***Reservations and waitlists for stamping the Ireichō in the Seattle area are now closed. Sign-ups are being accepted for volunteers who are interested in assisting the Ireichō staff during their stop in Bainbridge Island, March 29-30. ***

National Monument for the WWII Japanese American Incarceration

The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association is honored to have been selected as one of the host organizations for the Ireichō traveling tour. On March 29 and 30, the Ireicho, or Book of Names, will be appropriately placed in the Sherry Grover Gallery, home to the Artists’ Book Collection at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, where families will arrive for their pre-arranged appointments to stamp the names of WWII Japanese American incarcerees.

According to the Ireizō Project, the Irei: National Monument for the WWII Japanese American Incarceration is a multi-faceted project that seeks to address the attempted erasure of  individuals of Japanese ancestry who experienced wartime incarceration by memorializing their names. This is the first time a comprehensive list of the over 125,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were unjustly imprisoned in U.S. Army, Department of Justice, and War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps has been successfully compiled – and thus the first time it has been possible to properly memorialize each incarceree as a distinct individual instead of a generalized community.

The idea of a book as a monument is inspired by the Japanese tradition of Kakochō (literally, “The Book of the Past”), a book of names typically placed on a Buddhist temple altar. This book is brought out for memorial services, when the names of those to be remembered are chanted. Following a ceremonial installation on September 24, 2022 at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), the Ireichō monument was on display at the museum until December 2024. The public was invited to view and acknowledge the names in the Ireichō by placing a Japanese hanko (stamp) underneath the name of each individual in the book.

Bainbridge Island Helps to Honor Every Name in the Ireichō

With the two-year exhibit at JANM now concluded, the Ireichō project has embarked on a national tour to the former War Relocation Authority camps, Wartime Civil Control Authority assembly centers, and Department of Justice internment camps. These stops coincide with community-organized pilgrimages to provide the opportunity for individuals across the nation to stamp names in the Ireichō and ensure that each person receives acknowledgment.

With expanded funding, the national tour has spanned the nation — starting at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. — and now includes four stops in the Seattle Area: the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, the Puyallup Remembrance Gallery, the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, and the Blaine Memorial Methodist Church. Reservations for stamping appointments are now closed.

Interested in volunteering to assist the Ireichō staff on March 29-30 in Bainbridge Island? Please send inquiries to [email protected].