It’s been 83 years since Executive Order 9066 led to the forcible removal of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast to internment camps during World War II—including 36 students who were attending what was then the College of Puget Sound. But despite the passage of time, there are still many ways the campus community remembers and honors those whose educations and lives were interrupted by the mass forced removal and incarceration.
The most fleeting remembrance are the cherry trees on campus. The trees were initially planted in 1940 by the Japanese Students’ Club, and they have been replanted over the years as needed in ceremonies of remembrance and regret. Five Yoshino cherry trees were planted in 2017 outside of Howarth Hall, and a permanent plaque was added in 2018, naming all 36 students.
As well, the university plans events for the Japanese American Day of Remembrance each February. This year, that day included a screening of the film Removed by Force, a documentary on the unlawful evictions of Japanese Americans in Hawai`i during World War II. This film was co-written and co-produced by William Kaneko ’83, Hon.’03, a Hawai`i-based lawyer who has worked to improve the lives of the Japanese community locally and nationally. He and the film’s director, Ryan Kawamoto, hosted a Q&A session after the screening.
And finally, the University Archives & Special Collections section of Collins Memorial Library provides resources on the internment as it affected Japanese Americans generally as well as those at the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú. The resources include a digital teaching collection that all are welcome to access, which provides access to articles from The Trail, Tamanawas, letters, and more. The resource can be accessed at .
