Tessaku: Mons
I had just sat down to read a magazine I had discovered about the Japanese incarceration of WW2, the third issue of Tessaku. I couldn’t put it down, I read it cover to cover - then immediately grabbed my phone to write an email to Diana Emiko Tsuchida, the creator of Tessaku.
“I am a descendant of survivors from Manzanar & Minidoka, and Rohwer. My grandparents passed a while ago so I’m not able to hear their stories or learn about their personal experiences. When I come across works like yours, it helps me feel connected to them and gives me context for who they became, and what they never really spoke about.”
From there, Diana and I developed a series of mons* for some of the camps. We are currently in the process of developing more, and hope to create one for each of the 10 main WRA camps. Below are designs developed for Tule Lake and Minidoka.
*Mon is a term traditionally referring to a kamon, a family crest or seal.
About Tessaku:
Tessaku’s mission is to preserve stories from the WWII Japanese American incarceration to inspire racial empathy, tolerance and understanding for future generations.
The word itself means iron fence, roughly translated to barbed wire: Tetsu 鉄 is iron, and saku 柵 is fence. It was the title for a short-lived magazine published in Tule Lake. This project began solely to preserve creator Diana Emiko Tsuchida’s family history.
You can purchase the above merchandise and more, in support of Tessaku, on bonfire.
Credits:
Diana Emiko Tsuchida