Japanese Internment Camps Analysis

An analysis of contrasting approaches to topics of the Japanese Canadian Internment camps

The Japanese internment camps reflect a dark time in Canadian history, where mass fear and racial hatred led to a tragic violation of human rights and liberties. Two articles, “Passing Time, Moving Memories: Interpreting Wartime Narratives of Japanese Canadian Women” by Pamela Sugiman and “British Columbia and the Japanese Evacuation” By Peter Ward, take on contrasting approaches to this issue, with the former noticeably more intimate and in depth in its approach in collecting information about the internment camps. In this article analysis I will provide detail about the key arguments in each article, compare their respective approaches and content, …show more content…
She argues that the accurately restoring a narrative of the past entails applying a compilation of resources in order to reconstruct the varied accounts and sentiments of the internment experience. Additionally, she interacts with her identity as a Japanese Canadian to gain more depth into her research. Throughout the article, she concludes the negative impacts of how the internment camps destroyed the Japanese community and discriminated against a racial minority in bad faith. Her article disputes the image of Japanese Canadian women as historically a meek, passive bystander of the internment. The letters reveal indignance as well as a sense of perseverance in the attitudes of Japanese Canadian women; the conclusion is supported by accounts of resistance and determination to endure the prejudice, maintenance of home after the loss of males in the household, and hardships in relocating away from the coast. Juxtaposed to the letters, the interviews are overshadowed by a sense of careful articulation, contrasting nostalgia and indignation, working to reshape the narrative of the helpless Japanese women in order to display deeper understanding, agency, and endurance over the passage of time. Finally, the article mourns the wartime loss of Japanese Canadians caused by violations of basic …show more content…
Ultimately, the article concludes that racial prejudice by White Canadians against Japanese Canadians, aggravated by wartime politics and Japanese militarism, created a need for drastic measures by the Canadian government in order to prevent civil disorder. However, Ward is careful to note the fear of Japanese subversion as being founded on xenophobic sentiment without solid basis or evidence. Overall, the combination of old racial prejudice with new fears founded on Japanese military success set off mass hysteria in British Columbia. Consequently, this extreme atmosphere pressured the Canadian government to reform social policy and attempt to placate the masses by engaging in racist reform and adhering to the demands of the vocal anti-Japanese sentiment on the coast. In terms of evidence collection, Ward’s work heavily relies upon official documents and records; this results in an accurate yet stale interpretation of the subject. His work lacks creativity as well as a real connection with the complex sentiments and effects of the internment