Chasing Cherry Blossoms
Reframing the American story through the multicultural experience:
An educational community storytelling podcast series featuring conversations with Japanese Americans and beyond.
As Americans grapple with increasing tension and division, what can we learn from the past to connect with each other? The series features conversations with Japanese Americans and beyond, and explores identity, culture, and history in a multicultural society.
Produced by an educator and students with diverse backgrounds, the series aims to embrace and empower local communities with multicultural experiences to share their stories and reimagine the future together.
Chasing Cherry Blossoms
Episode 13: Resettlement - Chicago Story
Guest: Jean Mishima, President, Chicago Japanese American Historical Society
Jean Mishima was one of more than 20,000 people of Japanese ancestry to resettle in Chicago after she was incarcerated by the US government during WWII. After her incarceration at the age of six, Jean spent her youth helping her mother re-establish their lives by running a dry cleaning business. Jean’s mother was a fierce survivor who left the incarceration camp early by learning to sew and getting a job. She divorced her husband and restarted her life as a single parent of three children. Jean's story inspired the short film, Resettlement: Chicago Story, which was released last year by Full Spectrum Features as part of a cinematic digital history project that teaches Japanese American history to K-12 students.
Produced by Reina Higashitani
Check out other episodes and slide shows on our website.