McKenzie Tavoda | Chapman University (original) (raw)
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through these gardens, to make their environments a reflection of self and this freedom of expres... more through these gardens, to make their environments a reflection of self and this freedom of expression became a means to combat the restrictions of the camp. In addition to the many small personal gardens, at least ten larger internee-built gardens were created at Manzanar, typically undertaken as group projects by several men within a block. 28 Though they believed, or hoped, their camp life was temporary, they chose to beautify the spaces outside their homes for the enjoyment of themselves and their community. The gardens were thought of as "quality spaces" for the internees, expressions of their Japanese culture, molded to fit in an environment that was not favorable for them. 29 These public gardens converted a space of regulation into a place of relaxation, akin to a plaza, in which people could sit, watch, and be watched by others, rather than a prisonlike panoptic space in which people were separated and alone. 30 Transforming the outside space was a "culturally relative" political statement by the Japanese Americans. 31 The gardens that flourished in the parched earth, with water features that included carp from the nearby springs and granite from the Sierra Nevada's, affirmed that the Japanese and their ancestral culture would survive in Manzanar through adaptation. Just like the gardens, the internees could endure and flourish by positively reshaping their environment to meet their needs for self-expression, pleasure, and community. One such family to do so was the Arais. Jack Hanshiro Arai entered Manzanar with his wife Alice and two sons, Kenji and Geofrey, while a third, Eizo, was born in the 28 During several trips to Manzanar, I was able to walk the excavation sites to analyze the gardens. The excavators are refurbishing them using photographs and archeological techniques to shed light on what they would have looked like.
undergraduateresearchprize
The Japanese American Internment during World War II drastically altered the lives of over 120,00... more The Japanese American Internment during World War II drastically altered the lives of over 120,000 people. At the Manzanar Relocation Center just four hours from Los Angeles, 11,000 people were imprisoned from the spring of 1942 to the fall of 1945. Internees maintained self-expression through the gardens of Manzanar using traditional Japanese gardening techniques to transform the barren landscape into one of beauty and communal space. Today, the gardens are being restored based on photographic record, which serve as symbolic representations of the emotion invoked from these spaces. Through photographs, interviews, and evidence gathered on site, a story has been written about the creators of these gardens, their families, and the bond of community they forged in the California desert.
through these gardens, to make their environments a reflection of self and this freedom of expres... more through these gardens, to make their environments a reflection of self and this freedom of expression became a means to combat the restrictions of the camp. In addition to the many small personal gardens, at least ten larger internee-built gardens were created at Manzanar, typically undertaken as group projects by several men within a block. 28 Though they believed, or hoped, their camp life was temporary, they chose to beautify the spaces outside their homes for the enjoyment of themselves and their community. The gardens were thought of as "quality spaces" for the internees, expressions of their Japanese culture, molded to fit in an environment that was not favorable for them. 29 These public gardens converted a space of regulation into a place of relaxation, akin to a plaza, in which people could sit, watch, and be watched by others, rather than a prisonlike panoptic space in which people were separated and alone. 30 Transforming the outside space was a "culturally relative" political statement by the Japanese Americans. 31 The gardens that flourished in the parched earth, with water features that included carp from the nearby springs and granite from the Sierra Nevada's, affirmed that the Japanese and their ancestral culture would survive in Manzanar through adaptation. Just like the gardens, the internees could endure and flourish by positively reshaping their environment to meet their needs for self-expression, pleasure, and community. One such family to do so was the Arais. Jack Hanshiro Arai entered Manzanar with his wife Alice and two sons, Kenji and Geofrey, while a third, Eizo, was born in the 28 During several trips to Manzanar, I was able to walk the excavation sites to analyze the gardens. The excavators are refurbishing them using photographs and archeological techniques to shed light on what they would have looked like.
undergraduateresearchprize
The Japanese American Internment during World War II drastically altered the lives of over 120,00... more The Japanese American Internment during World War II drastically altered the lives of over 120,000 people. At the Manzanar Relocation Center just four hours from Los Angeles, 11,000 people were imprisoned from the spring of 1942 to the fall of 1945. Internees maintained self-expression through the gardens of Manzanar using traditional Japanese gardening techniques to transform the barren landscape into one of beauty and communal space. Today, the gardens are being restored based on photographic record, which serve as symbolic representations of the emotion invoked from these spaces. Through photographs, interviews, and evidence gathered on site, a story has been written about the creators of these gardens, their families, and the bond of community they forged in the California desert.