Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

A tree house in Tokyo: Reflections on Nikkei, citizenship, belonging, architecture, and art on the 75th anniversary of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian internment

A tree house in Tokyo: Reflections on Nikkei, citizenship, belonging, architecture, and art on... This think piece discusses the continuing influence of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian internment, which commenced 75 years ago in 1942 and also affected Nikkei from 13 Latin American countries. Contextualizing the Canadian case, the essay explores the lives of Raymond Moriyama, a Nikkei architect interned despite his Canadian birth and citizenship, and William Allister, a White Canadian Prisoner of War (POW) of Japan, and their mutual attempts to overcome bitterness through their architecture and art. The article explores the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo designed by Moriyama as a tree house, reflecting Moriyama’s belief that a tree house is a special place where the human spirit can dwell and soar. The Canadian Embassy in Japan as a tree house proclaims possibilities of addressing historic wrongs and embracing diversity. North American Nikkei attempts to prevent further injustices against others are related to the contemporary context in which some North American voices advocate a registry of Arab Americans. The essay asserts that the official Redress acknowledgements by the United States and Canada in 1988 that the internment of people of Japanese descent was wrong stand as a precedent against such targeting of specific groups. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Contemporary Japan Taylor & Francis

A tree house in Tokyo: Reflections on Nikkei, citizenship, belonging, architecture, and art on the 75th anniversary of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian internment

Creighton, Millie
Contemporary Japan , Volume 29 (2): 15 – Jul 3, 2017
Download PDF

A tree house in Tokyo: Reflections on Nikkei, citizenship, belonging, architecture, and art on the 75th anniversary of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian internment

Abstract

This think piece discusses the continuing influence of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian internment, which commenced 75 years ago in 1942 and also affected Nikkei from 13 Latin American countries. Contextualizing the Canadian case, the essay explores the lives of Raymond Moriyama, a Nikkei architect interned despite his Canadian birth and citizenship, and William Allister, a White Canadian Prisoner of War (POW) of Japan, and their mutual attempts to overcome bitterness through...
Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/a-tree-house-in-tokyo-reflections-on-nikkei-citizenship-belonging-JNMuD2lXnX
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2017 German Institute for Japanese Studies
ISSN
1869-2737
eISSN
1869-2729
DOI
10.1080/18692729.2017.1354752
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This think piece discusses the continuing influence of Japanese American and Japanese Canadian internment, which commenced 75 years ago in 1942 and also affected Nikkei from 13 Latin American countries. Contextualizing the Canadian case, the essay explores the lives of Raymond Moriyama, a Nikkei architect interned despite his Canadian birth and citizenship, and William Allister, a White Canadian Prisoner of War (POW) of Japan, and their mutual attempts to overcome bitterness through their architecture and art. The article explores the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo designed by Moriyama as a tree house, reflecting Moriyama’s belief that a tree house is a special place where the human spirit can dwell and soar. The Canadian Embassy in Japan as a tree house proclaims possibilities of addressing historic wrongs and embracing diversity. North American Nikkei attempts to prevent further injustices against others are related to the contemporary context in which some North American voices advocate a registry of Arab Americans. The essay asserts that the official Redress acknowledgements by the United States and Canada in 1988 that the internment of people of Japanese descent was wrong stand as a precedent against such targeting of specific groups.

Journal

Contemporary Japan – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jul 3, 2017

Keywords: Nikkei; internment; immigration; dwelling; architecture; citizenship

References

  • Trump camp’s talk of registry and Japanese [sic] internment raises muslims’ fears
  • Emergent Japanese discourses on minorities, race, culture and identity
  • Reframing Nikkei histories: Complicating existing narratives
  • Japan accepted 28 refugees in 2016
  • Japan accepts 27 refugees last year: Rejects 99% of applicants
  • Connecting the lessons of history: First community panel discussion
  • The new Issei
  • 75th Anniversary of Japanese-Canadian internment camps echoes as fears of islamophobia rise