30 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 26-APRIL 1, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com CULTURE Before Ruth Sasaki’s mother and her family, the Takahashis, were incarcerated in Tanforan and Topaz, her mother graduated from UC Berkeley and started looking for a job as a teacher. But in the early 1940s, California schools were not accepting educators of Japanese descent. Instead she was sent from San Francisco into a desolate “relocation center.” A similar fate was shared by 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds U.S. citizens. In Tanforan, south of San Francisco, education was set up for school-age children, but there was no preschool. Sasaki’s mother was concerned. She knew those early years were crucial for children’s development; some children were born in the camps and learning about the world out there was one of the most important things to be done for them. She became a preschool teacher in Tanforan, and later in Topaz, Utah, where her family was moved. “Each story is different and it’s important to get all the stories out there,” says Sasaki, now the editor of what’s known as The Topaz Stories, a project of over 100 stories she started collecting in 2018, working with Friends of Topaz Museum. Now the project is coming to Monterey, along with three survivors of the camps, one of whom is traveling from Kyoto, Japan to talk about her incarcerated father. The project grew gradually and is still not complete, because each time The Topaz Stories are presented—at J-Sei Cultural Center in Emeryville, in the Utah State Capitol or at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose—someone in the audience has a story to add to the collection. “It’s important to share those stories widely, especially with all the terrible things going on in the country,” says Sasaki, who is a writer born and raised in San Francisco. “A lot of people still don’t know about what happened because this story doesn’t show the U.S. in the good light. But America is all of us, and democracy is not just given.” The euphemisms the government tends to hide behind should be eliminated, Sasaki says, offering as an example terms like “internment camp” or “assembly center” instead of “concentration camps” to describe the Japanese American experience during World War II. Topaz Stories: Echoes in the Present 2-3:30pm Saturday, March 28. JACL Hall, 424 Adams St., Monterey. Free. (831) 648-8830, jaclmonterey.org. To learn more about the project, visit topazstories.com. COURTESY OF RITSUKO FURUYA It Happened Here Survivors of American concentration camps for people of Japanese origin bring their stories to Monterey. By Agata Popęda When Topaz Stories migrated to Instagram (@topazstories), it initially drew older visitors. Now, the biggest population visiting the account is 35-44 and younger. Grove Market proudly carries only the freshest meats and produce. 242 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove (831) 375-9581 Mon-Sat 8am-7pm • Sun 9am-6pm Voted BEST NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET and BEST BUTCHER SHOP Happy Easter! Order your Easter ham and other traditional favorites today World premiere of a riotously funny and darkly compelling play. MARCH 27 - APRIL 4, 2026 THE PERFECT WOMAN AN A.I. LOVE STORY A dinner party turns into a riot when a guest’s too-perfect girlfriend is revealed to be an A.I. creation with powers far exceeding her designer’s intentions! Written by Carl Alasko Directed by Nina Capriola Pacific Repertory Community Voices present at the Circle Theatre, Carmel 6 performances: Friday, March 27 to Saturday, April 4, 2026 Advance ticket sales: PacRep.org (831) 622-0100
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