RECENT PROJECTS

We've been working with the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community to document a number of important historical and contemporary issues.

Honor and Sacrifice: Nisei Patriots in the MIS

A documentary about the Japanese American men who were incarcerated in concentration camps, enlisted in the U.S. military, and volunteered to become linguists in the Military Intelligence Service in the Pacific Theater of WWII. The film focuses on the experience of Roy Matsumoto and his personal journey-from being born an American, raised in Japan, sent to Jerome, Arkansas concentration camp as a young man, to enlisting in the U.S. Army and becoming a hero in fighting the Japanese Army in Burma as part of the U.S. military unit known as Merrill’s Marauders. Produced for Washington State’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

BIJAC Interviews

We have been honored by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community to document the histories of their more senior members. As was depicted in the historical novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, the Japanese-Americans living on Bainbridge Island were the first to be removed to camps at the start of WWII. This historical accident, and the fact that these people were an integral and valued part of the Island community, makes their histories particularly important to record. Clips from these interviews are available for viewing on the BIJAC web site. Pre-WWII subjects can be found here, and WWII subjects can be found here.