How does grace survive in the face of deep injustice? When grace comes unexpectedly. In today’s episode of Living the Grace Life, host Jennifer Sakata takes us to the powerful intersection of unexpected grace and deep hardship through Japanese American internment during World War II.
February 19, 1942, marks the signing of Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced relocation and internment of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. Two-thirds of the imprisoned were American citizens.
Unexpected Grace
Jennifer reflects on the emotional and historical impact of this injustice. She shares stories of unexpected grace from families who lived through it, including her husband’s family and family friend Mr. Ted Nagata, who was interned at the Topaz camp.
This episode sheds light on the harsh realities faced by Japanese Americans, from the confiscation of homes and businesses to the extreme living conditions in the internment camps. Jennifer also highlights the importance of recognizing the deep humility and forgiveness demonstrated by those wronged. Rather than responding with bitterness or anger, these women, men, and children became a model of unexpected grace.
Unexpected Grace for Yourself
Through this conversation, Jennifer shares discovering the internment story later in life, underscoring the importance of remembering and honoring Japanese American Remembrance Day on February 19, 2025.
This episode offers a message of hope. It invites listeners to reflect on the lessons learned from the Japanese American internment experience. And how grace can counteract injustice, offering profound healing and transformation.
Jennifer closes with a prayer adapted from Psalm 139 and a call to action, urging us to extend unexpected grace, protect civil liberties, and embrace forgiveness.
Japanese American Remembrance Day
As we approach Japanese American Remembrance Day on February 19, 2025, Jennifer challenges listeners to reflect on the power of grace in personal relationships and in a broader societal context. Learn more about this often-overlooked part of U.S. history and how the lessons of grace and forgiveness continue to shape our world today.
Grace Quotes from Jennifer Sakata:
🖊 “Behind these facts stand the lives of people whose families, livelihoods, and futures were completely and sometimes irreparably upended.”
🖊 “To this day, I am astonished and humbled by family members and friends who were interned but refused to become bitter…Who despite every reason not to, offered pardon in place of finger-pointing.”
🖊 “Grace compels us to offer forgiveness beyond our ability to give it.”
Resources Mentioned:
- Interview with Mr. Ted Nagata, courtesy of Densho Digital Repository
- A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee Tai (children’s picture book)
- Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki (children’s picture book)
- Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata (for middle schoolers and early highschoolers)
- Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston
- Impounded: Dorothea Lange and the Censored Images of Japanese American Internment ed. by Linda Gordon & Gary Okihiro
- When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
- Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience ed. by Lawson Fusao Inada
Find Psalm 139 here.
Jennifer Sakata’s FREE Resource, Living the Grace Life: One Prayer at a Time
Jennifer,
I first learned about the internment of Japanese-Americans when I read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. As a person of Native American heritage, I find what happened to Japanese-Americans as appalling as the way my indigenous ancestors were forced to give up their lands and pushed onto reservations.
Like you, I am amazed at the forgiveness and grace that the Japanese-Americans have shown, as well as how the Japanese and the Americans have rebuilt a relationship following such horror and tragedy.
Our family went to Japan this summer. One of the most meaningful places for me was Hiroshima, Japan’s Ground Zero. The tragic site of the A-Bomb dome (originally an exhibition hall) is a stark reminder of the destruction that happened there. But the Japanese now seek peace, as evidenced by the memorials they have erected in Hiroshima Peace Park. When one views the A-Bomb dome from the Memorial Cenotaph for the A-Bomb victims, you can see the peace flame and the pond of peace in between the bombed out exhibition hall and the memorial. It is a way to look back on tragedy and meet in the middle to embrace peace. The Peace Clock chimes every morning at 8:15 AM – the time the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945 – as an appeal to the world for peace. The Children’s Memorial (yes, unfortunately, children were killed) displays thousands of paper cranes for peace and the clapper of the memorial bell is a metal paper crane. One experiences the dichotomy of the horror and the search for peace at the same time.
May we never forget what has happened. And may we continue to move forward in peace and love.
Yes, Kim. Thank you for sharing this. What you shared about your own ancestors, so devastating too. We were in Japan this November and I had a very simliar experience when were in Nagasaki, where the second A-bomb was dropped. The cranes, so meaningful, and the people, so humbly gracious. It was hard to be there, on so many levels. Unexpected grace for sure, beyond words. I have struggled with how to communicate that. This episode was a start. So grateful you shared. Thanks Kim.