Lawrence Matsuda

Interesting profiles of men who chose to enlist in the United States Army during World War II even as their families were being held in concentration camps due to Executive Order 9066. Most ended up fighting in Europe with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of Japanese Americans that has the distinction of being the most decorated in U.S. military history. They displayed valor and made tremendous sacrifices for the chance to prove themselves true Americans despite the government's racist violation of their civil rights.

Based on the men's oral histories, the stories are strong, even if the graphic novel has some weaknesses. It's one of those hybrid beasts that is mostly told in giant chunks of typeset text, so it's more an illustrated history than a true graphic novel. The line work of the images is decent most of the time, though it does have a tendency to get a little abstract and scribbly at times, which I find an odd choice for a historical piece. I disliked the weird coloring choices which tended to make specific panels monotone but switched that single color from panel to panel with no discernible rhyme or reason. It added nothing and distracted often.

I also found it odd, that in a historical book, they repeatedly refer to the principal of an elementary school that a couple of the men attended as "Miss Mahon." Why no first name? It's Ada, by the way. Ada Mahon of the Bailey Gatzert Elementary School. It wasn't hard to find, so why didn't the author bother?

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Foreword / Bruce Inaba -- Foreword / Beth Takekawa -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Shiro Kashino -- Chapter 2. Frank Nishimura -- Chapter 3. Jimmie Kanaya -- Chapter 4. Roy Matsumoto -- Chapter 5. Tosh Yasutake -- Chapter 6. Turk Suzuki -- Acknowledgments… (more)

Shiro Kashino, a Japanese-American, wanted to leave the past behind him, but when his daughter professes to hate Pearl Harbor Day because kids accuse her father of fighting for the enemy, he regrets his silence. This book tells his story in the sparse text of an older man, a private person, reluctant to draw attention to himself. Alone, the text would accurately tell the story of a man, called to service from a Japanese internment camp, who fights loyally and valiantly for the country that had imprisoned him. But its the digital art that brings this story to life. Each image is packed with the emotion that Shiro's simple words lack: the frustrations of injustice, the horrors of war, the power of camaraderie, the pride of living an honorable life. Together, the words and images pack a powerful punch and tell an important story from the WWII era.… (more)

Strong poetry here. Ragged, harsh poetry about the scars left by America's concentration camps, where Japanese-Americans, most of them U S citizens, were held behind barbed wire during World War II.

Larry Matsuda's A Cold Wind from Idaho, comes as a timely warning for us all. Our 'war on terror' frightens some of us into thinking of treating some of our citizens unfairly based only on their heritage.

Matsuda pours everything into these forty-odd poems. He includes childhood memories from growing up in Minidoka Internment Camp and later in Seattle, adult regret and healing, light and dark moments in his own life, and stories of family and friends.

In 'We are Defined by Rice,' he remembers going to the beach with his parents, collecting seaweed to be dried and used later for cooking. 'Summer sea flavors / wrap winter rice balls / crinkle and crunch, / quintessential Japanese fare.' Then he recalls 'Our classmates ridicule rice balls / ... / We beg Mom for yellow slices of cheese / ... / We trade away rice made with love'.

This is a book well worth reading, for its poetic voice and for its messages.… (more)