Coming Home: Voices of Return and Resettlement, 1945-1965 on exhibit beginning July 28 at Four Rivers Cultural Center!

Opening day, July 28, 6-8 pm

The exhibit, food, and refreshments are FREE.

Coming Home: Voices of Return and Resettlement, 1945-1965 is a locally curated exhibit that traces the reestablishment of the Japanese American community in Oregon after World War II and examines the injustices of wartime relocation. The Coming Home exhibition has been woven from personal stories of return and resettlement by Nikkei – men, women, and children of Japanese descent – forced from their Oregon farms and homes and incarcerated as “enemies” during World War II. Most were American citizens. Many had lost everything. Determination and memories of the place, family and community guided them home.

On display from July 28, 2017, through October 1, 2017, the videos, photographs, oral histories, and artifacts gathered for Coming Home feature the unique stories of nine community members. Modeled after a program at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, their firsthand accounts speak to the uniqueness of being Japanese and living in Oregon, the establishment of families and livelihoods, the catastrophe of internment, fighting for civil rights and civic engagement.

For those that chose to return, what kind of homecoming did they face? How did they reestablish themselves, their community, homes, families and businesses in a still unwelcoming America? Coming Home and three public programs featuring diverse speakers will reveal the postwar landscape of Oregon’s Nikkei community and the challenges to overcome their internment experience.