Day of Remembrance event held at City Hall

‘Living Voices: Within the Silence’ recounts Japanese internment

In honor of the Day of Remembrance, a national recognition of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, the City of Bellevue hosted “Within the Silence,” presented by Living Voices at City Hall on Feb. 22. A video of the performance is available through Thursday, Feb. 29.

Living Voices, based in Seattle, combines a live actor with archival footage to present key periods in history in a dynamic, interactive way. “Within the Silence” tells of the Japanese American imprisonment through the story of a teenager named Emiko.

A question-and-answer session with the performer followed the performance. 

Residents and others are welcome to this unique performance art exploring how Americans of Japanese descent on the west coast were held at prison camps in remote areas of the western U.S. from 1942 to 1945, when the war ended.

Many of these people were never able to regain their homes or jobs. The imprisonment had a profound impact on Bellevue, where dozens Japanese American families were a core part of the farming community. All of them were forced from their homes; only a few returned.

For alternate formats, interpreters, or reasonable accommodation requests please phone at least 48 hours in advance 425-452-7881 (voice) or email diversity@bellevuewa.gov. For complaints regarding accommodations, contact the city’s ADA/Title VI administrator at 425-452-6168 (voice). If you are deaf or hard of hearing, dial 711.