‘Resistance at Tule Lake’ Showing in San Jose

SAN JOSE — The San Jose J-Town FilmFest and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (AASC) Suyama Project are co-sponsoring a showing of “Resistance at Tule Lake,” a documentary film on the World War II Tule Lake Segregation Center, on Sunday, May 22, from 2:30 p.m. at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj).

Jimi Yamaichi will discuss his experiences as a Tule Lake draft resisters. (KQED)

Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion with director Konrad Aderer; Tule Lake “no-no” Hiroshi Kashiwagi; and Tule Lake draft resister Jimi Yamaichi.

“Resistance at Tule Lake” will feature first-person accounts from former Tuleans who made the difficult decision to defy the U.S. government and consequently were imprisoned at Tule Lake, which the government labeled for propaganda purposes as a camp for “disloyal” Americans.

The documentary, now screening as a work-in-progress prior to premiering on public television, is a project of Third World Newsreel, funded by the National Park Service Japanese American Confinement Sites program, Center for Asian American Media and the Puffing Foundation.

Filmmaker Konrad Aderer

A portion of the program will also be devoted to sharing about the Suyama Endowment. David K. Yoo, director of the UCLA AASC and professor of Asian American studies, will discuss how the Suyama Endowment strives to preserve the experiences of the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team draftees, Army and draft resisters, no-nos, renunciants, conscientious objectors and other Nikkei dissidents of World War II.

The endowment is named after Eji Suyama (1920-2009), a 442nd RCT soldier who was one of the few to survive the fierce battle to rescue the Texas “Lost Battalion” from behind enemy lines during World War II. After the war, Suyama was one of the few 442nd veterans from the mainland to publicly support Japanese Americans who had protested the discriminatory policies of the government during World War II.

Hiroshi Kashiwagi was a “no-no” at Tule Lake.

The screening is part of the San Jose Japantown FilmFest, which will run from May 20 to 22. Individual tickets are $10 in advance, $12 for walk-ins. A festival pass, which will include admission to all 10 films shown at the Northside Community Center and JAMsj and a Saturday night reception, is $150.

Tickets can be purchased through JAMsj at (408) 294-3138. The museum is located at 535 N. Fifth St. in San Jose Japantown.

Tickets are also available at Nikkei Traditions, 219 Jackson St., and Nichi Bei Bussan, 140 Jackson St., or online at www.jtownfilmfest.com.