Most accounts of Japanese Americans in Chicago begin with 1942, when Japanese and Japanese Americans relocated to Chicago from World War II incarceration camps. But there is another historical record, that of the Japanese who came to Chicago beginning in the 1870s and led interesting lives. Our presentation will provide a new perspective linking pre and postwar histories of Japanese in Chicago.

Takako Day is an award-winning freelance writer who has published seven books and hundreds of articles in Japanese and English. Her latest book is Show Me the Way to Go Home: The Moral Dilemma of Kibei No-no Boys in World War Two Incarceration Camps.

Michael Day is Emeritus Professor of English at Northern Illinois University. He has published two co-edited books and many articles in the field of college English education and served as editor for Takako Day’s English articles and book, Show Me the Way to Go Home.