Toyo & Seytsu and Executive Order 9066

Mark Takahashi narrates his family's experience during the Japanese internment in WWII. His grandfathers, Toyo Miyatake and Seytsu Takahashi, faced internment and imprisonment. Toyo, a photographer, documented life in Manzanar camp, while Seytsu was labeled an enemy alien. The family endured separation and harsh conditions but eventually reunited. Post-war, they returned to Los Angeles, where Toyo resumed his photography business, and Seytsu became a Buddhist bishop. Despite the challenges, their American identity remained unchanged.

What was the primary reason the West Coast was considered a potential combat zone during World War II?

• Presence of military bases

• Concentration of Japanese ancestry population

• Proximity to European battlefields

• High number of naval ships

What was Executive Order 9066 responsible for?

• Rounding up Japanese-Americans for internment

• Ending World War II

• Deporting enemy aliens to Japan

• Establishing military bases on the West Coast

What was the condition of the facilities at Manzanar relocation camp?

• Primitive with tar paper walls

• Spacious and warm

• Modern and well-equipped

• Luxurious and comfortable

Why was Seytsu Takahashi labeled an enemy alien?

• His work as a photographer

• His involvement in military activities

• His ties to a Naval association and community organizing

• His refusal to leave the West Coast

How did Toyo Miyatake manage to document life in the internment camps?

• He used a government-issued camera

• He smuggled in a film holder and lens

• He borrowed equipment from Ansel Adams

• He was given a camera by the camp director

What role did Ansel Adams play in Toyo Miyatake's life during and after the war?

• He was a rival photographer

• He helped Toyo escape the camp

• He collaborated with Toyo and became a family friend

• He published Toyo's work without permission

What was the outcome for the Takahashi family after the war ended?

• They moved to a different country

• They remained in internment camps indefinitely

• They were reunited and resettled in Los Angeles

• They were deported to Japan