On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, forcing the incarceration of more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry. Each year, the Japanese American community in Chicago commemorates EO 9066 as a reminder of the fragility of civil liberties and protecting rights and freedoms for all. 

Day of Remembrance 2025 “Resilience in One Chicago Family” will showcase how tanka (“short poem”) poetry has been used to document history and experience, and to overcome adversity and shape identity. The event will feature the tanka poetry of Issei (first-generation immigrants) poets Tomiko and Ryokuyō Matsumoto. 

In 1945, the Japanese population in Chicago grew from less than 400 to more than 40,000 by the resettlement of people released from incarceration camps. The new book, By the Shore of Lake Michigan traces the journey of the Matsumoto family from forced removal, to the barracks of Heart Mountain, WY, and post-war life in the cold and unfamiliar city of Chicago. 

Editor Nancy Matsumoto (granddaughter), translators Mariko Aratani and Kyoko Miyabe, and Japanese literature scholar Eri F. Yasuhara will present the family’s story and discuss the poems and their significance for the Matsumoto family.

A reception with the participants will follow the program, featuring booths by sponsors and community organizations. The program is free and open to the public. Advanced registration is required.

This event is sponsored by the Chicago Japanese American Council, Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, Japanese American Citizens League – Chicago Chapter, Japanese American Service Committee, and Japanese Mutual Aid Society of Chicago.

To learn more about this event, visit the DOR website or register today to attend!