The Future of the Past: Digitized Archival Sources on Nikkei Chicago
By ELLEN WU Like just about everything else these days, history has gone high tech. Which is great news for those looking to know more about Chicago’s Japanese Americans, particularly … Continue reading
The Forgotten Story of Japanese American Zoot Suiters
By ELLEN D. WU Sus Kaminaka was a zoot suiter: one of the many young people in 1940s America who embraced a distinctive, working-class urban aesthetic characterized by flamboyant fashions … Continue reading
“Gaman in Nisei”
A documentary featuring interviews with Nisei attendees of the Japanese American Service Committee’s “Out of the House Program” at the Christ Church of Chicago, this short piece explores issues related … Continue reading
Nisei Recollections of a Pre-Resettlement Chicago
Follow the story of “Rocky” Yamanaka, one of the few remaining Nisei who remembers life in Chicago before Japanese American resettlement, from his family’s difficulties in the Great Depression, his … Continue reading
