Bear River Press
P.O. Box 1024
Torrance, CA 90505-0024
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cynthia Kumagawa (213) 713-4975
Fax (213) 232-7713
ckumagawa@verizon.net
 
New Internment Book by Toshiko Shoji Ito Commemorates 2005 Minidoka Pilgrimage
 
(Torrance, CA) – Bear River Press has published a new book titled Endure, by Toshiko Shoji Ito. Based on the author’s life, it is a fictional account of a spirited, 17-year-old Japanese-American girl living in Seattle when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. 
 
Dedicated to Toshiko’s granddaughter, who herself just graduated from high school, the book opens with the news of Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor and the ensuing panic felt by Tomi, the book’s central character, and her family. The title, Endure, is translated as gaman in Japanese—the admonishment regularly given by Tomi’s mother throughout their ordeal. Laced with humor as well as raw emotion, the book accurately chronicles their forced removal from the West Coast and life in the Minidoka Relocation Center, the internment camp in Idaho that housed nearly 13,000 Japanese Americans from the Northwest from August 1942 to October 1945.
 
The book commemorates the 2005 Minidoka Pilgrimage, held June 24-26. Former internees and their families retraced the routes from Seattle and Portland to their final destination in rural, south central Idaho, a journey that took some 27 hours by train in 1942. Toshiko took part in the pilgrimage with her granddaughter, Nicole Shinoda, and they both had the chance to share thoughts and stories.
 
“We listened with sadness and humor, dredging up things we had forgotten or shoved in the darkest corner of our memory,” Ms. Ito recounts. “The only time I felt a surge of anger was when I was handed the same type of numbered nametag that we had to wear in 1941. Even after more than 60 years, I could still feel the humiliation of that moment. It was a fleeting moment, but these are things you never forget.” 
 
She noted that Minidoka is now dotted with small farms and patches of green: trees, grass, weeds and sage brushes where the dusty camp once stood. Local farmers commented that the fertile land, once barren and dry, is now productive because of the efforts of the Japanese who lived there during World War II.
 
As they walked through the former camp during the pilgrimage Toshiko says she saw a man scoop up some dirt, and he let the fine sand slip through his fingers. “Remember?” he asked. 
 
“We all nodded. Those sandstorms were unforgettable. It was a journey back in time that tugged at our memory.”
 
The former camp was established as the Minidoka Internment National Monument in 2001 by President Bill Clinton, and is one of two camps in the U.S. now designated as national monuments by the National Park Service. The NPS staff is currently leading the planning process for Minidoka’s educational and interpretive programs.
 
The foreword for the book was written by Emily Hanako Momohara, president of the Friends of Minidoka organization. A photography instructor and graduate student at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, she also provided the cover photo, which is a present-day shot of Minidoka.
 
 
Endure is available in hardcover for $19.95 and paperback for $11.95. It can be ordered online at www.bearriverpress.com, by fax (213) 232-3317, or phone (213) 713-4975.
 
Editors and Reviewers: For a review copy or PDF of the complete text (including cover image), please contact the publisher at ckumagawa@verizon.net.
 
Toshiko Shoji Ito has lived in Southern California with her family since 1953. After attempts at various occupations, she decided on a career in cosmetology. Toshiko later received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and was on the instructional staff of the cosmetology department at Citrus College. Now retired, she serves on boards and committees for various organizations.
 
 
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