becomes available.
A film crew will be recording the trip with plans to produce a short documentary film.
Those interested are advised to confirm participation no later than April 27. If you are interested, please contact Bryan Takeda by email at affinity2000@earthlink.net or by calling (626) 396-9927.
All participants will be required to show proof of full vaccination, including booster or a negative PCR test within 72 hours. Masks will be required while traveling on the bus. The organizers will be verifying your vaccination status and temperature check prior to boarding.
The trip is estimated to leave Pasadena at 6:30 a.m. and return by 6:30 p.m. Lunch will be in the Manzanar Camp Site Mess Hall.
