San Francisco Japantown Task Force

DATA SHEET

Place/Event: Annual Day of Remembrance - Japanese Internment

Address: 1881 Post St., San Francisco (AMC Kabuki Theatre)

Description:

Each year, approximately 400-600 people from around the country come to San Francisco’s Japantown to commemorate the legacy of Japanese American Internment and the Redress Movement. The Day of Remembrance lasts about four hours and typically begins with a keynote speech by a local community leader (D.O.R. 2004 featured Rev. Michael Yoshii) at the AMC Kabuki Theatre. The event also features documentary/film screenings revolving around the internment experience, speeches from former detainees, poetry, dance, and musical performances. The event concludes with a candlelighting ceremony at the Japanese Community Cultural Center of Northern California, with each candlestick honoring the internees of each camp.

History:

For more than two decades in the Bay Area, the annual Day of Remembrance has been a vital community-building event commemorating President Roosevelt's authorization of Executive Order 9066. Started in 1979, the event has quickly grown to become one of Japantown’s biggest annual attractions, and is now aided and sponsored by more than a dozen local organizations, including the Japanese American Historical Society Inc, National Coalition for Redress/Reparations, Asian Improv Arts, Campaign for Justice, Japanese Oral History Project, Tule Lake Pilgrimage Committee, and the Japanese Community Center of Northern California. One of the oldest commemorative events on internment, the annual Day of Remembrance continues to rejuvenate the survivors of internment, and creates a vital link between them and the local community.

Significance:

Cultural, Educational, Social, Historical

Recognition of Significance:

Locally televised event; recognized by California state legislation and San Francisco Board of Education

Sources:

Rosalyn Tonai, Executive Director of NJAHS (National Japanese American Historical Society)

Other Comments:

The D.O.R. also seeks to go beyond internment and educate/inform people about other assaults on civil liberties, esp. after the post 9/11 internment of Arab-Americans and the Patriot Acts.

Prepared By: Young Kim Date Prepared: 6/16/04