Four new photographs not available at the original time of publication have been dropped into the article as well as 2 photographs from a second blog also posted on 10/01/07 in The News Tribune under the headline "Sleuthing Required To Reward Location of Puyallup Assembly Center".)
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For some of us in this world, the background stories of how and why the things in this world have come to be are relished almost as much as the existence of what we are seeing right in front of us! To some extent, that is how I feel about the Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial on the grounds of the Western Washington State Fair.
Description of the Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial & Exhibit
The Puyallup Assemby Center Memorial is a contemporary, cylindrical sculptural form created by the late and much celebrated Northwest painter and sculptor George Tsutakawa and located inside the entrance at the Gold Gate not to far from the fairgrounds Administration building.
According to a published account in the book "Born In Seattle - The Campaign for Japanese-American Redress" by Robert Sadamu Shimabukuro, c. 2001 by the University of Washington Press, some 700-800 persons were in attendance on August 21, 1983 when then Washington Governor John Spellman agreed to speak at the unveiling and dedication of the Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial.
Pictures of the memorial taken during this year's annual fair follow below:
A view of the Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial as seen looking towards the entrance to the fairgrounds at the Gold Gates. (Photo by Mizu Sugimura copyright 2007.)
Passersby who stop to take a closer look at the memorial are also able to catch a glimpse of working parts of the fair, including multi-purpose areas as the fenced area show here looking toward the grandstand. (Photo by Mizu Sugimura copyright 2007.)
The suggestion for the Puyallup Assembly Center memorial itself according to Shimabukuro, was self-generated from within the Japanese-American community shortly after some 2,000 supporters and members of the community came together at the fairgrounds to observe the nation's first "Day of Remembrance" in November 1978, following a car caravan with police escort down I-5 from Seattle.
A more formal proposal was generated after Emi Somekawa, a member of the Puyallup chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League discussed the idea of such a project with her state representative, Representative Dan Grimm, of having some kind of memorial installed at the site.
Simple Display In Puyallup Fair Museum Notes Fairgrounds Use As Wartime Assembly Center
The Puyallup Fair Museum, is primarily concerned with and legitimately involved first and foremost with telling the story of the historical backgrounds of an agriculturally oriented fair. Exhibits are contained within a well-kept and handsome building whose architecture has been evolked and inspired by country living and the great outdoors.
Above: An informative exhibit about the Puyallup Assembly Center is permanently housed in the Puyallup Fair Museum. Photo copyright 2007 by Mizu Sugimura.
The exhibit on the Puyallup Assembly Center briefly relates the usage of the fairgrounds as a government assembly center for Japanese-Americans during World War II and combines a few photos and other documents in a neat, freestanding wood framed display case with large clear class panels and is on the whole, a good effort and should be commended.
Above: One side of this handsome display case with glass sides in the Puyallup Fair Museum has been devoted to telling the story of the Japanese-American residents who were temporarily boarded at the fairgrounds during World War II. Photo copyright 2007 by Mizu Sugimura.
Construction of Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial Not Without Controversy
Ironically, Shimabukuro's book relates a true story from the period before the memorial was even erected where at one point, due to opposition from local area veterans groups who were to put it mildly, not comfortable with the presence of such a salute and a serious proposal was made to install Tsutakawa's design for the memorial to be located outside the fairgrounds in an adjacent parking lot.
At this juncture, Shimabukuro relates that Tsutakawa balked, saying he would be more inclined if that were the case to pull out of the whole project immediately and the book goes on to report how the squabble over plans for the memorial eventually brought all parties national media attention.
The Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial Today
Looking at the memorial and assembly center exhibit today from the vantage of history, it might be time as twenty-four years have passed since the latter was dedicated to consider some new questions:
1) If both museum exhibit and memorial were not separated on opposite ends of the fairgrounds and could be physically located adjacent to each other as a paired topic, would the acknowledgement both areas have been created to extend be more effective?
2) Barring a move or relocation of either, would more prominent and coordinated signage unify and bring the already well-done efforts by both parties to the attention of a larger audience than what is now allowed by the present appearances of two largely unrelated and uncoordinated areas.
3) Unless a visitor is like myself, with prior knowledge that both areas exist and one who makes a deliberate effort to locate both, most people who enter and leave the fairgrounds will do so without ever knowing of the existence of such as the Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial and exhibit at the Puyallup Fair Museum.
Above: A view of the free-standing informative tablet installed with the Tsutakawa Sculpture that forms the Puyallup Assembly Center Monument from one side at the "2007 Western Washington State Fair" in Puyallup. Note the background, which illustrates the memorial's present location on the busy working fairground. Photo copyright 2007 by Mizu Sugimura.
That these other visitors past and present might find it worthwhile to stop and take a look, or even at the very least note that there's just a nice little old sculpture in back of the grandstand by a once prominent member of the twentieth century's most well-known Northwest artistic community who will share it with them? In the meanwhile, sooner perhaps than later, the wear and tear of time will certainly ensure that both memorial and exhibit will slowly fade out of the consciousness of our memories and disappear into the misty reservoirs of the forgotten past.
Above: Notation at sculpture base indicates installation of memorial in 1983 along with name of sculptor George Tsutakawa. Photo copyright 2007 by Mizu Sugimura.
A Short Historical Round-Up of Historical Event That Inspired Original Proposal
"For Japanese-Americans, the constitutionally guaranteed right of assembly had been suspended since December 1941: although it was the United States government that originally imposed the ban on gathering in large numbers, the Day of Remembrance made Japanese-Americans realize that they had been internalizing the ban for 37 years. In a place where many of the participants had once been imprisoned, the "Jap invasion" became a joyous and powerful reawakening."
- Robert Sadamu Shimabukuro,
"Born in Seattle - The Campaign for Japanese-American Redress"
The idea of a memorial in turn, was inspired by community members within the Japanese-American community including those who had participated in a event known as the first Day of Remembrance on November 25, 1978 when some 2,000 people including a individuals who had not set a foot on the property since their imprisonment during WW II, joined a car caravan from Seattle and returned to the fairgrounds after a fashion to take back their lives and history. And while I was not one of the former residents, my Japanese-born husband and I were part of that now historic crowd.
These pictures which follow below capture a bit of the feeling in the air that day:
Cars of participants gathered in Seattle for the first Day of Remembrance and car caravan to the Puyallup Fairgrounds on November 25, 1978. (Photo taken by Yaz Yambe, copyright 1978.)
Modeled after the buses which took members of the Seattle Japanese-American community to the Puyallup Assembly Center during World War II, these vehicles would lead the police escorted car caravan down I-5 to the fairgrounds in Pierce County. (Photo by Yaz Yambe, copyright 1978.)
Yaz Yambe, who will be taking part in the car caravan that day poses in front of his vehicle. He is wearing a replica of the tags wartime evacuees and their families had to affix the family numbers given to them for identification purposes by the U.S. government. The logo design taped to the car window identifies Yambe's car as a event participant. (Photo by Mizu Sugimura, copyright 1978.)
A younger version Mizu Sugimura - oh, but that hideous hair! (Photo by Yaz Yambe, copyright 1978.)
The late actor Noriyuki "Pat" Morita is greeted by a friend in the crowd during the long waiting period while the details of the car caravan being organized for the trek to Puyallup, WA were hammered out. (Photo by Yaz Yambe, copyright 1978.)
Celebrity supporters who came to support the first Day of Remembrance also included the late Hollywood actor Mako Iwamatsu who was spotted here in the crowd. (Photo by Yaz Yambe, copyright 1978.)
The Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial Today
Looking at the memorial and assembly center exhibit today from the vantage of history, it might be time as twenty-four years have passed since the latter was dedicated to consider some new questions:
1) If both museum exhibit and memorial were not separated on opposite ends of the fairgrounds and could be physically located adjacent to each other as a paired topic, would the acknowledgement both areas have been created to extend be more effective?
2) Barring a move or relocation of either, would more prominent and coordinated signage unify and bring the already well-done efforts by both parties to the attention of a larger audience than what is now allowed by the present appearances of two largely unrelated and uncoordinated areas.
3) Unless a visitor is like myself, with prior knowledge that both areas exist and one who makes a deliberate effort to locate both, most people who enter and leave the fairgrounds will do so without ever knowing of the existence of such as the Puyallup Assembly Center Memorial and exhibit at the Puyallup Fair Museum.
That these other visitors past and present might find it worthwhile to stop and take a look, or even at the very least note that there's just a nice little old sculpture in back of the grandstand by a once prominent member of the twentieth century's most well-known Northwest artistic community who will share it with them? In the meanwhile, sooner perhaps than later, the wear and tear of time will certainly ensure that both memorial and exhibit will slowly fade out of the consciousness of our memories and disappear into the misty reservoirs of the forgotten past.
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