Interview with Monica Sone & Preview of KIMONO Exhibit

Last night I went to the kick off event for the One Book/One Community Program in Canton, Ohio/Stark County.

The evening started with an interview of Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter. She talked about her experiences in her life, what she thought about the Japanese evacuation, the camps, and finally what happened to her parents and siblings after the camps were closed. She also read the letter of apology that was sent by George Bush Sr. to all of those of Japanese descent who were in the camps. She is 88 years old and still lives in Canton Ohio.

The second half of the evening was a short talk by the Executive Director of the Canton Museum of Art about the upcoming KIMONO exhibit in February 2009. He showed a short video about Kubota, the artist, and the exhibit. The exhibit is only being shown in San Diego, California (now) and Canton, Ohio. Previously it was at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

Among the Book activities and events there will also be a lot of events about Japanese culture such as Madame Butterfly performed by the Canton Civic Opera.