The Manzanar Fishing Club

[jazz on the fly]

A guy I used to be aquatinted with on Fishing Network has been working on this film about prisoners that used to sneak out of the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar in the eastern sierras. Last time I spoke to him (several years ago) he was having trouble getting funding to complete the project and only had a few minutes edited into a small trailer. I was pleasantly surprised to see this clip pop up on Moldy Chum. It looks as though he's made some headway. I really hope he manages to get this documentary on PBS or similar channel. If you have never been, stop by the Manzanar Internment Camp next time you're on the east side. I found it to be kind of a surreal experience. Cory Shiozaki, the guy who is directing this film, put together a small display of fishing gear used by the internees that is on display periodically and also does interpretive walking tours on occasion. Check out this extended clip of the film. It's pretty cool.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/19216112[/vimeo]

[WanderingBlues]

I remember speaking with Manzanar internees at the Fred Hall Fishing Show a couple of years ago when they had a retrospective. In a crowded convention center, I still got chills from hearing the stories.

[1mocast]

Yeah.... If you have never stopped by...It is a enlightening experience....

[RSetina]

You should visit Manzanar at least once. It is a very eye opening experience.

[midger]

Thanks for posting the clip. I've read a number of books about Manzanar and was familiar with the Japanese plight during WWII. The clip was really interesting and I hope the producer is able to finish the film so I can watch the rest of the story.

[8NoFish]

The filmmaker, Cory Shiozaki is an old friend from high school. We, along with writer Richard Imamura, went to Gardena High School in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. At Gardena HS, our American History teacher was Mas Okui, one of the gentlemen interviewed in the documentary. Some of you may recognize him - Mas is considered by some people to be one of the masters of Hot Creek. In fact, he will be tying flies at the Fly Fishing Show in Pasadena next weekend.

We try to stop at the Manzanar Historical Site and Interpretive Center every time we go up to Mammoth. I am a third generation Japanese-American and it is always a very emotional experience for me. My parents, as well as most of my older relatives, were sent to internment camps. It's important for my daughter, who's half Japanese, to understand what happened during World War II, it's part of her heritage. There is a small cemetary there. Especially heartbreaking for me is seeing the headstone of a child in that cemetary, knowing that he died, an innocent prisoner of his own country.

[jazz on the fly]

The filmmaker, Cory Shiozaki is an old friend from high school. We, along with writer Richard Imamura, went to Gardena High School in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County. At Gardena HS, our American History teacher was Mas Okui, one of the gentlemen interviewed in the documentary. Some of you may recognize him - Mas is considered by some people to be one of the masters of Hot Creek. In fact, he will be tying flies at the Fly Fishing Show in Pasadena next weekend.

We try to stop at the Manzanar Historical Site and Interpretive Center every time we go up to Mammoth. I am a third generation Japanese-American and it is always a very emotional experience for me. My parents, as well as most of my older relatives, were sent to internment camps. It's important for my daughter, who's half Japanese, to understand what happened during World War II, it's part of her heritage. There is a small cemetary there. Especially heartbreaking for me is seeing the headstone of a child in that cemetary, knowing that he died, an innocent prisoner of his own country.

Glad to hear that you guys are still active in preserving that piece of history. While it is important to remember what makes America great, it is also important to remember the things that we have done as a nation that we should be ashamed of (that being one of them). Just like a person, a nation needs to learn and better itself from mistakes that were made. I really hope that Cory manages to get this film fully completed and aired. The few times that I met him several years ago, I found him to be just a great guy in general and more than eager to share info with a young guy that didn't know squat about fishing.

[beachbum]

It's not one our good moments in history as a country. Let's hope we learned a lesson. I have been to Dachau, and thank God we did not go that far. I think about it every time I drive up the hwy.

[RSetina]

It's not one our good moments in history as a country. Let's hope we learned a lesson. I have been to Dachau, and thank God we did not go that far. I think about it every time I drive up the hwy.

I think about it too. It was a terrible thing we did. Strange what paranoia will do.

[8NoFish]

I remember speaking with Manzanar internees at the Fred Hall Fishing Show a couple of years ago when they had a retrospective. In a crowded convention center, I still got chills from hearing the stories.

From what I understand, the film makers are planning on being at the Fred Hall Fishing Show this year. If you see them there, check out their display and chat with them, they're good people....

[tomsakai]

From what I understand, the film makers are planning on being at the Fred Hall Fishing Show this year. If you see them there, check out their display and chat with them, they're good people....

Thanks. I will look specifically for their display; I have always been interested in the Manzanar story (my parents went to Poston Arizona internment). I really regret that our kids don't appreciate what my parents went through.

[nick562]

Wow,it makes me wonder and think of my great-grandfather <oops!> Katatye all of his strife. Im thankful I had the pleasure to meet and spend some life with him. I have very good childhood memories of him he was a kind provider. He like many, was a Japanese-American detainee as well, during WWII.He spent a brief time at Manzanar then was transferred to the Mid- East im not too sure if it was S. Dakota.Just because he was originally from Japan and he migrated here at 12 yrs of age to be a farmer later he obtained his citizenship as a young adult, they feared he was a spy.Add another pitiful and disgraceful thing this country has done to a history book.(end rant) I love you grandpa though you have since passed.I would never forget the stories he told us and all the sacrifice he made through his lifetime as a TRUE AMERICAN~!!!!!!!

[fflutterffly]

It sickens me. I will never visit manzanar nor any of the concentration camps of WWII. My soul can not take the inhumanity so called righteous people do to one another. You can think me insensitive and naive. My own family has numbers upon their forearms. I can't even make a cohesive idea at this moment. I am just sickened by our people and government at that time.

[8NoFish]

It sickens me. I will never visit manzanar nor any of the concentration camps of WWII. My soul can not take the inhumanity so called righteous people do to one another. You can think me insensitive and naive. My own family has numbers upon their forearms. I can't even make a cohesive idea at this moment. I am just sickened by our people and government at that time.

fflutterffly - If you ever get the chance, please try to visit Manzanar. The interpretive center there does a great job in telling the story.

Although visiting a concentration camp such as Manzanar can be disheartening, it can also be uplifting. The people there did triumph over adversity - they made the best of an unjust situation. Just how tough was it? Most of us will probably never know. My relatives who were interned never talked about it. My mother was a college student attending UC Berkeley when she was sent to the Poston Relocation Center - she, like many others, never returned to school. Last year she was given an honorary degree from the University of California - if she were still alive, she would have been so thrilled. Very few of the internees ever criticized the government for imprisoning them...after all they went through they were still proud to be Americans.

[Fishfreak911]

It's not one our good moments in history as a country. Let's hope we learned a lesson. I have been to Dachau, and thank God we did not go that far. I think about it every time I drive up the hwy.

No kidding. Nobody was "sneaking out" of Dachau to go trout fishing!