(From left) Kyle Abbott, Reiko Iwanaga, Shirley Muramoto-Wong and Robert Handa participated in the Q & A session following the screening of “Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the WWII Internment Camps” at the Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose, Calif. Photo courtesy of Patti Hirahara
By P.C. Staff
A screening of “Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the WWII Internment Camps” was held on March 21 at the Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose to support public programs at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj).
The film, which was a 2012 NPS JACS Grant award recipient, features 22 artists from music, dance and drama who were interned in the American concentration camps at Amache/Granada, Gila River, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, Minidoka, Rohwer, Topaz and Tule Lake.
Following the screening, the 150 attendees participated in a Q & A session with Emcee and NBC Bay Area Reporter Robert Handa, filmmaker Shirley Muramoto-Wong and dance choreographer Reiko Iwanaga (also known as Hanayagi Reimichi). Participating in a surprise performance was Kyle Abbott on the shamisen, Muramoto-Wong on the koto and Handa on the drums.
The event, which was sponsored by JAMsj, Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene and the Wesley Jazz Ensemble, helped raise approximately $3,000 in support of JAMsj’s Public Programs.
