Artifacts of Loss: Crafting Survival in Japanese American Concentration Camps

219 Pages·2008·5.8 MB·English

by  Jane E. Dusselier

Artifacts of Loss

Artifacts of Loss
(cid:1)
Crafting Survival in Japanese American
Concentration Camps
Jane E. Dusselier
rutgers university press
new brunswick, new jersey, and london
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dusselier, Jane E. (Jane Elizabeth)
Artifacts of loss : crafting survival in Japanese American concentration camps /
Jane E. Dusselier.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–0–8135–4407–6 (hbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978–0–8135–4408–3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Japanese Americans—Evacuation and relocation, 1942–1945—Psychological
aspects. 2. Concentration camps—United States—Psychological aspects.
3. Concentration camp inmates as artists—United States. 4. Japanese American
decorative arts. 5. Japanese Americans—Material culture. I. Title.
D769.8.A6D872008
940.531773—dc22 2008007759
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Brit-
ish Library.
Copyright © 2008 by Jane E. Dusselier
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, with-
out written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press,
100 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this
prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law.
Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu
Manufactured in the United States of America
To Barbara Judd, who sparked my interest in this topic, and
Tobie Matava, whose support and love mean everything to me.
And in remembrance of all those imprisoned in Japanese
American concentration camps.

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Visual Accounts of Loss 1
2 Remaking Inside Places 14
3 Re-territorializing Outside Spaces 51
4 Making Connections 88
5 Mental Landscapes of Survival 125
6 Contemporary Legacies of Loss 154
Notes 167
Index 197
vii

Illustrations
1 Living unit at Tanforan 15
2 Cabinet made by a Tule Lake crafter 23
3 Table and chairs made from found materials at Topaz 24
4 Embroidered landscapes served as colorful wall hangings
at Heart Mountain 28
5 Carved clay tablet depicting the Heart Mountain landscape 28
6 Artificial flowers made at Manzanar 31
7 Artificial roses made at Manzanar 31
8 An example of ikebana from Jerome 33
9 Kobu was a popular art form in the Arkansas camps 37
10 A bon-kei and ikebana display at Amache 38
11 Nameplates helped internees distinguish their living unit
from that of their neighbors at Amache 39
12 A nameplate made from woven cotton yarn at Amache 40
13 Wooden spoons made from discarded apple crates at
Heart Mountain 44
14 Making furniture for schools at Heart Mountain 47
15 School furniture made by Manzanar internees 48
16 Intricately carved butsudans created by internees were
used in camp-wide services 49
17 Internees quickly transformed the areas around their
living quarters 54
ix