While the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is well known to many, a new documentary tells the lesser-known story of those in Hawaiʻi who were kicked out of their homes because of their ethnicity — but who were never imprisoned.
“Removed By Force: The Eviction of Hawaiʻi’s Japanese American During WWII” is a one-hour film that highlights personal accounts of those who were affected.
The film is produced by Bill Kaneko, former president of the Honolulu Japanese American Citizens League, and Ryan Kawamoto.
“It’s an untold story, but I think the Hawaiʻi community recognizes that it’s important to remember these wartime incidents and how it relates to civil rights in the current day,” Kaneko said in an interview.
About 2,000 Japanese Americans from Hawaiʻi were interned during WWII.
The grant-supported film memorialized the experiences of 1,500 other people of Japanese ancestry who were forcibly removed from their homes, but who were never sent to an internment camp.
The film, which took two years to create, tells the stories of three families: the Tanaka family, the Uyeda family and the Nishioka family.
Most of the people interviewed in the film were kids of the parents who experienced eviction, Kaneko said, adding that the film crew interviewed a family member who is 106 years old.
Kaneko added that Japanese Americans who were living close to military operations would be immediately kicked out of their homes based on their ethnicity.
In the documentary, Kaneko said some people went into the hills of Hawaiʻi to find shelter, while another family on Maui lived in a chicken coop.
“That’s the travesty of this, and many families were held at gunpoint and had to find places to live,” Kaneko said. “Whether it’s with a relative or a friend.”
The film premiered on June 29 and was immediately sold out in two weeks, according to Kaneko.
Public screenings will be held on Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island.
The screenings will be held:
- July 8, 1 p.m. at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Maui
- Aug.17, 7 p.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center
- Aug. 19, 10 a.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center
- Aug. 26 (tentative) at Kauaʻi Community College
- Sept. 23 at the Hawai‘i Japanese Center in Hilo
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