The Japanese Interment Camp:

Breaking the Silence

Long before World War II, beginning with the immigration of Japanese to America, there was strong anti-Japanese sentiment among Americans and many acts of blatant discrimination as their ability to compete in the marketplace grew.  The American people felt there were too many Japanese immigrating from Japan.  In response, Americans started many anti-Japanese societies. The anti-Japanese feelings continued to escalate with the war and the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  In 1942, during WWII, 120,000 Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were placed in “war relocation facilities. “  They lived in the Interment Camps for more than four years.  After their release from the internment camps, most Japanese-Americans lived in silence due to their shame of their identity, deemed inferior and felt degraded.  These times created a negative value to anything Japanese or related to Japan. Their silence has continued to affect their families for generations. [1]  I have discovered this silence is traditionally cultural, the Japanese respect authority, do not complain and are very indirect soft-spoken people.  If you ask any Japanese-American internee about their experience in the camps they will reply, “shikata nai” which literally translates to “it cannot be helped.”  Despite being treated without due process, prohibited from following cultural norms and social conventions, they led to a life of little choice but to endure the suffering.