Farewell to Manzanar

Infobox Book |
name = Farewell to Manzanar


image_caption = 1983 edition
author = Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, James D. Houston
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
subject = Japanese American internment history
genre = Non-fiction
publisher = Laurel Leaf
pub_date = 1972
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 203 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-553-27258-6

"Farewell to Manzanar" is a novel published in 1972 by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston.cite book | author = Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki | title = Farewell To Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment | publisher = Laurel Leaf | year = 1973, 1983 | id = ISBN 0-553-27258-6] cite web | title = Discover Nikkei: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston | url = http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/index.php/Jeanne_Wakatsuki_Houston | publisher = DiscoverNikkei.org | date = 2007-01-09 | accessdate = 2008-03-07] It was adapted in the form of a television movie in 1976 starring Yuki Shimoda, Nobu McCarthy, Pat Morita, and Mako.cite web | title = Farewell to Manzanar (1976) (TV) | publisher = National Broadcasting Corporation | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074518 | accessdate = 2008-03-07]

Plot/main characters

Jeanne Wakatsuki, the book's protagonist, is a "Nisei" (the child of a Japanese immigrant). At the age of seven, Wakatsuki, a native-born American citizen, and her family, were imprisoned at Manzanar, an American concentration camp, where 11,070 Americans of Japanese ancestry and their immigrant parents, who were prevented from becoming American citizens by law, were unjustly confined during World War II.cite web | title = Manzanar National Historic Site - Japanese Americans at Manzanar (U.S. National Park Service) | publisher = National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior | url = http://www.nps.gov/manz/historyculture/japanese-americans-at-manzanar.htm | accessdate = 2008-07-03] The book describes the Wakatsuki's family's experiences during their imprisonment, as well as events concerning her family both before and after World War II.

Ko Wakatsuki, Jeanne's father, emigrated to Honolulu, Hawaii and then eventually to Idaho from Japan and left behind many relatives. He can be stubborn and proud.

Woody is Jeanne's brother. He wants to prove to his father and family that he has honor by joining the U.S. Army. After joining and fighting in the Pacific Theater, Woody visits Papa's Aunt Toyo, who gave Papa the money for the voyage to Hawaii.

Shikata ga nai is a phrase used often within the book, and is a phrase meaning that a person has to endure what cannot be changed. This non-fiction book has become a staple of curriculum in schools and universities across the United States. In fact, in an effort to educate Californians about the experiences of Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in American concentration camps during World War II, the book and the movie were distributed in 2002 as a part of a kit to approximately 8,500 public elementary and secondary schools and 1,500 public libraries in California. The kit also included study guides tailored to the book, and a video teaching guide.cite press release | title = Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante Announces Distribution of 10,000 "Farewell to Manzanar" Educational Kits to Public Schools and Libraries | url = http://digitalarchive.oclc.org/da/ViewObjectMain.jsp;jsessionid=84ae0c5f82402c3a522bf66b4c42a589ac58b4613d15?fileid=0000045760:000002182803&reqid=26305 | author = Pacyna, Deborah | publisher = Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State of Califonia | date = 2002-02-19 | accessdate = 2008-03-07]

The novel also describes the racism the Wakatsuki family was forced to endure after their release from Manzanar.

References

Additional reading

(from the MLA database, March 2008)

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External links

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* [http://www.thebestnotes.com/booknotes/Farewell_To_Manzanar/Farewell_To_Manzanar01.html Book Summary for "Farewell to Manzanar"]
* [http://www.manzanarcommittee.org Manzanar Committee]
* [http://blog.manzanarcommittee.org Manzanar Committee - Official blog]
* [http://www.nps.gov/manz Manzanar National Historic Site]