Paper Flowers
Stripped of their personal possessions, detainees demonstrated their commitment to survival by decorating their living units with art in the form of paper flowers.
“Paper Flowers defy censored dustorms of parched land, barbed wire fences.”
The Story of Paper Flowers
In July 1945 Itaru Ina and wife Shizuko (Mitsui) along with their young children, Kiyoshi and Satsuki were held in the Tule Lake Segregation Center in Northern California, a maximum security prison for those designated as "disloyal" for refusing to sign the so-called "Loyalty Questionnaire" in the affirmative. In protest of their unjust incarceration and threat of drafting young Nisei men into US military service, Itaru gave a short 5 sentence speech in which he demanded, "We should be treated equal to the free people." He was charged with sedition, separated from the family and interned at Bismarck, N.D. This paper flower is an assemblage of one of 182 letters exchanged between Shizuko and Itaru during their separation. In the dust-laden, blistered landscape where flowers failed to grow, Shizuko and other women made paper flowers to fill the void for funerals and celebrations. Tagged with her assigned family number, Shizuko's flower, created by artist Glenn Mitsui, captures the strength and determination of incarcerees rising from their grief and despair.
- Satsuki Ina
About Satsuki Ina
"Paper Flowers" is a unique artistic project co-created by Satsuki Ina, a renowned psychotherapist and filmmaker. With a specialization in community trauma, Satsuki offers her expertise to individuals and organizations who have suffered from collective historic trauma.
Satsuki’s book, The Poet and the Silk Girl: A Memoir of Love, Imprisonment, and Protest, is set to be released by Heyday Books March 2024. To learn more about Satsuki and her work, please visit her website at www.satsukiina.com.
The story of Shizuko’s Flower
Shizuko’s Flower: Written and narrated by Satsuki Ina
Young Itaru Ina
Incarceration
Loyalty
“We should be equal to the free people.”
— Itaru Ina
Shizuko Ina
The Dancing Moths
Tule Lake Concentration Camp
Itaru Tangled
My father, Sam Mitsui’s best friend Tom Haji, was killed in action as a member of the 442nd regimental combat team. He described this event as a major determination of the direction of his life. He joined the army as soon as he was of age. This paper flower is for my Dad’s best friend, Tom Haji.
Redacted
Redacted motion art
With Love, Itaru