Module 3: "The Life of Miné Okubo"

Her mother, a calligrapher, helped her develop her skills by giving Miné an art assignment: paint a different cat every day.

In 1938, after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Berkeley, Miné received a fellowship to travel to Europe to study art.

Miné’s European odyssey was cut short when she received a telegram from Riverside in 1939.

Years later, Miné explained some of the “precautions” taken against Japanese-Americans: “Contraband such as cameras, binoculars, short-wave radios, and firearms had to be turned over to the local police.…Restricted areas were prescribed and many arrests and detentions of enemy aliens took place.”

On February 19, 1942, FDR signed Executive Order 9066, which stated, “the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage.”

To this end, the order gave the government power to “relocate” Japanese-Americans (now considered “enemy aliens”) to specially designated areas.

This policy became known as internment. Within three months of this order, 110,000 people of Japanese heritage were moved into internment camps scattered throughout the western states.

Essential personal effects for each member of the family. All items carried will be securely packaged, tied, and plainly marked…The size and number of packages is limited to that which can be carried by the individual or family group.

Anything that internees couldn’t carry with them when they reported to the assembly centers had to be left behind: precious family mementos, beloved pets, jobs, and friends.

The camps were designed to keep Japanese-Americans isolated from the rest of the country in remote areas.