The Art of Gaman: Art of Japanese Internment

From February 1942 to December 1944, Japanese-Americans and Japanese defectors were detained in Japanese internment camps. This action by the U.S. Government towards the Empire of Japan, which was taken in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, was taken to stop any potential WWII enemy activities. This controversial action against over 100,000 Japanese defectors and American citizens of Japanese descent is a great example of America’s long history of discrimination against nonwhites. Without the help and support from the military and government to improve the poor living conditions that detainees were forced to live in, the detainees establish a sense of community during their captivity. Though they made their own schools, churches, farms, they also produced arts and crafts within the community that both practiced traditional Japanese art and illustrated the hardship in these internment camps, called the “Art of Gaman.”

“Gaman” is a Japanese word that means to endure seemingly unbearable hardships with patience and dignity (Rozas-Krause). It is a term that explains how anti-Japanese bias spread throughout the United States during World War II. There were a number of detainees in these camps that came together and craft objects out of necessity to amuse themselves and pass the time during their captivity. Art that were made in these troubling circumstances were not made by individuals with trained artistic skills. Curator Delphine Hirasuna says, “The Art of Gaman” was launched when she discovered a small wooden pin carved in the shape of a bird and began promoting art from these camps in exhibits and books.

One of the most famous ‘Art of Gaman’ paintings is “Interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, Camp Scene” (1942 -1946). This piece illustrates to viewers that within many camps were barracks buildings that look very military-like. In the painting there is a telephone pole on the front of the center building with no wires on it. The absence of people in this painting helps us to see that it is set in a desert. The “Heart Mountain” in the background is covered in the snow indicating that cold weather has arrived in this Japanese internment camp.

What is interesting about this piece is that it is very similar to Dorothea Lange’s photograph of the Manzanar Internment Camp. One apparent difference between the two images is that the American flag is where the telephone pole is positioned. Another key difference with this photo is that it shows that this camp is dealing with high outside temperatures and dust storms from the surrounding desert. In judging if the “Interned at Heart Mountain…” painting was romanticized or graphic, Lange’s photo help supports the argument that the painting is a close, accurate depiction of these camps despite being in separate locations.

There was no justification for the deportation of thousands of Japanese descent in America. It is safe to assume that the reason for imprisoning Japanese-Americans was based on racial difference (Rozas-Krause) because the Japanese-Americans were held prisoners without ever committing a crime. Conversely, the U.S. Government never did the same action towards Americans of German or Italian heritage. Public opinion was prejudice against Japanese-Americans before WWII and it continued even after the internees were freed from the camps.

When Japanese evacuees were able to return to their homes in December 1944, many of them ended up in destitution. They found their homes, jobs, and possessions were all gone. Anti-Japanese bias also kept them from being able to obtain new jobs. As for the art that came from the internment camps, some was kept as a souvenir; however, much of it was trashed because of the horrible memories attached to it (Hirasuna). All of the crafts made in those camps would have been forgotten if it weren’t for Delphine Hirasunas’ collection of these pieces in an effort to preserve history. Though America wants to forget that they operated these concentration camps, artists who were interned at these camps left art work that expressed the Gaman philosophy of enduring America at its worst.

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Annotated Bibliography

Hirasuna, Delphine, and Kit Hinrichs. “The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942-1946.” Ten Speed Press, 2005.

Delphine is the author the “Art of Gaman” and the curator of the art that came from the Japanese institution camps. This book provides found materials restored to show the historical significance of the crafts, paintings and other arts that were made by those detained in the institution camps. This book help me select the topic of this paper that brought an inspiring message from difficult circumstances. I never knew art was made in these camps and I use quotes from this book whenever I mention them.

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Rozas-Krause, Valentina. "Apology and Commemoration." History and Memory, vol. 30, no. 2, 2018, pp. 40-78. elibrary, https://explore-proquest-com.proxyserver.otis.edu/elibrary/document/2099001430?accountid=25324

Valentina Rozas-Krause is a CED architecture Ph.D that researches on memories of twentieth century traumas in public urban space in Argentina, Germany and the United States. This scholarly source provide detailed description on the mistreatment of Japanese Americans during WWII and poor living condition in these internment camps. This journal allowed me see more clearly on what life was life for these detainees when being treated as if they were the enemy. I quote this article whenever there is new information for me before I read this book that I want to put in this paper.

Artist unidentified. "Interned at Heart Mountain, Wyoming, Camp Scene" (1942 -1946). Japanese American Museum of San Jose.

Lange, Dorothea. "Photo of the Manzanar internment camp" (1942 -1946). The Bancroft Library.