Frequently Asked Questions
Who was James Hatsuaki Wakasa?
James Hatsuaki Wakasa was born in 1880 in Takahama, Japan. He graduated from Keio University in Japan before emigrating to the U.S. in 1903. In the U.S., he studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. During World War I, he was a civilian cooking instructor at Camp Dodge in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1942, he was living in San Francisco and, along with other Japanese Americans, incarcerated first at the Tanforan racetrack, and then the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah.
What were the circumstances of Wakasa’s death?
On the evening of April 11, 1943, Wakasa took his dog for a walk near the barbed wire fence surrounding Topaz, as was his custom. Although he was three to five feet from the fence, he was shot by a guard in the chest and died on the spot. The government falsely claimed that Wakasa was shot while trying to crawl through the fence, a claim contradicted by the fact that he was killed by a shot through his heart and spine facing the guard tower. The guard, Gerald Philpott, who shot Wakasa was acquitted at a court martial, but the more than 8,000 inmates at Topaz were never informed. The uproar of anger and shock at Wakasa’s killing was so strong that the military was put on alert and machine guns, tear gas and riot gear were brought in. A teacher at Topaz said, “It looked for a while like there might be a revolution within the camp.”
What is the Wakasa Memorial Monument?
Inmates at Topaz demanded a public funeral at the site of Wakasa’s death, but government officials denied the request and the funeral was held a half mile away. Over 2,000 people attended Wakasa’s funeral, which featured several large wreaths made of paper flowers made by the women of Topaz. The government also prohibited any monument to Wakasa. Defying this order, a large stone monument to Wakasa was built by Issei (first generation Japanese Americans) near the spot where he died. The monument is estimated at about five feet tall and 1,000 pounds. When Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy heard of the monument and saw photos, he demanded that all evidence be removed. The Issei buried the monument in 1943 but left a small part of it showing. It lay undisturbed for 77 years until it was rediscovered in 2020.
When and how was the Wakasa monument found?
In Fall 2020, archaeologists Jeff Burton and Mary Farrell, co-authors of the classic Confinement and Ethnicity archaeological survey of Japanese American confinement sites, located the buried Wakasa monument at the site of the Topaz incarceration camp. They used a map drawn in April 1943 by George Shimamoto that showed the exact location where James Wakasa died. Nancy Ukai had found the map in the National Archives and published it in her Sept. 14, 2020 article, “The Demolished Monument: James Wakasa and the Erasure of Memory.” Soon after Burton and Farrell located the top of the Wakasa Monument -- an approximately 14-inch-long stone raised a few inches above the ground -- a 14-member committee formed and met on Zoom to discuss the proper handling and treatment of the monument and the memorial site on the west side of the Topaz camp. The 14 members included the Topaz Museum Director and Board President Jane Beckwith, two Board members, four National Park Service representatives, three archaeologists, a historian and three Topaz community members. Burton and Farrell wrote a 42-page article about Wakasa, the monument and possible ways to treat the artifact and site. They invited the Museum to read it and make comments. On Jan. 29, the Museum submitted three pages of revisions, including a clarification of the monument’s location. Burton and Farrell described their discovery in the July 4, 2021 publication of Part 4 of their series, “The Power of Place: James Hatsuaki Wakasa and the Persistence of Memory” on the Discover Nikkei website.
When and how was the Wakasa Memorial Monument unearthed?
On July 27, 2021, a contractor hired by the Topaz Museum unearthed the monument . No archaeologists or persons trained in archaeological methods took part in the excavation, despite many suggestions to do so and even offers of funding for archaeologists. No religious ceremonies or traditional customs were observed and no members of the Japanese American community were present. According to the Topaz Museum, the monument was moved to the Topaz Museum courtyard. The Museum’s sudden and unprofessional actions shocked community members, historians and archaeologists.
Wasn’t there a fear of vandalism of the monument?
Jane Beckwith of the Topaz Museum has said that due to the threat of vandalism, she felt the need to act immediately after the publication of the Burton/Farrell which disclosed the location of the monument. Beckwith produced photos of signs on or near the Topaz site that have been shot up by vandals. However, this concern was not noted in emails to the monument committee prior to the extraction. Also, Japanese American confinement sites and other historic sites experience vandalism yet are able to be protected using various safeguards and without destructive interventions that harm that which should be protected. It is unlikely that vandals would have seen the Burton/Farrell article, published online at Discover Nikkei. Even if vandals had seen the article, it is doubtful they could have located and identified the buried monument at the unmarked desert site of the Topaz camp. A sack of dirt could have covered what was showing of the stone and camouflaged it. Consultations with experts could have produced solutions to the preemptive removal. Far more harm was done to the memorial site and artifacts by construction equipment than vandals could have achieved.
Was the Wakasa Memorial Monument damaged during excavation?
There is still no public report but Utah state photos show that the artifact was dragged across the earth using a strap and metal chain by an employee of a backhoe company. Earthen material was not sifted. If the Issei landscapers had thrown a memento into the hole before filling it up, that evidence is lost. It’s even possible that a portion of Wakasa’s ashes could have been scattered in the opening, but professional assessment to detect such evidence would have been necessary at the time of excavation. The site has been irrevocably disturbed and professional surveys or documentation did not take place. The Wakasa Memorial Committee is anxious to know the exact present condition of the Wakasa Monument. This is why one of the six requests in the Committee’s letter to the Topaz Museum Board is that “an independent and expert assessment of the memorial site and the Wakasa Monument shall be undertaken and all unedited video, photos and other recordings of the July 27, 2021 excavation be released.”
Didn’t the Topaz Museum apologize for its actions?
Jane Beckwith of the Topaz Museum has apologized for not involving members of the Japanese American community in the excavation of the Wakasa monument, but there has been no apology for the unprofessional manner of the excavation, such as the failure to employ archaeologists using professional protocols in order to preserve the monument, the memorial site and the Topaz National Historical Landmark.
Why do some say that the Wakasa Monument site was “desecrated” during excavation?
“Desecration” is defined as violating the sanctity of, or treating something disrespectfully. The Wakasa Memorial Monument was located at the spot on a 1943 map marking the exact spot where James Wakasa was shot and killed. Wakasa’s remains were cremated and taken to an unknown location. We don’t know whether some ashes were scattered at the monument base or in the opening. Thus, the place where he died is a hallowed place for those who wish to perform religious and cultural ceremonies to honor his memory. The idea of heavy equipment rolling roughly over this spot and digging up the monument without the ability to light incense, say a prayer or conduct a religious or cultural ceremony is considered by many to be disrespectful and violating the sanctity of the place of Wakasa’s death. “The unearthing ... of the Wakasa monument is a deeply sacred moment for us -- not unlike how Native Americans feel for and respect the lands of their ancestors. We had no opportunity to be there -- to share in a moment of prayer and remembrance with the spirit of Mr. Wakasa,” said one Topaz descendant.
What is the significance of the Wakasa Memorial Monument?
The Wakasa Memorial Monument represents perhaps the most significant archaeological finding ever made in relation to the wartime Japanese American mass incarceration in the U.S. Built in defiance of direct orders from U.S. officials at the highest level, the monument is a bright beacon on the unjust murder of an unarmed man held in a concentration camp merely because of his race. As Masako Takahashi, who was born in Topaz, put it, “It is the most valuable physical evidence of the unfairness of our incarceration ever found.” The Issei immigrant voice in World War II history is the least understood and recorded so this symbol of protest, grief and resistance by our Japanese American immigrant ancestors is especially precious. Its importance is national, not merely limited to Utah, of Japanese American resistance against racial violence and the government’s intentional erasure of it.
What and Who Is the Wakasa Memorial Committee?
The Wakasa Memorial Committee is comprised of Topaz Survivors, Descendants, members of the Japanese American community and allies who came together in response to the sudden and unprofessional excavation of the Wakasa Memorial Monument on July 27, 2021 by the Topaz Museum. The Committee’s mission is to protect the Topaz memorial site, the Wakasa Monument, and the Topaz National Historic Landmark. New members to the Wakasa Memorial Committee and the Advisory Committee to the Wakasa Memorial Committee continue to be added. A list as of September 7, 2021, can be found on the Committee’s letter to the Topaz Museum Board, at the Wakasa Memorial Committee website. Here
What does the Wakasa Memorial Committee want to see happen?
The Wakasa Memorial Committee has proposed to the Topaz Museum Board six measures aimed at remedying the problems that the sudden and unprofessional unearthing of the monument on July 27, 2021 has given rise to. The proposed measures include an independent archaeological assessment of the monument and the excavation site, release of all photos, videos and other recordings of the July 27 excavation, an apology for the unprofessional nature of the excavation, agreement that the Museum and the WMC work together to develop a plan for the stewardship of the monument, and that a public commemoration be held on April 11, 2023, the 80th anniversary of James Wakasa’s death. The full letter can be found at: Here The Commitee’s proposal was supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a national, nonprofit organization chartered by the US government in 1949. More
Is the Topaz Museum a private or public organization?
The Topaz Museum, a private, nonprofit institution located in Delta, Utah, about 16 miles from the site of the Topaz incarceration camp, opened in 2015. The Museum is governed by a seven-member board of directors, five of whom are Delta-area residents and two of whom are Japanese Americans. One is a Topaz survivor. The Museum’s Mission Statement is, “To preserve the Topaz site and its World War II history; to interpret the impact of Topaz on the internees, their families, and the citizens of Millard County; and to educate the public in order to prevent a recurrence of a similar denial of American civil rights.”