On April 11\, 1943\, James Hatsuaki Wakasa was walking his dog in the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah when he wa s shot and killed by a guard. "Inmates at Topaz demanded a public funeral at the site of Wakasa&rsquo\;s death\, but government officials denied the request and the funeral was held a half mile away. Over 2\,000 people att ended Wakasa&rsquo\;s funeral\, which featured large wreaths of paper flow ers made by the women of Topaz. The government also prohibited any monumen t to Wakasa. Defying this order\, a large stone monument to Wakasa was bui lt by Issei (first generation Japanese Americans) near the spot where he d ied. The monument is estimated at about five feet tall and 2\,000 pounds. When Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy heard of the monument and s aw photos\, he demanded that all evidence be removed. The Issei buried the monument in 1943 but left a small part of it showing. It lay undisturbed for 77 years until it was rediscovered in 2020." (source: The Wakasa Memorial Committee). \;
\nJoin us to learn more about this historic tragedy and community respons e\, the monument's recovery\, its current whereabouts\, and recent develop ments. \;
\nAbout Nancy U kai: Nancy Ukai is a Berkeley native and the grandchild of immigrants who operated a cut flower nursery on Sixth Street from the 1910s. She is p roject director of the 50 Objects history website and a founding member of the Wakasa Memorial Committee. Nancy attended Berkeley public schools and attended UC Santa Cruz. She lived in Japan for 14 years\, working as a Fu lbright English Fellow\, a weaving apprentice at a Buddhist temple and as a journalist. In 2008 she received a master&rsquo\;s degree in media anthr opology from the School of Oriental and African Studies\, University of Lo ndon. She is a Tanforan and Topaz descendant.
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