About the Exhibit:
Tanforan Incarceration 1942; Resilience Behind Barbed Wire is a new long-term exhibit inside the San Bruno BART Station organized by the BART Art Program and curated by artist Na Omi Judy Shintani. The exhibit supports a deeper understanding of the impact of the Executive Order 9066 (1942), and the subsequent incarceration during World War II of persons of Japanese descent, specifically those from the Bay Area who were held at the Tanforan Detention Center. The exhibit gives voice to incarceree memories and hidden stories of this time.
Aerial photo of Tanforan "Assembly Center", unknown photographer
The Tanforan shopping center and adjacent BART station were once the site of the Tanforan racetrack. In 1942, the track and stalls were converted into a temporary detention center where nearly 8,000 people were imprisoned between April 28 and October 12, prior to their transfer to long-term concentration camps located throughout the western United States and Arkansas. Tanforan was the second largest temporary camp, holding nearly 8,000 men and women - newborns to elders; 64% were American citizens. Most inmates came from Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco counties. The War Relocation Authority called the incarceration “protection,” however the barbed wire fences and guns on the guard towers pointed inwards. Though the hastily whitewashed horse stables covered the horsehair and bugs on the walls, the indignity, stench, and filthiness could not be hidden. Yet, even while surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, a bright spirit of resilience flourished among the prisoners. The role of artists and artmaking at the detention center is highlighted in the exhibit, as well as how art and artists have been instrumental in creating ongoing dialogue of the history and impact of the incarcerations. The exhibit places the incarceration in the context of pre-WWII experiences of persons of Japanese descent in the U.S., and a brief examination of the subsequent efforts of remembrance and awareness, legal challenges, and support of others whose rights are being similarly violated. A special feature of the exhibit is a selection of works from Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Paul Kitagaki’s project Gambatte! Legacy of an Enduring Spirit, which pairs historic photos by Dorothea Lange of persons incarcerated in the detention facilities and concentration camps with contemporary images by Kitagaki of the same people, and text from his interviews allowing them an opportunity to reflect on the impact of the incarceration.
Dorothea Lange, photographer. Untitled, April 20, 1942, San Francisco, California.
Paul Kitagaki Jr., photographer. Helene Nakamoto Mihara and Mary Ann Yahiro, January 20, 2007,
San Francisco, California. © Paul Kitagaki Jr.
The current exhibition replaces an earlier display that memorialized the 70th anniversary of Tanforan. The revised presentation provides an expanded understanding of the 1942 Tanforan incarceration through personal stories, artist interpretations, and intergenerational experiences. The exhibit is on display unless otherwise indicated on this page and is open during BART transit hours.
Tanforan Memorial
On the exterior plaza of the San Bruno Station, the Tanforan Assembly Center Memorial Committee has commissioned a memorial to those who were forced to exist at Tanforan during 1942. The memorial Photographer Dorothea Lange, Untitled, April 20, 1942, San Francisco, California. was designed by RHAA and the sculpture, based on a photograph by Dorothea Lange of the Mochida Family, was sculpted by Sandra Shaw. The memorial was dedicated in August 2022.
Visting the Exhibit and Memorial
The memorial is free and open to the public and is accessible at any time. The exhibit is accessible to anyone arriving by BART. If you are arriving to the station by another mode of transit, you may ask the Station Agent to allow you admittance to see the exhibit without purchasing a ticket. This is at the discretion of the station agent. If you are part of a group (more than 5) that wants to visit the exhibit and are not arriving by BART, please contact [email protected], at least ten business days in advance, with the date and time of your visit and approximate number of visitors so arrangements can be made.
Related Memorial:
Japanese American Memorial - Hayward Heritage Plaza
A five-minute walk from the Hayward BART station, a new sculpture by Patricia Wakida was unveiled in 2023 to acknowledge and honor the bus departure point for many Japanese residents and Japanese Americans being transported to detention centers. The artwork was funded by the City of Hayward and the Japanese American Citizens League Legacy Fund. The location is 835 C Street, Hayward, CA.
Artists in the Exhibition:
Paul Kitagaki Jr.***: https://www.kitagakiphoto.com/
Na Omi Judy Shintani: https://www.naomishintani.com/
Ellen Bepp: https://members.aawaa.net/artists/ellen-bepp
Shari Arai DeBoer: https://www.sharideboer.com/
Lucien Kubo***: https://lucienkubo.com/
Mark Shigenaga: https://artsed4all.blog/2021/10/22/angel-island-insight-6-mark-shigenaga/
Roger Shimomura**: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Shimomura
Hisako Hibi* : https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Hisako_Hibi/
George Matsusaburo Hibi*: https://encyclopedia.densho.org/George_Matsusaburo_Hibi/
Miné Okubo*: https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Mine_Okubo/
Kay Sekimachi*: https://www.craftinamerica.org/artist/kay-sekimachi
Chiura Obata*: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiura_Obata
Isao Isago Tanaka**
*Incarcerated at Tanforan detention center
**Incarcerated at other detention center
*** Descendent of Tanforan incarceree
Thank you
For their generous financial and in-kind support:
- San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
- California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit calhum.org.
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of BART, California Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, or the U.S. Department of the Interior. This material received Federal financial assistance for the preservation and interpretation of U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally funded assisted projects. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity National Park Service 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240
To organizations, community, friends and family whose contributions to the exhibit content and success are deeply appreciated:
50 Objects/Stories
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Asian American Women Artists Association
Densho
Fred T. Korematsu Institute
Fresno State University Special Collections
Heyday Books
Hayward Area Historical Society
Japanese American National Museum
LEE & LOW BOOKS, Inc.
Library of Congress National Archives
National Japanese American Historical Society
Oakland Museum of California
Rutgers University Press
UCLA Library Special Collections
Project Team
Na Omi Judy Shintani, Curator
Jennifer Easton, BART Art Program Manager
Tanforan Assembly Center Memorial Committee
Tamiko Nimura, Copywriter
Carole Jeung, Designer
Paul Kitagaki Jr., Photojournalist
Melanie Elvena, Curatorial and Outreach Support
Melissa Bailey Nihei, Curatorial Intern
Hanna Chen, Curatorial Intern
Further Resources
There are many excellent websites devoted to the history of Japanese Americans and their wartime incarceration. Here are a selected few for the San Bruno station exhibit on Tanforan, organized according to each section of the exhibit.
Historical Overview
“Tanforan” (Densho Encyclopedia)
Tanforan Memorial Committee
Section 1: Injustice
Densho: Introduction to WWII Incarceration
“Terminology” (Densho)
Power Of Words, Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
Words Do Matter: A Note on Inappropriate Terminology and the Incarceration of the Japanese Americans, Roger Daniels
Section 2: Resilience
Miné Okubo, Citizen 13660 (graphic memoir)
Tanforan Art School (record book of artist Chiura Obata)
“One Spot of Normalcy: Chiura Obata’s Art Schools”
Toyo Suyemoto, I Call To Remembrance (memoir)
Photographer Dorothea Lange, Untitled, May 8, 1942,Hayward, California. National Archives and Records Administration.
[Miné and Benji sweep the stall, Tanforan, San Bruno, California, 1942]. 1942–44.
Miné Okubo, artist. Japanese American National Museum (Gift of Miné Okubo Estate, 2007.62.38).
Section 3: Legacy
50 Objects: The American Japanese Incarceration
Hibi Family: “An Interview with Ibuki Hibi Lee”
Hisako Hibi (Japanese American National Museum collection) Paul Kitagaki Jr.
Dorothea Lange and Japanese American Internment (PBS American Masters)
Section 4: Action
Tsuyako “Sox“ Kitashima, Birth of An Activist: The Sox Kitashima Story
Fred Korematsu Institute
Grateful Crane Ensemble
Japanese Americans for Justice
Nikkei Progressives/Nikkei Resisters
Topaz Museum
Tsuru for Solidarity
Fred Korematsu and Tsuyako Kitashima, 1988.
Shirley Nakao, photographer. Courtesy of Fred T. Korematsu Institute.
For Children and Educators
Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi, Fred Korematsu Speaks Up (graphic novel)
Amy Lee-Tai, A Place Where Sunflowers Grow (picture book)
Yoshiko Uchida, The Invisible Thread (chapter book)
Densho Free Media Resource Guide
https://goforbroke.org/classroom/
https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/japanese-american-incarceration-in-wwii
Resources for more information
Densho: https://densho.org/
NPS – Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program (JACS):
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1379/index.htm
https://www.jcccnc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/JCCCNC_Spring_2017_Proof_021417.pdf
http://www.sfmuseum.org/war/evactxt.html
Compiled by Tamiko Nimura, exhibit copywriter with contributions by Jennifer Easton
This detention center is a converted race track. Here are shown what were horse stalls, now remodeled into rooms for families. Photograph was made at noon on the third day after the center had been opened, 1942. Dorothea Lange, photographer. National Archives and Records Administration (537669). Courtesy of the National Japanese American Historical Society.